A Technicality - More Seeds of Hope for Lent

Today’s story seed is A Technicality From the Gospel of John chapter 5, verse 16 …the Jews began to persecute Jesus because he did this on a sabbath. A company put out an internal request for proposals. They were looking to expand their market share and wanted to see what ideas their employees could offer. They would select up to three ideas to be implemented that year. Anyone who had a winning idea would receive a substantial bonus at the end of the year. There were more than 1,000 people who worked for this company, and many of them were excited by the offer. The proposals were to be hand delivered in paper form to a designated manager of the effort. There were dozens that came in. One person had a brilliant idea that showed tremendous potential, but when she went to hand deliver the proposal, the manager was away at lunch, so she left it in his mailbox. He found it and put it with others. When the reviewers read the proposals, that one stood out. Everyone saw that it indeed could make the company substantial profits, but there was a problem. The very people reviewing the proposals might lose their jobs because of a suggested streamlining of production. They discussed this and decided that this proposal could not be considered because it had been delivered not by hand but left in a mailbox, something that was clearly against the published rules. They were firm in their decision. To protect themselves further, from that day, they began to find a way to force the woman out of the company who had submitted the proposal. In today’s scripture, Jesus healed a man who had been ill for 38 years, but this happened on the Sabbath. Yet, what an amazing miracle. Jesus told him to get up and carry his mat. And he did! The Jews who witnessed this cured man carrying his mat aren’t interested in the cure. They are upset that he has broken the law and was doing work on the Sabbath. Where do you fall in this story? Are you like the cured man? Or are you a stickler for details and take the side that no work should be done on the sabbath. That’s the law. End of story. Break the rules and face the consequences. Or is there something more going on here? Is this about control? Jesus can’t be controlled by the law which is clearly written so he must be stopped? This Lenten season, are you fasting because you are supposed to fast? Are you following the law simply because that’s what you are supposed to do? Would you even consider not fasting on a fast day? Perhaps fasting on a day that you are not required to fast? Let’s remember that our God is not about technicalities. Yes, little things matter. Following the rules matter, but there is something more important. Jesus shows us that following the Holy Spirit, bringing good to the world, is even more important. That’s a message that has been hand delivered, although some of you may have received it in your email box. Now let’s take 30 seconds to water the seed… What rules get in the way of you drawing closer to God?