Picking the Grain

~~~ Colossians 1:21-23 ~~~ Psalm 54 ~~~ Luke 6:1-5 ~~~

 

...persevere in the faith, firmly grounded, stable,
and not shifting from the hope of the Gospel...

 

Persevering in faith is really what the whole Christian walk is about.

We must ground ourselves firmly in the Biblical message of hope.

Striving to maintain this belief in hope requires

exercising our faith every day.

The Gospel message is given stability in the overarching theme of love.

 

...the Lord sustains my life.

 

It takes great faith to admit that it is the Lord who keeps us alive.

It is the Lord who gives us our next sustaining breath.

It is the Lord who contracts our heart for it's final beat.

 

 

Jesus had the authority to demonstrate and explain

the true meaning of the Sabbath.

 

“The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”

Jesus brought to fruition the new creation. The Pharisees

were deeply rooted in the old ritualized laws of the Sabbath.

In the eyes of the Pharisees Jesus

went about continuously breaking the rules of the Sabbath.

He healed on the Sabbath and today he has the audacity

to allow his disciples to pick grain.

Picking grain on the Sabbath was doing work;

strictly forbidden on the day of rest.

 

Were the disciples 'working' or were they

eating which was allowed?

If they were working, who were they working for

...who was paying them? 

The disciples needed nourishment as they traveled from town to town.

Picking this grain was not in violation of any law at that time.

The Pharisees had added layers upon layers of rules 

based on their own fancy;

 far from how God intended the Sabbath to be kept holy.

 

They had one thing  in mind...to trap Jesus.

To the Pharisees this was a game a sport...how can we catch him today.

Will I be the one who catches him in the most serious violation.

 

Jesus was raised as a true Jew he knew how to keep the Sabbath holy

as commanded by God through Moses.

All things concerning worship were permitted on the Sabbath...

Jesus was performing a religious service.

He was traveling to spread the message of salvation.

 

Today we pray for peace, especially in Syria.

O God, hear my prayer. 

 

Blessings in spreading the message of peace to others.