Daily Gospel Reflection for January 19, 2021

Join us as we reflect, ponder, and pray together inspired by today's Gospel.

Today's Gospel: Mark 2:23-28

In today’s Gospel Saint Mark talks about the time the apostles, walking with Jesus on the Sabbath, did the unthinkable: "they made a path by plucking ears of corn".

While this may seem trivial to us today, the Pharisees were quick to pounce. The law demanded no work be done on the Sabbath, and this included any and all forms of manual labor. They asked Jesus how He could allow this "sin" to be committed. Christ of course had already run up against this particular question.

He told them bluntly “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” To do nothing on the Sabbath, at the expense of helping others, was wrong. Forbidding a person to heal another person, prepare food for others, or do other necessary labor is not keeping the day for God.

Being true to the minute details of a law was not, per Jesus, keeping the Sabbath holy.

Sadly though, I feel we have gone to the other extreme. Instead of doing nothing on the Sabbath we are out and about shopping, answering emails, playing on social media, finishing up chores, or watching football and other sports on the device of our choice. We are keeping ourselves so busy we have forgotten what “Keep holy the Sabbath” means. Many have fallen away from even attending Mass.

Do nothing or do too much? The true answer I believe lies somewhere in the middle. The Sabbath is a gift from God, a day to remember all the blessings which He has given us. When we honor it, we are saying thank You to God for what we have been given. It becomes a weekly day of Thanksgiving. By honoring His gift, we honor our God.

If we do that, we will keep holy the Sabbath.

Ponder:

How can I help my family keep the Sabbath Day holy?

Pray:

Help me, Lord, to remember all You have given to me and those I love. May I always find new and better ways to show how much I love You.

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The Sabbath is a gift from God, a day to remember all the blessings which He has given us. #dailygospel

Copyright 2021 Carol Sbordon Bannon