God is the Lord of life, not of death

Heb. 7:1-3.15-17, Mk 3:1-6. Today’s readings place peace over conflict. Melchizedek meets Abraham on his way back from a short military excursion against some local chiefs and blesses him, while in today's Gospel we have the conflict between the Pharisees and Jesus, about what is allowed on the Sabbath. Jesus is “deeply grieved” by their insistence that not even a work of healing should be allowed on the day of the Lord. The peace-loving Abraham was also drawn into action in order to rescue his relative from the violence of marauding local warlords and is blessed by Melchizedek on his return from this righteous intervention. This action teaches us to refrain from violence: “those who take the sword shall perish by the sword” (Mt. 26:52) and violence, even in self-defence can never be an option (Mt 5:39). These ideals make it very hard for us to justify any militaristic adventures for anything. The thrust of these texts is the triumph of life over the forces of death. Like the mysterious priest-king Melchizedek, Jesus is a priest forever, with a power of life that cannot be destroyed. In the debate about what is permissible on the Sabbath, Jesus makes it clear that, it is a day of life-giving activities. He indeed stresses on the contrast between “good” deeds that preserve life and “evil” deeds, that destroy it. For God is the Lord of life, not of death; of peace, not of violence; of justice, not of oppression. May the Lord help all believers to answer the call of God and be salt to the earth and light to the world! Amen!! Good morning and have a great day!!!