Saturday, March 3, 2012

Which Law Are We Talking About?

HK Stewart

Mark 2:23-3:6
This passage in Mark comes after Jesus has been talking about new wineskins for new wine. With old wineskins -- old ways of thinking, old ways of seeing -- the skins will fail, and the wine will be lost. In today’s passage, Jesus is showing his listeners how to think differently about the law. New wineskins for a new way of thinking and behaving. He reminds them -- and us -- that the law is a blueprint for living a blessed life. It is not a tool for one group to use to condemn another.

For Jesus, the law is a way of seeing the Divine in all creation. “The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath” (Mark 3:27). He understood how fruitful the law can be when it guides us deeper into God. He also understood how frightful the law can be when it drives us deeper into fear. By the end, Jesus may get credit for restoring a man’s hand, but he also feels grieved at the narrow-mindedness of those in fearful control.

How many times do we not feel grieved at our own narrow-mindedness when the law drives us deeper into fear? How many times do we not feel restored when the law guides us deeper into God?

Prayer: Lord, free us from the fear that divides and guide us toward the joy of knowing you more fully. Amen.

HK Stewart is a Presbyterian elder and member of Westover Hills Presbyterian Church in Little Rock, Arkansas. He has a BA in English and journalism and an MFA in creative writing. HK writes a daily spiritual blog entitled “Christian Taoism” and has recently begun conducting retreats on creative spirituality. You may find out more about HK and his work at:

Christian Taoism and Gift Spiritual Retreat.

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