Reading and meditation on the Word of God on Monday of the 23rd week in ordinary time, September 7, 2026

Delivered by Margareth Eviani and Wilhelma Nadya Kristianna from Saint Peter's School Kelapa Gading, Jakarta Utara, in the Archdiocese of Jakarta, Indonesia. 1 Corinthians 5: 1-8; Rs psalm 5: 5-6.7.12; Luke 6: 6-11.BECAUSE OF THE SABBATH  The theme for our meditation today is: Because of theSabbath. In the theory of psychology of communication there are two opposingsystems on how people engage in communication, namely centripetal andcentrifugal. When something that is used or spoken that cause people to moveaway from one another physically and in understanding or thought, it is calledcentrifugal system of communication. Whereas the instruments used or somethingbeing discussed that bring people to come together and create togetherness, thisis called centripetal system of communication. We can use this perspective also when we think andspeak about the Sabbath day which became a source of conflict in the work ofJesus Christ among His own people Israel. For the Pharisees and the scribes,the concept and observance of the Sabbath day itself was centripetal. They wereso united as the Sabbath was seen as the most powerful law and must be strictlyobserved. On the other hand, when their concept and honor for the Sabbath wasbeing confronted with Jesus Christ, the reality became centrifugal. Jesus could not sit together and befriend them on thebasis of this particular point. From the spiritual view point, there was a biggap between them and Jesus. Likewise from the social and physical view points,there was a very strong conflict between them and ultimately culminated in thedeath sentence put upon Jesus Christ because he was accused for desecrating theSabbath day. Because of that Sabbath, a line was drawn to separate the Jewishreligion on the one side, and Jesus Christ with His mission for establishingthe kingdom of God on earth on the other. Because of that Sabbath, we who arechosen to be members of this Kingdom, do not live our faith under the light ofhuman laws, but we are guided by the Law of the Lord Jesus Christ, namely thelaw of love. The Sabbath law had a very worldly motivation. Therewas indeed a hidden mafia conspiracy made by people who wanted to politicizereligion for their temporal gains only. But we as the followers of Christ havefaith in God, that we do not worship the Lord based of human desires ortemporal motivation. We the followers of Christ are always taught to havefaithfulness and commitment to become persons who are growing more andmore  in loving God and loving neighborswith all our hearts and minds. If a follower of Christ loves God with all his heart,then his acts of worship are surely become integral part of that love. If heloves others with all his sincerity and generous heart, then this act of lovebecomes a concrete and living worship to the Lord. He becomes a new person, whois not bound by the old yeast, but the new leaven of all goodness and truth.Let'spray. In the name of the Father ... O most loving God, with the help of Yourword, may we be more faithful to You in our words and deeds. Hail Mary, full ofgrace ... In the name of the Father ...