20250906 JESUS THE MASTER OF THE SABBATH
06 September 2025, Saturday, 22nd Week in Ordinary Time
First reading |
Colossians 1:21-23 |
God has reconciled you by Christ's death in his mortal body
Not long ago, you were foreigners and enemies, in the way that you used to think and the evil things that you did; but now he has reconciled you, by his death and in that mortal body. Now you are able to appear before him holy, pure and blameless – as long as you persevere and stand firm on the solid base of the faith, never letting yourselves drift away from the hope promised by the Good News, which you have heard, which has been preached to the whole human race, and of which I, Paul, have become the servant.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 53(54):3-4,6,8 |
I have God for my help.
O God, save me by your name;
by your power, uphold my cause.
O God, hear my prayer;
listen to the words of my mouth.
I have God for my help.
But I have God for my help.
The Lord upholds my life.
I will sacrifice to you with willing heart
and praise your name for it is good:
I have God for my help.
Gospel Acclamation | cf.Ps26:11 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Instruct me, Lord, in your way;
on an even path lead me.
Alleluia!
Or: | Jn14:6 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, says the Lord;
No one can come to the Father except through me.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 6:1-5 |
The Son of Man is master of the sabbath
One sabbath Jesus happened to be taking a walk through the cornfields, and his disciples were picking ears of corn, rubbing them in their hands and eating them. Some of the Pharisees said, ‘Why are you doing something that is forbidden on the sabbath day?’ Jesus answered them, ‘So you have not read what David did when he and his followers were hungry – how he went into the house of God, took the loaves of offering and ate them and gave them to his followers, loaves which only the priests are allowed to eat?’ And he said to them, ‘The Son of Man is master of the sabbath.’
JESUS THE MASTER OF THE SABBATH
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [COL 1:21-23; LK 6:1-5]
When we read today’s Scripture readings, we cannot but envy the freedom of Jesus in the way He lived His life. Although considered a Rabbi, He was not tied down by the laws of Judaism in ways that could kill His spontaneity and joy. This was true of St Paul as well. He, too, was convinced that he was preaching the Good News, and His faith in Christ gave him a liberating joy.
In contrast, many of us believers, at times – and some more than others – feel the burden of the institutionalization of religion. We feel obliged to fulfil all the laws of our faith. Indeed, in the Catholic Church alone, the Latin Rite has more than 1,750 laws! If we include liturgical and other rules, there are a few hundred more. In trying to keep these laws perfectly, we risk becoming either wretches or self-righteous individuals.
Worse still, instead of becoming friends of God, as Paul tells us in the first reading, we may begin to regard God as our enemy or a stranger to us. This happens when we feel that we are obeying all these laws merely to appease Him, acting out of fear of His wrath. In such a mindset, God becomes our competitor; and keeping the laws becomes our utility to win His favour. Consequently, religion turns into bad news.
But true religion is Good News. True religion reconciles man with God, man with others, and man with himself. This is what Paul tells us in the first reading. Jesus is our reconciler through His death and resurrection. Hence true religion is called Faith, because it deepens our relationship with God, with others, and with ourselves. Such a faith-filled relationship empowers us to live holy, pure and blameless lives.
In this light, we can understand why Jesus could bend – or rather, perfect – the observance of the Sabbath law. The purpose of the Sabbath was to help man rest from his labours so that he could spend time with God, with himself, and with his fellow human beings. Cut off from God, from himself, and from his fellow human beings, man would lose his connection to life and the world. The Sabbath was therefore meant for the good and well-being of man. It was never meant as an end in itself–not even for God, who does not need our worship. For this reason, when His disciples were hungry, as was the case with David’s men, even sacred laws could be set aside for the greater good and human need. Surely, God does not wish to make our lives miserable. He comes to bring us life. The miseries of religion come from a narrow, blind, and legalistic understanding and application of its laws.
The implication for us, therefore, is that in all we do–especially in our observance of religious laws–we must never forget the motives and reasons behind them. Unless our observance leads to greater love and unity with others, deeper communion with God, and greater wholeness within ourselves, it will only further alienate us from God and from one another. Only when we act in this spirit can we truly be like Jesus, the Master of the Sabbath.
Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections
- Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart.
- Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord.
- It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.
Note: You may share this reflection with someone. However, please note that reflections are not archived online nor will they be available via email request.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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