THE WORD 4 ev 1

Read Matthew 12 (click here for link)

It is amazing how Jesus changes everything. Even when we think we have got it down—this Christian thing we do—how often are we surprised to discover that we still have so much to learn about our Lord? In fact, sometimes our religion can get in the way. This is no unfamiliar problem, especially for a pastor (yours truly). This time of year can be very hectic, particularly in the church as advent services begin and various fellowship activities are scheduled. Of course, my regular schedule doesn’t change. There are always the regular pastoral duties of visiting the sick and comforting those who have lost a loved one, Sunday morning sermon prep, meetings of various sorts, Bible studies to prepare, confirmation classes. It can all become very stressful. Suddenly, it all becomes about work and it is very difficult to feel any of the “rest from our burdens” that Jesus offered yesterday in chapter 11.

Indeed, human beings are very good at being busy. The Jewish people were no exception. They had taken God’s law—a law established in love—and had added to it an amazing array of busy work. According to Jewish custom, a man could not spit on the ground on the Sabbath lest he step on it and roll up a ball of mud, which would then make him guilty of plowing. Neither could a woman look in the mirror on the Sabbath lest she see a hair growing on her face and be tempted to pluck it, which would make her guilty of cutting her hair. Even today, orthodox Jews must be careful never to enter an elevator on the Sabbath unless someone else has pushed the button for them, because pushing an electric button creates a spark, which would make a Jewish person guilty of creating fire on the Sabbath. And so it was that the disciples were accused of picking the heads of grain (the work of harvesting), rubbing them between their hands to extract the grain (the work of threshing), and then blowing away the chaff in order to eat the grain to ease their hunger (the work of winnowing).

On and on these laws go, and so you might imagine how stressful it could become.

When our lives get busy, how wonderful it is to remember that we have a Lord who promises that his love for us is enough. “ENOUGH!” That is a hard word for us to swallow! Remember yesterday’s psalm: “He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” Our task as Christian people is not to be perfect—we can never quite accomplish that—rather, we do everything for the glory of Jesus, for his name’s sake. He will put you where you need to be. His love is enough! Today, do what you do for the sake of him who loves you.

Pastor Aaron