Daily Gospel Reflection for January 18, 2022

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

Today's Gospel: Mark 2:23-28

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

Jesus says this to the Pharisees who were complaining that the apostles were plucking and eating the heads of grain on a Sunday. The Pharisees were angry because what they were doing was like work and against the commandment of honoring the Sabbath, but Jesus allowed it because they were just hungry from traveling.

In Genesis, we read that God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh. Then in Exodus, Moses was given the Ten Commandments, the third being to honor the Sabbath. God gave this law for the benefit of mankind, not for His benefit. Just as He rested after working six days straight, God knows how important it is to put aside work and stress for a day. Sundays are meant for church, family, relaxing, and rejuvenating our minds and bodies for another week.

As Jesus explained to the church leaders of His day, it is possible to take this law to an extreme and not allow any efforts that can be misconstrued as work. Yet even on Sundays we all need to get dressed and drive to church, eat meals, and possibly get on our laptops in order to Facetime our family who lives out of state. These activities could all be considered “work” if they are done in excess and not for the honor of God and family.

Where people can take it too far is to use Sundays to go shopping for items that aren’t essential, to get on our laptops to check work email and then spend hours away from our families working on a project, or to mow the lawn when it isn’t the only day it can be done and it is considered a chore rather than a relaxing hobby. 

Ponder:

How are you not honoring God by doing too much on Sundays?

Pray:

Dear Lord, help me to remember that You made Sundays for me to relax and enjoy my family and spend time with You.

Click to tweet:
God knows how important it is to put aside work and stress for a day. #dailygospel

Copyright 2022 Colleen Mallette