Reading 1
Phil 1:1-11
Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus,
to all the holy ones in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi,
with the bishops and deacons:
grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I give thanks to my God at every remembrance of you,
praying always with joy in my every prayer for all of you,
because of your partnership for the Gospel
from the first day until now.
I am confident of this,
that the one who began a good work in you
will continue to complete it
until the day of Christ Jesus.
It is right that I should think this way about all of you,
because I hold you in my heart,
you who are all partners with me in grace,
both in my imprisonment
and in the defense and confirmation of the Gospel.
For God is my witness,
how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
And this is my prayer:
that your love may increase ever more and more
in knowledge and every kind of perception,
to discern what is of value,
so that you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,
filled with the fruit of righteousness
that comes through Jesus Christ
for the glory and praise of God.
Ps 111:1-2, 3-4, 5-6
Responsorial PsalmR. (2)
How great are the works of the Lord!
or:
R. Alleluia.
I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart
in the company and assembly of the just.
Great are the works of the LORD,
exquisite in all their delights.
R. How great are the works of the Lord!
or:
R. Alleluia.
Majesty and glory are his work,
and his justice endures forever.
He has won renown for his wondrous deeds;
gracious and merciful is the LORD.
R. How great are the works of the Lord!
or:
R. Alleluia.
He has given food to those who fear him;
he will forever be mindful of his covenant.
He has made known to his people the power of his works,
giving them the inheritance of the nations.
R. How great are the works of the Lord!
or:
R. Alleluia.
Gospel
Lk 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.
Meditation: Luke 14:1-6
“Is it lawful to cure on the sabbath or not?” (Luke 14:3)
Once again, Jesus found himself in the middle of controversy over healing on the Sabbath. The Pharisees who confronted him held to a severely limited interpretation of God’s commands, which led them to suspect Jesus and look for any opportunity to trip him up. For his part, Jesus took their scrutiny as a chance to teach them about the heart of God’s law, which consists of mercy and healing.
When Jesus healed the man with dropsy—a painful ailment that caused excessive retention of fluid?—he once more confronted these Pharisees’ narrow understanding of God’s ways. Their rigid application of Sabbath law left no room for the love and mercy that are the foundation of every one of God’s commands. Jesus addressed this rigidity directly. If any sensible person would rescue a farm animal in mortal danger, how much more would God want to rescue one of his children in need? Of all the days of the week, the Sabbath would be the most appropriate day for God’s children to receive his healing touch. After all, hasn’t he always wanted us to enter into his rest?
The Sabbath rest God wants for us comes from the experience of his love—an experience that places peace in our hearts no matter what our circumstances are. Jesus came to inaugurate this kind of rest through his suffering, death, and resurrection. As members of his church, we can now experience that rest to a greater and greater degree. We can come to know God as our loving and powerful Father, as the one who has called us to be with him forever. We can learn to trust in his provision and surrender our lives to his care.
How do we experience God’s rest? The most essential element is prayer, which puts us into contact with the Lord on an intimate basis. As we open ourselves to God through prayer, Scripture, and the sacramental life of the church, we allow his love to penetrate our hearts more fully. Then, as we rest in that love, we become more confident that he is always with us, always pouring his healing power into our lives.
“Lord Jesus, I open my heart to you. May I enter into your rest and experience your mercy and healing. Help me to see that love is at the heart of your every law.”
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