Sept.3 #436

436.doc
Scripture: Lectionary 436: Colossians 1:21-23. Psalm 54:3-4.6.8. Luke
6:1-5:


Standing firm in our faith is a constant message from St. Paul in his
letters and we find it in today's selection from Colossians. Isaiah had
such a message that Paul may have assimilated from his rabbinic training.
The Gospel he preaches is what enables us to stand firm in our belief in
the Good News Jesus has given us. We already have been reconciled to God by
our baptism into the life of Christ, now we are to endure with a deepening
of our faith. Paul tells us we are holy to the Lord and we are free—a theme
that will also be apparent in our Gospel for today where Jesus frees us
from literalism and fundamentalism in understanding the Torah (Law) and the
Prophets and Writings. Paul again reminds us that hope is a part of our
life and this is based on the fidelity of God to all of the promises made
to us through the Scriptures. Paul and Jesus prompt us to sustain our faith
with the anchor of hope.


In reading the passage from Luke today we have an example of how Jesus
frees his disciples and us from scruples and unreasonable attention to
ritual details that take us away from the spirit behind these texts. As
the "Son of Man" (an eschatological title here) Jesus is Lord of the
Sabbath and the rules pertaining to it. He is not breaking the Sabbath nor
are his apostles in picking the grain. Had not David even taken the sacred
bread of the House of God and given it to his soldiers who needed
nourishment? Jesus is fulfilling the Sabbath by maintaining the spirit of
that day of rest and worship. He gives life to the letter of the law.


Two titles are present in the Synoptics that help us to relate to Jesus:
the Son of God and the Son of Man. These make up the Good News started by
Mark and then handed on also in Matthew and Luke. Today the emphasis is on
the Son of Man which has multiple meanings but here it is in the light of
God's purpose in giving us the Sabbath. We pay attention to these titles
for they give us insight into who the Son of God and Son of Man is in the
preaching of the apostles and especially that of the Synoptic Gospels.
Through the titles we are sensitive to the living voice of Jesus and are
sustained in our faith by that voice.


Jesus is for us the holy Bread of Life. He is thus able to identify with
his messianic forerunner, David, who knew that the sacred bread was
permitted to be eaten by his men. We can easily see in this scene an
oblique reference to the Eucharist which is the nourishment all of Jesus'
disciples need. Amen.