Jesus heals a disabled man on the Sabbath
Bible Accent: Sabbath
Saint for Today: St. Paphnutius
Puzzle
Jesus heals a disabled man on the Sabbath
As Jesus and his apostles were traveling on the Sabbath, they passed through a field of grain. The men picked some of the heads of grain and rubbed them clean so they could eat them. There were some Pharisees in the area who saw what the apostles were doing and challenged them.
“Why are you doing what is unlawful on the sabbath?” they asked.
Jesus answered for himself and his friends.
“Have you not read what David did when he and those (who were) with him were hungry?” Jesus asked. “(How) he went into the house of God, took the bread of offering, which only the priests could lawfully eat, ate of it and shared it with his companions. The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath.”
On a different Sabbath day Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues. In the crowd that was listening was a man who had one hand that was withered. The scribes and the Pharisees who were there wondered if Jesus would try to heal this man, and if he did they would try to accuse him of disobeying the Scriptures.
Jesus knew what was in the minds of these men so he called out to the man with the disabled hand. “Come up and stand before us.” The man did as Jesus asked him. Then Jesus said to everyone, “I ask you, is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather then to destroy it?”
Jesus looked at the faces of the people who were watching him, then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” The man stretched his hand forward, and immediately it was healed. This angered the scribes and Pharisees, and after they talked with each other about what they might be able to do to stop Jesus.
On another day Jesus spent a night in prayer. When the sun had come up, he spoke with his followers, and from these men he chose 12 to be apostles. After he had chosen these men, Jesus went with them to a field of level ground. Here he was joined by many other of his followers and people from Jerusalem, Judea, Tyre and Sidon.
They came to hear Jesus teach and to be healed of diseases and freed from unclean spirits that had been tormenting them. The people wanted to touch Jesus, because his power was so strong that just touching him was enough to be healed by him.
READ MORE ABOUT IT:
Luke 6
Q&A
2. Why did the people want to touch Jesus?
Bible Accent: The Sabbath
The observance of the Sabbath, which comes from the ancient Hebrew word meaning “to stop,” has its origins in the story of creation. On the seventh day, after God had created everything, he rested and declared this day of rest holy. This holy rest was so important it was included as one of the Ten Commandments, where God tells us to remember the Sabbath day and to rest on it. In Exodus 23 God extends this rest to the servants and work animals as well, and in Exodus 31 he calls it “an everlasting sign” between himself and the people of Israel. As Catholics we consider Sunday to be our Sabbath day. We, too, should remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.
Saint for Today: St. Paphnutius
Paphnutius (d. around 350) was an Egyptian who spent time studying with St. Antony, and who eventually was appointed bishop of Upper Thebaid. He was tortured by Emperor Maximus and the injuries he endured resulted in the loss of his right eye and difficulty walking. He also was forced into hard labor in the mines. After he was released and was able to return to his religious duties, he continued to speak out in support of the Catholic Church against the heresy of the Arians. He served as a member of the general council that was held in Nicaea in 325. He also attended the Council of Tyre in 335 and there earned the respect of the Bishop of Jerusalem. Paphnutius is remembered as a confessor, and we honor him on Sept. 11.
Puzzle
