Daily Gospel Reflection for January 17, 2017

Today's Gospel: Mark 2:23-28 - Memorial of St. Anthony

Give it a rest already! I wonder if that’s what Jesus wanted to say to the Pharisees (pun intended, because I’m sure Jesus was witty) when they accused his disciples of violating the laws of the Sabbath. These men had set up so many laws (39 categories of forbidden activities to be exact) that the spirit of the Sabbath was being over-powered by the rules and restrictions. It is so easy to shake our heads at the Pharisees. In fact, the title itself, “Pharisee”, always conjures up feelings of disdain within me. Is it the same for you? But these human beings, while flawed, were still trying to follow God. They were just allowing their self-interests to get in the way.

Today we can easily fall into the same trap. Just like the Pharisees couldn’t embrace the fact that the Sabbath came to provide rest not restrictions, we too have a difficult time remembering that Jesus came to give us rest from laboring to achieve our own salvation. We get caught up in the details so much that we forget the big picture: Jesus! Yes, there’s more and it’s very important, but the foundation, the core must be Christ.

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Ponder:

Can you think of one area of your spirituality where you get so wrapped up in the small things that you forget about Jesus?

Pray:

Father, when I start to get caught up and overwhelmed by the details, help me to come back to Jesus for my source of peace, strength and hope.

Copyright 2017 Abby Brundage