Bible
Study: 1ST Corinthians 5, 1 to 8 and Luke 6, 6 to 11.
There is a
story of a house maid who was cleaning the sitting room one day and in the
process, a very expensive piece of artefact slipped from her hands and fell.
When the owner of the house saw it, he was so mad at her that he wanted to send
her packing but for the kindly intervention of her parents who came to plead on
her behalf. So he gave her a rule never to go near or touch anything in the
sitting room of the house. This was a law she was determined to keep to the
letter.
One day,
the housemaid was alone and she noticed the smell of smoke coming out from the
sitting room. There had been a minor electrical fault and an extension box was
burning. However, given that she was told never to go near that particular
place, she stood there watching until the whole house was on fire.
Just like
this housemaid, we could become so determined to impress God by keeping the
rules to the extent that we forget why the rules were made in the first place.
We set people, families and relationships on fire in the name of holiness. When
Jesus saw a man with a withered hand on a Sabbath day, he knew that even though
the law forbade doing any work, the law never forbade doing good on a Sabbath
day. And doing good (healing the sick), was far more important than refraining
from work.
Looking at
the reaction of his critics, the scribes and Pharisees, the fact that they were
not happy to see the man with a withered hand healed, it simply shows that they
had set a very important aspect of the law on fire – the love of one’s
neighbour. When we judge others for the perceived “wrongs” they do, it is also
important that we see the good sides of their actions as well.
Nonetheless,
this does not mean that we should take on an attitude of condescension, that
is, we should not assume that anything people do while breaking the law is
okay. In today’s first reading St. Paul strongly condemns the evil of a man
having to sleep with his own father’s wife. For a crime like this, there can be
no justification whatsoever. In fact, our prayer each day is for us to
understand better and better the mind of God as our responsorial psalm prays:
Lead me Lord, in your justice.
Let Us
Pray:
Lord
Jesus, help me to observe not just the letter but the spirit of your laws.
Amen.
Good morning.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you.
Fr. Abu
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