In the third commandment, we are reminded to honour the sabbath day. This commandment is meant to remind everyone to enjoy adequate rest and leisure to cultivate their familial, cultural, social, and religious lives. But sometimes, we come across people who go to two different extremes when it comes to the sabbath. On one extreme, we have the Pharisees who demand that keeping the sabbath means not doing anything at all, not even doing good or merciful things. On the other extreme, we have people who take advantage of the sabbath to make more money or reap in more profits. Could some of us be in one of the extremes?
In today's Gospel, Jesus grieved to find the Pharisees so obstinate, and he looked angrily round at them, because they were extreme in their views of the sabbath. Even doing good or saving a life, to the Pharisees, is considered breaking the sabbath. But the Pharisees missed the whole point about the sabbath, and chose such extreme views because to them, it seems easier to not doing anything so as not to offend God. But how could doing good or doing something merciful be offensive to God? Seems strange, but that was what the Pharisees thought, because of their stubborn, obstinate and narrow-minded ways.
What about us? Have some of us become like the Pharisees in our views, thoughts, actions and conduct? Do we think that only our ways are right and everyone else is wrong? May we learn from our Eternal Master to be humble and open in our ways, so that we would do what is good, what is loving, what is right, what is just, and what is merciful, for the glory of God.
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