Today's Thoughts - 01/17/2017

Today’s Thoughts: In reflecting on the readings today two themes struck me about our faith. The first is continuity, the consistency of God. In the Letter to the Hebrews we are reminded that God has made an oath with us, that he will be with us forever. This is a consistent theme throughout scripture. It is a ray of hope, God will not forget us, and God will not leave us. God will be with us always. We can count on it. We can take it to the bank. We might not understand why God continues to hang around with everything humankind seems to do to chase God away, but God will always be with us!
 
The second theme is that of change. If something is alive that also means change. Jesus in the Gospel to the horror of the Pharisees indicates that things are not always going to remain the same. Change is in the air. The Sabbath was made for humankind, not humankind for the Sabbath. Jesus is asking people to look at their faith differently. The Sabbath came into being to help humankind take time to focus on God. But the Sabbath is not greater than the needs of people. In other words, the actions, the rituals, the customs, the reality of the Sabbath is not what is most important, it is people and their relationship with God. On a side note I wish we would understand this about our own rituals and practices!
 
Life means changes and as we go through life the things that connect us with God are going to change, take on different forms and different importance but God's commitment to us, God covenant with us will never change! Two of God's great gifts to us Life and Hope are always guiding us, always nourishing us.
 
Have a great Tuesday everyone!