Sabbath and Sour Cream

Prayer of Preparation

Sabbath and Sour Cream

Sunday Scriptures from the  Narrative Lectionary:

Psalm 92

Luke 6:1-16

I have a family member who lives far away and who I only see at weddings and funerals. Years ago, we were gathered in someone’s house following one or the other, I don’t remember which. She had two young boys, and the three of them at one point were in a surprisingly heated discussion over sour cream. The kids wanted a bite of sour cream. She insisted that sour cream was not something one “had a bite” of. “It is a topping,” she said.

Sour cream, in her mind, was defined not by its taste, but by how she understood its function. “It is a topping.” Sour cream is also used in many baked goods, casseroles, soups. Not a topping there. Granted, I’ve not seen it scooped onto a plate and served like ice cream, but “topping” is a little restrictive of sour cream’s possibilities.

My grandmother, who would have been in that room were she still alive, would have given those two boys (assuming they were not allergic to dairy products!) a small bite of sour cream and sent them on their way.  She had a different understanding of how to interact with children. It was always focused on the child. That did not mean that she gave children anything that they wanted. It meant that she was focused on the child.

The sour cream incident was one that I overheard. I never asked the mother what the “scoop” was over the sour cream. She may have had a perfectly good reason for insisting it was a topping. I don’t know. And moms are under tremendous pressure and I certainly do not want to pick on mothers. She is not a “bad mom” because she considered sour cream a topping.

Yet, thinking more broadly, the contrast in approach of two women with children can be helpful as we consider Luke 6.

The “sour cream” here is the Law. What does it require? And, who decides? Our interactions are formative of one another. And they reveal a lot about our understandings of ourselves and how we relate to others.

We have three separate accounts that Luke provides us in these 16 verses. They are not chronological. They are issues Jesus faced in his ministry. Luke introduces the first two of these events very generally – “One Sabbath,” for example. Fred Craddock says, “Not only honesty in reporting dictated this procedure but also the need to allow readers to come to informed decisions about Jesus and their relation to him” (Craddock, 73).

Here is what happened. . . what do you think? How will you respond to Jesus?

The Law had multiple purposes. Among them, it was to remind people that they were in covenantal relationship with God (love God) and it was for the wellbeing of the community (love neighbor). It also was to create a community of God’s people that were distinctly different from everyone else.

Looking at Sabbath, the point of contention here, Sabbath was designed to point people to God (the Lord’s Day), to care for neighbor (give rest and refreshment to everyone, a day of renewal of body, mind and spirit), and that this community had a Sabbath distinguished them from every community that did not. They were distinctly different people.

The two Sabbath stories are incidents in Jesus’ life where he is in conflict with the religious authorities about what is faithful. What is central to piety and to identity as God’s people?

In the first incident, the disciples are not accused of stealing because it was permissible to eat from a field while traveling (Deut. 23:25). The “charge” was the “work” – harvesting (plucking grains) and threshing (rubbing the grains in their hands). In response, Jesus cites a time in the life of David (1 Sam. 21:1-6). “Extreme human need, hunger, made a claim prior to that of sacred ritual” (Craddock, 82).

Jesus here is not an outsider looking into this religious system. He is very much a part of it. Rather than being so different from the Pharisees, he has a lot in common with them. And yet, one group sees boundaries and restrictions as the main function of the Law. Jesus sees the Law as being put into place to support the flourishing of life – particularly the life of those who are poor or marginalized (Luke 4:18-19). He boldly states that he is the Lord of the Sabbath. Jesus determines where, when and how these sabbath laws apply.

That is a lot of power. To define the rules and how they are implemented. The implications of such power are something that we see impacting lives and wellbeing every day. Which makes the second story critically important. The Lord of the Sabbath doesn’t wield authority for his own sake. His authority is for the sake of the world that God loves, for the love of neighbor.

The second story is also on a Sabbath. This time, the setting is a synagogue. In the synagogue, Luke tells us, was a man with a withered hand – a human need. The scribes and Pharisees were watching, Luke tells us, to see what Jesus would do.

Craddock astutely notes,

“Jesus poses the issue so as to make inactivity before human need no real option at all.

One will be doing something: to act is to do good (save life); to refuse to act is to do evil (destroy life).

The choice is not whether to do or whether to not do but what will I do?” (Craddock, 82)

What choice does Jesus make? To heal the man, to act, to save life. It is never the wrong day to help another.

From there we go to a different kind of account. Luke reminds us that Jesus’ life and ministry moves in and on a life of prayer. This is a night of prayer. Coming out of this night, Jesus chooses 12 people out of his group of disciples to serve as apostles. Several are fishermen. One was a tax collector. There is Simon Peter and Simon the Zealot (could be religious, could be political), Judas who would betray, and others.

Jesus chooses them. And they, it seems, agreed to follow him.

The way of Jesus leads to the cross, to self-giving love poured out for others.

Do you count yourself among the followers?

If so, what will you do?

 
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Works Cited:

Fred Craddock. Luke. Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching. Westminster John Knox Press: Louisville, 1990.

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