Text: Luke 6:1-12

What’s the difference between a lawyer and God?

God doesn’t think he’s a lawyer. 

The implication is, of course, that lawyers are too big for their britches; think they’re God, or at least gods. Lawyers have always been the butt of jokes like this, targets for our hatred and derision.  But I’d like to begin with a defense of legal experts, who along with Pharisees, are the foils of Jesus in this tale.  These leaders along with the legal experts have often received the brunt of the Gospel readers’ disdain.  But I bet many of of us know a few lawyers and they’re not that bad! In fact, we even like them!

In all seriousness, though, this is one of the stories that gives Pharisees the reputation for being hard-liners and haters.  Their words and actions here are usually interpreted as purely malicious.  But I learned a thing this week.  These Pharisees and scholars are being legalistic, sure, but they’re not trying to be God – or even gods – they’re trying to protect the integrity of God’s people and God’s guidelines for faithful living.

Unlike the priests and scribes – another much maligned group in scripture – this group of folks are the ones who basically create the means for a practice of Judaism outside of the temple. In a social structure where the synagogue is not just a religious center but is also a combo community center and town hall, Pharisees convene and create order in that space.  

They communicate and discern how to follow the Torah.  They debate with each other the best way to follow the Torah. Perhaps like contemporary civic leaders might debate over how to implement and interpret statutes and ordinances. Except it’s also wrapped up in faithfulness and religious integrity.

Rabbis and scholars sometimes talk about the reasoning behind all those Old Testament/Torah legalisms as placing fences around the law.  You take a central value or practice that’s the law itself – “You shall remember the Sabbath and keep it holy,” for example – and then there are fence-laws that are built up around that central value to really keep people away from even the possibility of violating that central practice.  That might be the list of all the things are and are not allowed on the sabbath day. That’s the velvet rope around the Ten Commandment statue.

When you ride the light rail in Seattle you’ll hear an occasional announcement that goes something like this: Please stay behind the yellow textured strip until the train has come to a complete stop.  This isn’t because something automatically changes when you stand at the edge of the platform.  

Once you cross that line, it’s easier to trip, get bumped, sneeze and lose your balance just as the train is arriving and that’s how injuries happen.  Or like a household rule of no playing ball inside the house. It’s not because it’s inherently bad to throw or kick a ball around but because it only takes one errant throw or missed catch hitting the TV and then nobody of us can watch Bob’s Burgers or play Mario Kart.

For these Pharisees, following the law is a public good.  They and their community are in covenant with God, their Creator.  One person’s violation of the law does harm to the entire community’s relationship and covenant.  For them following Torah law was a public health issue. With RFK in the hot seat for secretary of health, vaccines are being debated again, but most health experts agree that getting a vaccine keeps both yourself and others safe from serious infection. A community good.

Like public health experts, who continue to test the science and debate and provided updated measures, the Pharisees are always what and where the fences should be. They’re building fences behind the fences. 

 Jesus stepped into this debate as a student of Jewish Torah and teacher of Jewish disciples – a dozen of whom are named and chosen at the end of the story. Like the experts who challenged him, Jesus challenged back with a deep understanding of scripture and history.  His challenge invites the lawyers to take down the posts and barbed wire and remember what and who Sabbath is for.

I don’t think I’ve preached much about Sabbath in our congregation.  But it’s a foundational concept of our scripture. Literally built into creation. In Christian practice, Sabbath is not the literal seventh day.  But we do continue to recognize, as noted in the litany of creation, that God created the Sabbath as a gift to the earth and its inhabitants.  Humans are created on the sixth day and their very first of the world is of sabbath rest. 

The rest of Hebrew scripture – including the laws that govern community life – are central. A rhythm that gives structure to life, to the economy, to religious practice, to the household.

While some contemporary Jews do continue to be quite strict about Sabbath interpretation, for many – and for most Christians – Sabbath can be about a particular day but also about the integration of Sabbath values into the everyday. 

It is a rhythm, a practice, a time of restoration, repair and return. And the Sabbath commandment in the decalogue (that is, the ten commandments) explicitly names children, servants, non-citizens, even animals. It is truly intended to be holistic. It is space for connection to the earth, to community and to God. The Pharisees were rightly, pretty keen on maintaining this set-aside and holy time.  So it was pretty important to them to maintain those fences.

There’s no doubt that Jesus is stirring the pot a little trying to break down some barriers.  But his priorities are also community, and connection with the Divine.  In fact, he reminds his audience that he is the authority on the Divine.  

His prioritizing his community means that the only good fence is one that has a gate.  And over the gate there’s a sign that’s sort of like those signs that say, “Enter only if bearing tacos.”  Except instead of ‘tacos’ it would say, “Only enter if intent on life-giving and community building.” (that’s just not as catchy – or delicious.)

So healing a deformed hand? Yeah, that brings life, brings wholeness.  Food for hungry people? Yes! Tacos even. (Tacos especially, but grain or bread of presence will do.) God wants the hungry to eat.  Will something restore the spiritual and physical health of people, earth and community?  Then enter the Sabbath gate. Come on in!

This was an important story to early Christians – some of whom were Jewish and some of whom were not – reading this because they were trying to figure out what Sabbath meant in light of Jesus.  Hearing Jesus’ interpretation of law also gave them freedom to understand Sabbath in ways that had less to do with a specific time and date, or with Jewish culture and custom – and more to do with the value at the center of the fences.

It can be an important story for us both because of the reminders about how to keep Sabbath and because of the way we can think about the fences we also put up and whether they need gates.  We liberal, progressive, west-coast mennonites might not think ourselves as legalistic or rule-bound.  We’re free spirits!

Leadership Council was talking more about how we approach our giving to MCC this week. I too have been prayerful about it. MCC is well beloved to me, a part of my life since I was literally in the womb. I think it’s one of those things so beloved to Mennonites that we put fences around it so that it cannot be touched or challenged. And I wonder what gates could be opened so that mercy and healing could happen?

It is painful for me to think of this organization that I love being a part of doing harm, or ignoring harm to people serving on its behalf. It is also painful for me to hear from people who have been harmed. I believe that as an organization and as a Mennonite body, our life in community will be strengthened if and when harm is truly acknowledged and repaired. 

I am definitely not offering an answer but I am offering an affirmation.  I celebrate that Jesus favors fences with gates.  I affirm seeking good and not evil, to give life and not do harm.  I celebrate that Sabbath – and with it wholeness and restoration – are still the values that we are guarding.  And I pray that we may continue to find a way into Sabbath life.

Amen.

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