Devotional shared from The Word In Season, Sunday June 3rd: Mark 2:27, Jesus said, “The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath.”
In the world outside the church, Sunday is rarely set aside as holy and special. Many people today have no choice but to work on Sundays – hospital and nursing home workers, retailers, those in the food service industry. More and more school sports and other activities are schedule without any thought to the sabbath day.
In today’s reading, the Pharisees gave Jesus an opportunity to lay some guilt on his disciples for plucking grain to eat on the sabbath. He refused to do such a thing.
Later, the Pharisees were delighted to catch Jesus healing a man’s withered hand on the sabbath day. He didn’t let that stop him from doing good.
Jesus’ actions show that he interpreted the sabbath as a gift from God for us, not a burden for us to shoulder. When we “remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy.” it means remembering that God in Christ has set us free to do good for others as well as to spend time with God (Exodus 20:8) As crazy as life can be, we need to make the most of the time that we are given.
The latest news from Grace Lutheran Church can be found here: June 2018 Messenger
Click the link to read the Grace calendar for the month of June: June 2018 Calendar