Mark 2:13 - 3:6 Sabbath - blessing or burden?

This morning Peter W_ was preaching from Mark 2:13 - 3:6.

He spoke about the meaning of the word 'Sabbath' - from Hebrew word meaning to cease; to rest, and about how the blessing of the Sabbath pre-dated the Jewish written law, being mentioned right back in the beginning when God had done His work of creating the world and was pleased with it, saw that it was good, then rested. Peter pointed out that God approves work as well as rest. We have a need for rest provided we meet our need for work. If we don't work, we may begin to feel worthless or purposeless. On the other hand there is no need to feel guilty when we're resting as this has God's approval, too.

Did the Pharisees layer their own thoughts on top of God's principle of Sabbath rest, asked Peter, and went on to explain how they may have debated and discussed the principle and tried to define the boundaries, defining what constituted work and pinning down the 'shoulds and shouldn'ts' - setting rules that robbed of God's grace what had been intended as a blessing. By the rules the Pharisees introduced, someone who didn't obey could become a sinner, whereas the initial intent of God's provision of the Sabbath was to bless his beloved family.

In the passage, Jesus challenged the Pharisees, trying to get them to recognise and acknowledge how they had turned God's intended positive blessing into a burden. Peter speculated on the Pharisees' motives as they watched Jesus accusingly, refusing to acknowledge or concede the point he was making. Isn't it so human that if we have been working in a job for a long time and a newcomer joins who seems instantly to be so much better than ourselves, we will find it very hard to be pleased about it? How hard to welcome this newcomer, this gifted individual ... instead we might harbour some jealousy or bitterness rather than being able to rejoice and feel grateful.

Peter also picked out the point that if the Pharisees couldn't find fault with Jesus, they looked at his disciples and found fault with them. In the world outside church, people are likely to look at us when they want to find fault with God. As ambassadors for God, we need to be clear in our own lives that we are living in obedience to the Spirit and the Word, in obedience to the Christ, and then let them pick away as much as they like - God's mantle is over us.

The Pharisees wanted to be right rather than righteous. To be justified by their adherence to man-made rules rather than by faith in God's goodness, mercy and love.

Since the meeting I've been pondering on this thought.

What are the issues in these present times where man-made rules and expectations lead us to judge one another?

There has been a lot on TV recently about modern farming methods with regards poultry: the organic free-range -v- battery farming methods debate. How do we decide which to buy? Budget or conscience? Is this so different to the dilemma disciples faced in the days when Paul wrote to the Corinthians about the freedom of believers: Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience, for, "The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it." If some unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat whatever is put before you without raising questions of conscience. (1 Cor 10: 25 -27)

I can remember when I was going through a particularly tough time mentally & emotionally, standing in Sainsbury's and really struggling with how to make a choice about a particular product - should I be paying more for Fairtrade goods because we happened to be in a position to do so, and thus incur Vic's disapproval (who perceived a cheaper, 'unethically-sourced' product to be of better quality and therefore the best choice)? Happily the Lord helped me - inwardly I 'heard' a kindly voice giving me the answer I needed to release me from that moment of frozen confusion.

Tonight as Peter spoke about the church building plans, somebody put to him a question about environmental considerations - for example, would we have solar panels on the roof to provide environmentally-friendly power? I recognised in the way the question was put something of the attitude of the Pharisees trying to catch Jesus out - and acknowledged my own Pharisaic tendency (as the same question had occurred to me)! Peter answered firmly along the lines that decisions about the building would be made on the basis of what's best for the church and for God's kingdom-building.

According to Genesis we were created to rule over all the earth, and to subdue all the creatures. We were also forewarned that the earth would 'wear out like a garment' (Isaiah 51:6), but assured that God's salvation will be forever. How do we reconcile living as wise stewards of this earth with the kingdom-thinking that reassures us our real home lies elsewhere?




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It was good to have John F_ back in our midst this week. Last week we heard how the rains in Malawi had washed away some of the mud huts of the community whilst John and Jill were visiting out there, and we were invited to respond to the crisis. The whip-round, taken up after the normal offering, raised over £3,000 which reached the bank account of the local church out there early in the week. £250 will build a new house over there - not a mud hut but something better with a concrete foundation and a tin roof which will withstand the rains - and the building materials are available. John shared how good it was to see that the heart-warming response to the appeal will make a real difference to the lives of those who had watched their homes being washed away. The community recognised that this church in Camberley had responded with a generosity prompted by God, not because we could afford to but because we want to share God's love in a practical way.