Thursday 19/1/06

Mark 3: 1 Another time Jesus went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. 2 Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. 3 Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, "Stand up in front of everyone." 4 Then Jesus asked them, "Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" But they remained silent. 5 He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. 6 Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.

Last weekend Sven Goran Eriksson was set up by a Sunday newspaper. A fake sheik pretended to have money to spend on an English football team and discussed, among other things, the prospect of Sven leaving the England job.

The Pharisees set a trap for Jesus. They had a man with an infirm hand at the synagogue to tempt Jesus to heal him. Jesus didn't disappoint them! Their oral tradition gave permission for medical help to be given to a sufferer only if his or her life was in danger. Clearly this was not the case here. Here, for the third time Mark records Jesus breaking the Jewish religious laws.

Why did Jesus heal the man? After all, he could have asked him to return the next day!

He healed the man out of compassion. Jesus came to earth to show God's love and pity to a sick human race. We have a God who loves and cares for us. Who heals and delivers us.

Jesus also healed the man to teach the Pharisees a lesson. That God wants His people to enjoy freedom and not suffer religious bondage. This shows it is always right to do good. The ways of God are superior to the laws of men.

The hypocrisy of the Pharisees is seen by the fact that they plan to murder Jesus. This is in direct disobedience to the written law of God that they claimed to hold so dear.

Their pride and selfishness led them to do this. It also led them to ally themselves with the Herodians, who were supporters of Herod. The Pharisees wanted an independent Israel, free of foreign rule. So to join forces with the supporters of an alien ruler shows how much they were annoyed by Jesus.

What can we take from this passage today?

Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath and of sickness.

Jesus has come to free God's people from legalism, sickness and death. So we are free to know and worship God.

For Christians Sundays have replaced the Jewish Sabbath, which is a Saturday of course. Whilst believers should not be legalistic about this, Sunday should be different. It reminds us o the resurrection of Jesus.

The Department of Trade and Industry is currently canvassing opinion before deciding if Sunday Trading Laws should be relaxed. If deregulation follows Sunday will even more become just like any other day. This will affect our society and also individuals, especially Christians who are unable to refuse to work because of their faith.

Whilst we should not be too strict I believe that Sunday should be special and that every person should have the right and opportunity to worship God and re-charge their batteries then. I opposed the Sunday Trading Act when it first went through Parliament and am still opposed to it.

Obviously, there are some essential services that are needed everyday, but I do not think this includes shopping!

One of the ways we can make an economic protest about this is not to shop on a Sunday. Unless it is unavoidable I try to avoid buying anything then. If we do shop on a Sunday this justifies shops being open and people being employed.

God's ways are greater than man's ways.

Moses was born because the midwives followed God's ways rather than the order of the King of Egypt who wanted the Israelite babies killed. Jesus went against the man-made religious rules of the day as we see in this and other passages.

In Acts 5 the apostles were forbidden by the religious rulers to teach about Jesus. Their response? Verse 29, "Peter and the other apostles replied: "We must obey God rather than men!"

This is relevant for Christians today. What happens when we are asked to do something that is legal but we feel is against God's will?

Some Christians who believed that they should not work on a Sunday were sacked even though promises were made before the Bill was drafted that people would be excused from working on Sunday for religious reasons..

There are some occasions when the law of this country provides for conscientious objection. The 1967 Abortion Act gives doctors and nurses the right to refuse to participate in terminations. The 1998 Education Reform Act enables parents to withdraw their children from worship in school.

However, a recent European Union Ruling has said that in matters including euthanasia, abortion, birth-control and sexuality the "right of access" to these things takes precedence over conscientious objection.

So, if this government were to permit same sex marriage, as opposed to a civil partnership, clergy who refuse to "marry" homosexuals could face prosecution, perhaps even the sack.

[ Source: Church of England News 13/1/06 ]

If this situation became law I and many other clergy would have to reconsider their position or defy the law and take the consequences.

Just as the Pharisees and Herodians opposed Jesus there are people today who will drive through an agenda that is contrary to God's will. We need to stand up for God' ways and oppose them.

Jesus was angry and distressed at his opponents attitude. There is nothing wrong with us feeling similar emotions over the way that the world, even some parts of the church , is going.

Our response should be one of prayer, to pray against the liberalizing forces that are contrary to God's ways.

We should also be prepared to be like Jesus and take a stand for God and refuse to obey man made laws that are contrary to the ways of God. This should be done with love and compassion