Reflection for November 3, Friday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time: Luke 14:1-6

Gospel: Luke 14:1-6

On a sabbath Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees, and the people there were observing him carefully. In front of him there was a man suffering from dropsy. Jesus spoke to the scholars of the law and Pharisees in reply, asking, “Is it lawful to cure on the sabbath or not?”

But they kept silent; so he took the man and, after he had healed him, dismissed him. Then he said to them “Who among you, if your son or ox falls into a cistern, would not immediately pull him out on the sabbath day?” But they were unable to answer his question.

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Reflection:

Is the observance of the Sabbath day wrong? No, nothing’s wrong with the observance of the Sabbath day. It’s ok for the simple reason that it shows a person’s faithfulness to his faith. The Sabbath observance becomes wrong when we prioritize it more than our acts of mercy. 

This is the point that Jesus is driving at in the gospel towards the scholars of the law and Pharisees. They are very strict in the observance of the Sabbath law and are very much willing to sacrifice almost everything so that they could strictly observe it. 

It’s not wrong to violate sacred religious traditions for a greater need. For what is the use of strictly observing religious tradition if we forego doing acts of mercy and love? It doesn’t in anyway serve its intended purpose.

We therefore have to be careful not to be overly legalistic in our observance of our religious traditions. We should be more tolerant and understanding when it’s violated for a valid reason so that we could bring more people closer to Jesus. – Marino J. Dasmarinas