"is it lawful on the sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?"

Memorial of St. Anthony

Scripture 

1st Reading: Heb7:1-3,15-17
Resp. Psalm: Ps110:1-4
Gosp. Accl.: Mt4:23
Gospel: Mk3:1-6

Sabbath is for our good

Our God is infinitely good. He created us to reflect His goodness and glory. There are no laws, prescriptions, ordinances made by God that are meant to harm us. They are all for our good. After God had created the universe, God rested on the seventh and last day. This was not because God was tired because as pure Spirit who dwells in unapproachable light, God cannot be tired. The example that God gave in the book of Genesis was for our edification so that we could know how we were to organize our lives as human beings. So, God gave us the sabbath so that we would have time to serve Him out of all the days of the week and so that we would not be burnt out. Do we observe pauses and time outs foe us to take stock and recover ourselves from the stress of our everyday life? Do we burn ourselves out unncessarily because we do not know how to better organize our lives? 

What is lawful to do on the sabbath?

The One who gave the sabbath is therefore the One who had the power and authority to prescribe what should be done on the sabbath. In the course of history, the chosen people had tried to interpret what the law of the sabbath meant and had come up with prescriptions and prohibitions on what should not be done on the sabbath. Thus, the sabbath law which was orginally positive, became a negative, oppressive law that did not help man to attain the highest relationship potentials with God. This was the understanding that the Son of God corrected in our gospel passage today. Our Lord made them understand that sabbath was established to safe life, do good, promote human life and dignity. The restoration of the withered hand of the man was a good. Consequently, our Lord healed the man. Are we attached to the letter rather than the spirit of the law? Do we promote human life or destroy it?

Melchizedek, king of salem

The personage Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham after he had defeated his enemies, is seen as the archetype and exemplar of the priesthood of Christ. This is because the high priesthood of Melchizedek is not from any human lineage or tribe, no human parentage or genealogy, no beginning of days or end of life, but from God Himself. So, Melchizedek became a priest, not according to a legal requirement concerning bodily descent but by the power of an indestructible life. This is the one whose priesthood is like that of Jesus Christ. Are we grateful to Christ, our High Priest? Do we love and revere Him for the sacrifices He made to serve and save us?

St. Anthony of Egypt

St. Anthony of Egypt was a young man born into wealth and privilege. He was dissatisfied with the life he lived and sought a more fulfilling existence. The gospel passage on the rich young man changed his life. He sold everything he had a became a hermit in the desert. He became famous and renowned for his holiness of life and attracted souls to Christ through the example of his life. May he intercede for us.

Let us pray

"O God, who brought the Abbot Saint Anthony to serve you by a wondrous way of life in the desert, grant, through his intercession, that, denying ourselves, we may always love you above all things." Amen 

May the Living Word of God find a true dwelling place within our hearts and souls today and always.