June 2, 2024 Sermon
Sermon title: “Rules, Schmules!”
Scripture: Mark 2:23 - 3:6
(Other lectionary choices include I Samuel 3:1-20, Psalm 139, and II Corinthians 4:5-12.)
Mark 2:23 – 3:6
Pronouncement about the Sabbath
23One sabbath he was going through the grainfields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. 24The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?” 25And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need of food? 26He entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and he gave some to his companions.” 27Then he said to them, “The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath; 28so the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.”
The Man with a Withered Hand
1Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered hand. 2They watched him to see whether he would cure him on the sabbath, so that they might accuse him. 3And he said to the man who had the withered hand, “Come forward.” 4Then he said to them, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the sabbath, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. 5He looked around at them with anger; he was grieved at their hardness of heart and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. 6The Pharisees went out and immediately conspired with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.
Perhaps I should start out with an apology. When I first read the Scripture reading for today's sermon, I arrogantly thought that Jesus didn't like stupid rules. That still may be right, but there may be more to the situation than that, and it wasn't until I read a commentary on the passage that it began to occur to me that perhaps I am not quite so smart as I think I am! Please forgive me for thinking that I knew more than I do!
On the surface, this is a great Scripture lesson. You have the self-appointed church police (the Pharisees) looking down on Jesus and his disciples for “working” on the Sabbath. By the way, nobody chose the Pharisees to criticize others. They took that task on themselves! It's as if a member or two of this congregation stood at the door and pronounced judgement on what you were wearing to church, for example. Nobody asked them to do it! They simply did it because they thought THEIR brand of religion was better than YOUR brand! You know, we seem to have SOME sort of Phariseeism in every generation!
The “work” that Jesus and the disciples were performing was feeding themselves! They were plucking the heads of grain and eating it. Remember that you were not supposed to perform work on the Sabbath, and what Jesus and the disciples were doing was performing work, as far as the Pharisees were concerned. And Jesus did NOT deny that they were “working.” But what he did say is that way back in King David's time, David and his men ate the bread of the Presence in the Temple because they were hungry. The point? Yes, it is important to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy - but if people are hungry, their hunger takes precedence over the rules. “Rules, Schmules” I called this sermon! And then Jesus makes the great statement that we all should remember: “The Sabbath was made for humankind and not humankind for the Sabbath.” Isn't that a great line? My high school minister told me that the Sabbath is a gift, God's gift to you, and how you choose to use your gift is up to you. Thankfully, we have moved a long way from Phariseaic teaching in our day. If we notice that so-and-so is not at church, we don't assume the worst. We give so-and-so the benefit of the doubt as to why he/she isn't here today.
Earlier I mentioned that I didn't know as much as I thought I did. While I'm sure Jesus wanted to make the point that NEED can supersede rules, he was also making another point in this part of Mark's Gospel. By mentioning King David, he was identifying with his ancestor. He is putting “himself on a par with (King) David in the period when David, already anointed by Samuel but not yet enthroned....was on the run, gathering support, waiting for his time to come. That's a pretty heavy claim: the implication is that Jesus is the true king.... He (Jesus) therefore has the right, when he and his people are hungry, to by-pass the normal regulations.” Or, to put it another way, this is a sign that the TRUE King is here, “that the kingdom is breaking in, (and) that instead of waiting for the old creation to come to its point of rest the new creation is already bursting (in) upon the old world.” The Gospels always have more to tell us....if we'll let them!
N. T. Wright, the British scholar and Bishop of Durham in the Church of England, says this: “Jesus' action....was a coded messianic claim, a claim that in him the new day was dawning in which even Israel's God-given laws would be seen in a new light.”
One reason I like today's Scripture reading is that it doesn't end here with Jesus and his disciples out in the fields. They go to the synagogue, almost looking for trouble! Okay, I may be overstating the situation, but by heading to the place of worship, they will run into people, and in this case, they meet a man with a withered hand. And we are told that the “righteousness police,” the Pharisees, are watching Jesus closely. We are told that Jesus is “deeply upset at their hard-heartedness,” and he looked at them ANGRILY. (Please don't forget that: Jesus got ANGRY! And it says so in the Bible.) Look at Jesus' words: “Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath, or to do evil? To save life or to kill?” And we are told that they stayed quiet! NO WONDER Jesus got angry. Once again “the rules” got in the way of what is right!
Friends, let us keep in mind that there are rules for a reason: to give us some structure. And so, we need rules which EVEYBODY needs to obey! But when the rules get in the way of compassion, that's when the rules need to be superseded. Look at the parable of the Good Samaritan, as told in Luke's Gospel. Those who passed by on the other side were keeping themselves clean for the Temple, and that was important. But NOT so important as helping to relieve somebody's suffering. What is the purpose of religion, ANY religion? To serve God and to be compassionate. THAT's where the Pharisees went wrong: they were so certain they were serving God that compassion had gone out of their religion. By the way, that's one reason I believe Jesus came to earth: to inject compassion into the Judaism of his day. It had been in Judaism - but somehow it had been squeezed out in how people practiced their faith. In Matthew, Jesus is asked which is the Greatest Commandment. He says there are TWO greatest commandments: Love the Lord your God....... and Love your neighbor as much as you love yourself. And then Jesus says, “On those two commandments hang all the Law and the prophets.” A friend of mine gave me these words: “When da thinking stops, dat's when da rules begin.”
So, keep the rules. Be a good law-abiding citizen. But don't ever let compassion leave your thinking or your religion. You are not a machine; you are a child of God, a thinking, breathing, COMPASSIONATE child of God. And a Disciple of Christ! Amen.
Pastor Skip
