Out Our Way: The Gospel According to Goliath

Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. They watched him to see whether he would cure him on the Sabbath, so they might accuse him. 

And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come forward.” Then he said to them, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save life or the kill?” But they were silent. He looked around at them with anger; he was grieved at their hardness of heart and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately conspired with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him. — Mark 3: 1 – 7

Out our way, it is approaching calving season. It doesn’t seem possible given the extremely mild winter we are having. The cattle are confused and Goliath tells me some of the older cows are checking the calendars, trying to figure out what is going on. They know that calves don’t get born during the day nor in good weather — but generally choose 3 a.m. and 30-below in a blizzard as their favorite time. Good grief! Will we see ranchers in shorts and sunglasses checking their cows from convertible quads next?

I am grateful that while Charley and I got to play cowboy quite a bit in our day, I never really had to be one. At least not the real deal that actually has to go pull calves in the dead of night out in the freezing prairie.

But I certainly know lots of those who do. For all the romantic Hollywood portrayals of the cowboy life, the real thing sometimes isn’t glamorous, fun, or convenient. But it is necessary.

Now, in the synagogue in today’s text, there were probably a number of farmers and shepherds who also dealt with the reality of rural life. While they honored the Sabbath day as holy and set apart — they also understood that sometimes their flocks needed their attention 24/7. Even the pain in the rear Pharisees acknowledged that there were times that caring for livestock required labor even on the Sabbath. They understood that an ox in the ditch should not be forced to suffer and wait 24 hours before being rescued — and breech birth had to be taken care of at once, regardless of time or day. Human beings were called to be caretaker of creation and needless suffering was simply not kosher.

But when it came to a man who was lame or with a withered hand, they did not have such compassion. And that is why Jesus was so angry. To show greater caring and love to a cow than to a neighbor was just unacceptable! And to do so in the Name of God was even worse!

Someone once noted that the greatest evils in human history have often been committed by the most religious people. For Satan delights in perverting the faith — into judgmentalism and self-righteousness. We may claim that it is the atheists and secularists who have perverted society and caused the loss of our cultural morals and ethics – but in truth, the blame lies more with ourselves. Darkness has no power or actual substance — it is merely the absence of light. We who are called to be the light bearers are the ones Christ holds accountable for when the shadows grow and threaten to overwhelm the world.

In this season of Lent — when we who claim to follow Christ are called to use these weeks for reflection and self-evaluation — let us consider the darkness of the world and ask ourselves what we are doing to turn on the lights.  

(John Bruington, Goliath and Scout can be found at http://www.havrepres.org.)