The Upper Room Daily Devotional Nashville, Tennessee, United States “Keeping the Sabbath" for Wednesday, 25 February 2015 - Scripture: Mark 2:23 One Shabbat Yeshua was passing through some wheat fields; and as they went along, his talmidim began picking heads of grain. 24 The P’rushim said to him, “Look! Why are they violating Shabbat?” 25 He said to them, “Haven’t you ever read what David did when he and those with him were hungry and needed food? 26 He entered the House of God when Evyatar was cohen gadol and ate the Bread of the Presence,” — which is forbidden for anyone to eat but the cohanim — “and even gave some to his companions.” 27 Then he said to them, “Shabbat was made for mankind, not mankind for Shabbat; 28 So the Son of Man is Lord even of Shabbat.”
3:1 Yeshua went again into a synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. 2 Looking for a reason to accuse him of something, people watched him carefully to see if he would heal him on Shabbat. 3 He said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Come up where we can see you!” 4 Then to them he said, “What is permitted on Shabbat? Doing good or doing evil? Saving life or killing?” But they said nothing. 5 Then, looking them over and feeling both anger with them and sympathy for them at the stoniness of their hearts, he said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” As he held it out, it became restored. 6 The P’rushim went out and immediately began plotting with some members of Herod’s party how to do away with him.
[Jesus] said to [the Pharisees], “The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath.”[Mark 2:27 (NRSV)]
We were headed to church one Sunday morning when my dad made a turn in the opposite direction. I asked where we were going, and he told me we were going to worship God in a different way that day. Always up for something new, I was excited about this adventure. He explained that we were on our way to visit hisfriend’s grandmother. Since his friend had moved away there was really no family to visit with her. For the next hour we sat in a small apartment that had a distinct musty odor, spending time with a deeply appreciative and lonely woman. When the visit was over, we left with a promise from my dad to return.
That happened over 30 years ago. After that initial visit, my dad continued to regularly visit this woman. He would converse with her, fix small things, and sometimes help with grocery shopping, if needed.
My dad showed me another among many ways to worship God and taught me that worship does not have to be limited to a church service. Worship in church is important because it is done in a community that loves God and wants to express that love. That is exactly what my father and I did when we visited this woman. We shared God’s love with her. It is the same lesson that Christ demonstrated; helping those in need is always a good option.
The Author: Matthew L. Reger (Ohio, USA)
Thought for the Day: What is a new way I can worship God today?
Prayer: Dear God, help us to keep the Sabbath in our deeds by remembering that we are to love others because you first loved us. Amen.
Prayer focus: People who are homebound
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