Ezekiel 37:9-14, Luke 6:6-11

What Gives Us Life

“I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath, to do good or to do evil? To save a life or to destroy it?” Last week, Pastor Pamela spoke in her sermon about the practice of Sabbath, the day of rest which recalls God’s rest on the seventh day, after the creation of the world. Observation of the Sabbath is an integral part of the Jewish faith. In fact, it is one of the ten commandments: “Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy”.

While the rest of the week may have consisted of hard labor, economic exchange, and domestic chores, the Sabbath was a day to pause and recognize our dependence upon God. Meals are prepared in advance and people gather for worship in the synagogue. The act of “doing” anything challenges the premise of Sabbath rest. On one occasion, Jesus’ disciples were criticized for the simple act of plucking grain to have a bite to eat. Perhaps it would have been better for them to go hungry.

Today, we each face a different ethical dilemma: do we stock up on supplies so we don’t have to make several trips to the grocery store? Or does that deprive others of the resources they may need? Do we put ourselves and others at risk by going out more often? And we recognize that it is a privilege to even ask the question while some are required to go to work in these conditions, risking exposure to the virus daily.

“Which is lawful, to do good or to do evil?”

And what happens when our inaction perpetrates evil? What does the law have to say about that?

It is crucial to note that Jesus is not rejecting the Sabbath. Jesus is partaking in a long-standing Rabbinic tradition of questioning and interpreting the law. God’s law for us is occasionally challenged by our circumstances and we must face the task of questioning and interpreting. Today, we find ourselves wondering how we can best honor God with our worship when our gatherings are no longer face-to-face but screen-to-screen. We find ourselves debating how to celebrate communion or proclaim resurrection at Easter.

“Which is lawful, to do good or to do evil? To save a life or destroy it?” Jesus is a master of rhetorical questions. We know the answer from scripture. “Turn from evil and do good, seek peace and pursue it.” These words do not cease to stand on the Sabbath. And Jesus’ contemporaries knew this. There are records of the Jewish tradition of pikuach nefesh, or “saving a life” which date two centuries prior to Jesus’ ministry. According to pikuach nefesh, the preservation of human life overrides virtually any other religious rule. So while it is possible that the community was divided on this standard for interpretation, Jesus certainly wasn’t the first to suggest that saving a life should be lawful on the Sabbath. 

Yet the leaders were still furious. Couldn’t Jesus have simply waited a day to heal the man with the shriveled hand? Surely this disability wasn’t a matter of life and death!

But Jesus healed him in the sight of the crowd, knowing full well that there could be consequences. After all, the leaders were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus. They were waiting for him to slip up. And in our Lenten journey to the cross, we remember that for every person who Jesus healed and saved, there were others who resented his power and compassion. To them, Jesus was an interruption. He was a virus, spreading through the land, and they were furious. They began to discuss what they might do to Jesus. 

And spoiler alert: it didn’t involve saving a life but destroying it.

I wonder about the man with the shriveled hand and the countless others who encountered the real presence of God in Jesus. How so many people had seen them as expendable, as non essential– but Jesus saw them as precious lives worth saving. How they were transformed by the mercy and love of Jesus! And my heart longs to know this same saving love.

My friends, we are in the valley of dry bones. Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost, and we are cut off completely. Cut off from our usual sources of joy and support and entertainment. Cut off from our patterns of community and work and school. Cut off from the systems we have idolized for so long, in which we have put our faith. As we watch these idols fall, now is the time that we see that we need God the most. We have seen our government fail. We have seen corporations fail. Facing this crisis with our human strength alone, I am certain we will fall to despair.

But with the strength of God, we will be raised up from these graves and we shall live! God is breathing a new Spirit into this land. Brothers, sisters, and siblings in Christ, as we feel our breath now more than ever, our Lord is closer to us than our very breath. Our God is the God of resurrection hope, the God of all good, conquering evil, and our promise of salvation, trampling down death by death and giving life even to dry bones.

So as we face this pandemic together, let us hold close to what gives us life. Let us breathe in the Spirit of God. And may the wisdom of God be with us to do good and save lives in all that we do. Amen.