Rev. Michelle Manuel

 

Scripture:

Matthew 12:9-14

9 He left that place and entered their synagogue; 10 a man was there with a withered hand, and they asked him, “Is it lawful to cure on the sabbath?” so that they might accuse him. 11 He said to them, “Suppose one of you has only one sheep and it falls into a pit on the sabbath; will you not lay hold of it and lift it out? 12 How much more valuable is a human being than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the sabbath.” 13 Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and it was restored, as sound as the other. 14 But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.

 

Matthew 11:28-30

28 “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Reflection:

There are two kinds of people in this world. Rule followers and those who believe that rules were made to be broken. There are those who feel really good following the rules and then there are those who believe that rules are more like guidelines. Which are you? I’m not wanting to show my cards or anything, but I may or may not naturally fall more into the latter category. Fortunately, there’s room in God’s kingdom for both.

 

Along Jesus’ way, he encounters some serious rule breakers—Zaccheus, Woman at the Well, sex workers, just plain old run-of-the-mill sinners. And then he encounters folks who are still sinners, but their sin shows up in a different way. You see, the religious leaders were rule-followers to a T. Their ps and qs were so minded, their beds were probably always made, they never had a hair out of place. Maybe not, but you get the point. They followed the rules so hard that in fact, they made a career out of it—some modern-day pastors do this too. The religious leaders made sure the rules were followed AT. ALL. TIMES. And in fact, not following the rules is how they would eventually do Jesus in.

 

But rules feel so good, don’t they? After all, if we didn’t have rules wouldn’t things devolve into chaos?! We must have agreed upon ways for which we are going to live together. It’s orderly and God is a God of order, see chapters 1 and 2 of Genesis. I love a good rule just as much as the next person, but at what point does following the rule become a sin? 1. When we worship the rule over the one who gave us the rule and 2. When the rule harms God’s most precious creation—humans.

 

Here we see our beloved Jesus “breaking” a rule. He heals on the Sabbath. It’s not just a small healing either. The wording makes it clear that the hand was entirely restored. The significance that had on this person’s life—to go from one hand to two hands would be life-altering. Not to mention this person would then have an opportunity to participate in cleansing rituals and would therefore become clean and reconciled to his community and church. 

In breaking this rule Jesus would redefine the rule for us all.

The Sabbath is not about rest for rest’s sake. It’s not about simply keeping a rule. In this moment (and others) Jesus would not break the Law but fulfill it. He would bring life and life abundant. He would preview for all of us (then and now) that he has come to offer LIFE. Sabbath is about restoration and restoration brings order- the right order of things. Jesus breaks the rule but keeps the Law by loving us into wholeness.

What has been broken in your life? Has a ‘rule’ kept you from tending to it or bringing it to Jesus? What rules hide in the depths of your heart that keep you from bringing your broken and withered parts of life to Jesus? 

Here’s some of my “Laws” that have kept me withered and broken: 

  1. There’s no room on the calendar for rest.
  2. Others need me, and their needs matter more than mine.
  3. I’m not broken. I don’t have any brokenness. 
  4. I’m not allowed to be broken.
  5. My issues are not that big when compared to…
  6. It’s a waste of time to self-reflect and “navel-gaze.”
  7. Emotion and “inner work” are not valuable and get me nowhere.
  8. No one wants to hear about my whining (not even Jesus).

These “Laws” are worth breaking because they aren’t laws at all, they’re chains. Come and be a rule-breaker today. Come and receive the invitation to healing and restoration that Jesus gives just before this story. Come and be healed on the Sabbath.

​ “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Prayer:

Gracious and Loving God,

In this moment I ask that you reveal to me the “laws” that have kept me from receiving your invitation to wholeness and sanctification. Help me to break down these barriers to life abundant and help me find rest. Not by my own power, but by yours, I lay down these heavy burdens and this ill-fitting yoke, and I receive your healing, rule-breaking love. Amen.