My Soul Finds Rest In God Alone

Col 1:24-2:3
Luke 6:6-11

We all know that in Jesus’ time, the Jewish tradition strongly emphasized keeping the Sabbath because only a few hundred years earlier, the Jewish people had been exiled from their land for disobeying God’s laws. Based on this, they are careful to break the laws and they scrupulously observe its ordinances. It is only a case of life-threatening situations that healing and works were permitted. So why would Jesus heal a withered right hand on the Sabbath day which is considered to be a day of rest?

We all know that St. Luke composed his gospel to an audience, that included Jewish Christians, but primarily for Gentile converts and other marginalized peoples. They were the ones who needed to hear about Jesus and his Christological affirmation. They were the ones who needed to understand the Jewish traditions in the light of the gospel of Christ.

At the beginning of Christ’s public ministry, we hear him read the scriptures from Isaiah’s passage, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor…” (Is.  61:1). Then Christ pronounces that this scripture has been fulfilled in the synagogue community hearing. (Luke 4:21).

No wonder, the Lord tells us he is the Lord of the Sabbath. He could heal a withered right hand on the Sabbath day and in the synagogue. He has the authority to interpret the law because he came to fulfill it. He tells us in Scripture that, “what I seek is mercy… I have come for the sinners and not the righteous. Luke 5:32; Mathew 9:13.

Truth be told, we all need rest, true rest from the distractions and anxiety of this world. True rest is found in God especially when we have quiet time to be with Him. It is then we can understand Christ calling us to proclaim the good news to the poor, and needy, and those souls and hearts may have withered by life situations.

Scripture tells us that Christ has become for us wisdom from God (1 Cor. 1:30). So what we really need is the Lord Jesus Himself. We need to stand up! Stand out! and stretch out our hands towards Him. We need to lean on Him and draw close to Him daily. He is our wisdom and only He can cause us to always be at the right place at the right time. He alone can remove our shame and clothe us with salvation.

It gives me joy, therefore, to know that the Lord can deliver us from any King of distress and trouble. He is ready to go through all kinds of trouble that we face just to save us. That is why the psalmist tells us today that, in God is my safety and glory…You can trust him at all times. Find rest in God through prayer.

Fr Joseph Osho