Our love for God is expressed precisely in how we treat others

Good morning, happy Tuesday, and many blessings.

In today’s Gospel (Mark 2:23-38) we learn that one day on the Sabbath, the disciples passed by a cornfield and they opened a path by plucking ears of corn. In Matthew 12:1 it is said that they were hungry. Quoting the Bible, the Pharisees criticized the attitude of the disciples. It would be a transgression of the law of the Sabbath (cf. Ex 20:8-11). Jesus responded quoting the Bible to indicate that the arguments of the others have no meaning. He recalls that David himself did something which was prohibited, because he took the sacred bread of the temple and gave it to the soldiers to eat because they were hungry (I Sam 21:2-7). Jesus ends with two important phrases: (a) the Sabbath is made for man (human being) and not man (human being) for the Sabbath; (b) The Son of Man is the Lord of the Sabbath!

In Jesus, God shows us that the core of authentic human life is love. The person who loves, Paul wrote, fulfills the law. We could say that the only reason the law of God exists is to point us toward the life of love. To love is to enter into the divine fellowship of the Holy Spirit, to dwell in the eternal love of God.

People are more important than systems and programs. People are more important than rituals and religion. John wrote that if a person loves God, then that person will love his brother and sister (1 John 4:20). It might be easy to think that loving God and loving one’s neighbor are two different things. They are not. Our love for God is expressed precisely in how we treat others. If we are mean, hateful, cruel, and inconsiderate of others, that is a demonstration of how devoted (or not devoted) we are to God.

God loves all people, even the ones we have no use for, the ones we treat as though they don’t matter. When we behave poorly toward the people God loves, then we are behaving the same way toward God. God is interested in people, not in rituals for rituals’ sake.

Love doesn’t come by programs. It comes in its own way in its own time. On the contrary, our programs feed on our love. It is strengthened and proven in the crucible of self-sacrifice, patience, and forbearance. It cannot be explained; it can only be lived. It’s something you live out, not something you evaluate on a scale of measurable outcomes. It’s messy, not predictable. Sometimes it hurts, sometimes it thrills. It’s never static. It doesn’t play by the rules; the rules can’t keep up. Jesus gave a new command to his disciples: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34-35).

In today’s world, I suspect that there are many people who do not appreciate the gift of the Sabbath.  On Sunday (our Sabbath day), we may or may not go to church.  We may work even though it is the Lord’s Day.  For many people, on Sundays, God and Jesus simply may not be on their radar screen.   Yet often we do not acknowledge and thank God for the many blessings we have received. 

The Sabbath is for the human being and not vice-versa. How do I interpret this?

Blessings, 

Fr. Luis