A Place in this World

I read this morning from Mark’s gospel about the purpose of a day of rest, also known as Sabbath. As we know from the beginning, or Genesis, the Lord God took in all that he had made in those first few days of creation. He saw that it was good and he rested on the seventh day. Just as God did, his first chosen people saw the importance of following in his footsteps, but they made the Sabbath a matter of law. Over time, the law became the focus of religious practice rather than serving God through others. Punishments were prescribed for any infraction of the law, hence, the reaction to Jesus’ disciples as they plucked the heads of grain as they passed through a field on the sabbath.

I believe we still look upon the law as something we should follow rather than as a way to remind us of the fact that it is a means of establishing justice in the world. In a way it is a shame that we need a system of laws at all outside the Ten Commandments, even though our laws are based on these ten. If we would simply follow the basic principles of, “Love thy neighbor as thyself” and “Love God with all of your heart, mind, soul and strength, there would be no need to complicate things with countless regulation of human behavior.” The original purpose of law becomes cloudy when we rely on lawyers to dispense the Latinized and legalese form that confounds the untrained.

Simply put, the purpose of law was intended to serve us rather than we serve the law. Where there is injustice done to our neighbor, let us bring fairness and resolution of conflict. Where there is injury done out of greed, desperation or evil, let us bandage it and cast out the cause in our midst. As Jesus did, let us place the law where it will do what it was intended to do and go on with our lives. We need not become overly fixated with strict adherence to the law if it means that justice is not served by our actions. Do what is necessary to love one another and serve the needs of those who are hurting, oppressed, starving, naked or homeless. You see, that is what justice is; not a system to serve itself for any other means.

I am convinced that Jesus came to dispel the distortions imposed on his people by a system that became too focused on the “letter of the law” rather than to serve the people for their own well being. Common sense reveals that if a man is hungry, he eats, not that he wait because the law says he must not do work that day. Jesus became the ultimate sacrifice to absolve us of our sins, not that we should continue on the same path and condemn those who infringe on the precepts of law for the sake of law. Our blind adherence is no excuse to abandon compassion and love for one another. That is our place in this world; to love.