“Do Not Be Enslaved By Man-made Laws!”

“Do Not Be Enslaved By Man-made Laws!”
Humans are intricate beings, proned to making simple things become complicated. In Chinua Achebe’s “Arrow of God” there was a year when people almost died of hunger, even when the yams were ready for harvest in every farm.
After each year’s yam harvest Ezeulu the priest had to select 12 healthy yams and keep aside as sacred. At the sighting of a new moon he had to roast one yam and eat. It was expected that by the time he ate the twelfth yam, he will announce the yam festival which opened the way for the new ripe and ready crops to be harvested.
In this particular year a clash with colonial and missionary imposition caused him to miss out on seeing one of the new moons because he was locked up by the colonial administration.
When he was released he tied himself down to waiting to see a new moon before eating the last yam. As a result of this people were in a state of famine; to the extent where many went stealthily and harvested their yams. People became thieves in their own farms, they stole their own crops!
The priest imprisoned himself in a religious law that was made for man. Seeing the moon and eating one yam was just a way to keep count to know the right harvest period.
Ezeulu was not different from the Pharisees who in their zeal to meticulously observe the Sabbath day failed to do the good that the Sabbath was intended for.
Jesus drove home this timeless truth, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” There was nothing wrong if passing through the grainfields on the Sabbath his hungry disciples picked some grains and ate. In the same way David once entered the house of God and ate consecrated bread that was lawful only for priests to eat (Cf. I Sam.21:1-6). In both instances godly men did what was forbidden. But lives were saved since hunger can kill.
Jesus ended up by telling the Pharisees that he is Lord over everything including the Sabbath (Mk.2:23-28). If Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath he can directly or indirectly change the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday. Each day is as important as the other. What is needed is to keep it holy by doing good; especially any good that is life-enhancing or life-saving!
The resurrection of Jesus took place after the Sabbath day. The early believers called it the Lord’s Day. Even though those early believers still observed the Sabbath, they “came together to break bread” “on the first day of the week” (Acts 20:7). Paul also asked the Corrinthians to do what he told the Galatian churches: “On the first day of the every week, each of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income…” (I Cor.16:2). This is likely how Sunday became the Christian Sabbath. Whichever day it is, what is bound on earth is accepted in heaven. What is important is to do good and be good even on the Sabbath!
Weekend prayer: Holy Spirit help me to keep the Sabbath holy through life-enhancing action. Amen!
Have a blessed day weekend! Peace be with you!