The Gospel of Luke, chapter 6
Read it here: [CEB] [NRSV]
What a strange way to describe yourself! That’s what I think when I read “Lord of the Sabbath.” It’s not just a fancy way of saying “you can’t boss me around,” although now that’s going to be my response every time someone tells me what to do. No, I think that in seizing the Sabbath mantle, Jesus also claims the authority to order the Kingdom of God as he sees fit:
- setting apart apostles (literally “sent ones”) to be his messengers and propagate the mission of salvation;
- enacting blessedness, as well as withholding blessing, in the realm;
- and issuing citizenship papers—not based upon wealth, status, or lineage—by recognizing those who take up the Kingdom’s practices and postures.
This is what the “Sermon on the Plain,” a shorter, less famous sibling to Matthew’s “Sermon on the Mount,” reveals. Self-deceit, for instance, is based in not being able to recognize the difference between entitlement and servanthood. Rule-following is not an end in itself, but guidelines and boundaries established to heal and to restore the Divine order throughout creation. If Jesus’ actions at the beginning of the chapter show in a limited case how the law should serve God’s children by providing health and healing, then by the end, Jesus gives us a more expansive vision of what it means to imitate God (as divine Father) and extend compassion to the other children in this all-inclusive family. All the gospels, but especially Luke, present this world as out of joint, infected, infested with sin, chaos, destruction, and death. No wonder “the whole crowd wanted to touch [Jesus], because power was going out from him and he was healing everyone” (v 19, my emphasis). Isaac Watts gets it right in “Joy to the World”—
he comes to make his blessing known,
far as the curse is found!
It’s not just a carol for Christmas, but an all day, every day anthem for what God is doing in Jesus, the truly Human One and the Lord of the Sabbath, for the Kingdom.
He rules the world with truth and grace,
and makes the nations prove
the glories of his righteousness
and wonders of his love.
Where have you seen Jesus establish God’s kingdom?
Have you ever broken the rules to do good to someone?
Read, reflect, and respond in the comments below!
Like this? Please let us know!