Am I acting out of fear or acting out of love?

20Oct
At that time Jesus went through the cornfields on the sabbath; his disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. When the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, ‘Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the sabbath.’ He said to them, ‘Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him or his companions to eat, but only for the priests. Or have you not read in the law that on the sabbath the priests in the temple break the sabbath and yet are guiltless? I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. But if you had known what this means, “I desire mercy and not sacrifice”, you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is lord of the sabbath.’

He left that place and entered their synagogue; a man was there with a withered hand, and they asked him, ‘Is it lawful to cure on the sabbath?’ so that they might accuse him. He said to them, ‘Suppose one of you has only one sheep and it falls into a pit on the sabbath; will you not lay hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a human being than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the sabbath.’ Then he said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He stretched it out, and it was restored, as sound as the other. But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.
-Matthew 12:1-14


In this story we are presented with a common conundrum-is it lawful or is it not, is it good or is it bad? This is a form of dualism that permeates our society and our faith. Richard Rohr has written about dualism and how much of Christianity as we know it evolved in a Hellenistic dualistic world. Yet, is there always an easy dualistic answer? In my life there seems to be a lot of gray areas. Jesus is asked, “Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath?” To withhold healing out of fear of violating the law was the easy answer the Pharisees sought. Jesus responds that the answer to this question must be considered in the light of love and value for our neighbor. Of course you heal on the sabbath if healing is needed and done out of love and concern for a fellow human being. Sometimes, we too are presented with a seemingly dualistic problem to which we cannot make a response. When that happens perhaps instead of asking is it good or is it bad, lawful or not lawful, the better question to ask ourselves is the one implied by Jesus in this story - am I acting out of fear or acting out of love? How we answer this question will illuminate our decision beyond a mere dualistic choice to one consistent with the Christian values Jesus teaches and that we honor in our life and in our faith. 


Musical Reflection - In Christ there is no East or West - Mavis Staples


Lord be with me in all I do today. Let my decisions and actions be made from a place of love and not fear, so that in all things I am acting in your will and in your love, creating room for compassion, generosity, and grace. Amen.

Understanding

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