Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath

Rom. 9:1-5, Lk. 14:1-6. In today's first reading, Paul finds it hard to believe that more Jews had not embraced Christianity after being familiar with all the Hebrew Scriptures which pointed to Jesus as the Christ. Paul shares His sadness at the fact that many Jews have not accepted Jesus as the Messiah. Paul wonders how it is possible that those who had been chosen to be God’s people from early in their history could not accept Jesus as the fulfillment of all their prophets. The Psalmist remarks how blessed the Jewish are to have such God who continually interacted with them. In today's Gospel, Jesus once again expresses His displeasure with some of the Jewish officials who were more concerned with the letter of the Law than in its spirit. Jesus chides the hypocrisy of the Jewish leaders who take care of their own household and their animals on the Sabbath, but are not willing to allow others to be healed by the hand of God through the instrumentality of others. 

Jesus shows His compassion for a man suffering from dropsy, thus demonstrating God’s love for people, especially the sick and outcasts. Many of the Pharisees held the view that the Lord Jesus was a false Messiah because He and His disciples disregarded the Law of the Sabbath, which they considered to be improper and some among them even considered it downright blasphemous. As a result, they often opposed the Lord and tried to accuse Him of wrongdoing in various opportunities and after His death and resurrection, since the Apostles and the other disciples continued these works, thus, the attention of the Pharisees and the Jewish authorities naturally turned towards them. That was why He was also saddened at the attitude of His former fellow Pharisees who continued to resist the truth of God and the works of those whom the Lord had entrusted His Church to, for their stubborn refusal to abandon or compromise their very strict interpretation of the Law, as well as their feeling of superiority against those whom they deemed to be less worthy than they were.

May the Lord help us be open to the presence of God in our life, especially as we interact with the people whom we encounter in our daily life, so that we will reach the full image of Christ, as children of God! Amen!! Good morning and have a gracious day!!!