Is it lawful?
That's the question that Jesus starts with in today's Gospel. He asks the question whether it is lawful to do good on the sabbath instead of evil.
On the surface, this is a no-brainer. The Pharisees know the answer, but they say nothing. Why? Because anything they say will show how far from the covenant they have strayed. Their own words will betray them.
Jesus isn't really concerned about the Law. The Law is there to protect against the exploitation and abuses the Israelites experienced in Egypt. Every law was directed toward protecting the dignity and unique identity of the person.
But the Pharisees have turned the Law into a noose. Rather than liberate, the Law has become a weapon of enslavement. The hard-won freedom of the Israelites, from Egypt, from the Philistines (first reading), and others, is forgotten.
Do we live our Catholic faith with freedom, or with enslavement? Do we create arbitrary rules and expectations on others (you MUST pray the Rosary every day...you MUST genuflect on both knees before the exposed Sacrament [even though it was supressed in 1976!]....you MUST forbid the use of inclusive language when you are free to do so), rather than allowing the rules and expectations to protect the faithful's freedom in the Gospel?
The Gospel of the Kingdom is liberty. The Sacraments are our freedom's song.
Are we singing the song of freedom?
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