Tuesday January 18th: People first

“The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath”.

Mark 2: 23-28

The interpretation of laws has always been problematic yet laws are necessary for man. Today’s Gospel is a teaching on the Sabbath which was a crucial issue faced by Jesus from the beginning of his ministry, and one that is still crucial today.
For Jesus, peoples’ needs were at the heart of all he did and superseded the demands of the law. Jesus’s ministry was like a breath of fresh air. He came to set captives free and give new sight to the blind. So, he saw the Sabbath – like all human laws as being for the poor, and not the poor for the Sabbath.
This passage challenges us to follow his example and not use the law to penalize the poor and those under our care but rather to interpret the law to lead all people to freedom.
We too are called to be protectors of the poor and like Jesus to work tirelessly to bring about that shift where laws are to be at the service of life and brotherhood and sisterhood.