When a person of interest makes his way through New York City, especially the President of Iran, people are going to watch. When Jesus went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, people were also watching Him quite carefully. What would He do? What would He say? Were there protesters? I’m sure there were. Where there supporters? I would guess that there were those too. You see, Jesus went to place where it would be assumed He was not welcome – the house of a Pharisee. Or, He went to a place where people would never expect Him to be – the house of a Pharisee. This would not be the first time Jesus would eat a meal with the Pharisees (11:37-53). This would not be the first time that the Pharisees apposed Him either (6:7-11 & 11:53).

Now, having protesters is about all that Jesus and the President of Iran have in common. As a matter of fact Ahmadinejad promotes a nationalistic religion that apposes the belief that Jesus is Lord – making it even illegal to be a Christian in Iran. More so we could probably compare this dictator to those Pharisees that “watched closely” every word and action that Jesus took. Ahmadinejad is only concerned about a god he can attain by working for his favor. He is only concerned about making sure he prays at the right time and that his expression of religion will be acceptable to God. So it was for the Pharisees.

They believed they could find favor in God’s eyes by simply keeping the law perfectly. They believed that God favored them to the common man because they were holy men who knew the law and made every effort to keep it pure. They were guardians, they believed, of God’s Word. They were the holy men that God put before all people and if they weren’t so holy everyone else would have a hard time keeping the law adequately. So they watched every move of Jesus.

And then Jesus did what they most certainly objected to. He performed a miracle on the Sabbath. According to the law, no one was to do any work on the Sabbath. You were not to do any work – even if your son or donkey fell into a well on that day. You leave them until the next day – the strictest interpretation of the law would say. For that reason, Jesus uses that very example. He knew – even though against the law – that they, in their heart of hearts, work to get their son or their donkey out of the well. Even if they didn’t do it, they would think it, and thus break the law. The Pharisees had no answer to the Lord’s questions.

What about all this work on the Sabbath Day? Does not working on the Sabbath have merit? Is it against the law of God?

You see, the Pharisees had one interpretation and the Lord Jesus had another. Our Lord shows us how this day of rest given over to the Lord is to be lived.

Jesus shows us in the Gospels how the Sabbath is to be observed. Jesus and the Disciples walked through grain fields and picked heads of grain and ate because they were hungry. They did this on the Sabbath and the Pharisees were mortified. Then, on the Sabbath again, Jesus heals a crippled woman. And now, in our text, he heals a man with dropsy (called edema today) on the Sabbath. Jesus shows us that it is not against the law to work on the Sabbath. That was a Pharisaical interpretation of the law. The Law in the Scripture never says this. The law is to “honor the Sabbath Day.” The law is not “Don’t work on the Sabbath Day.”

So, what can one do on the Sabbath? Well, there are works of necessity that can be done on the Sabbath. There are works of mercy that can be done on the Sabbath. If your son or daughter falls in the well, I don’t care what day it is, get them out! This is the Lord’s point. Human need will prevail. What good is the law if it not good for the people? Jesus asks in Mark chapter three, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” Of course it is to do good and to save lives. That’s what the Sabbath is for anyway. “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27)

But while the Pharisees where oh-so-wrong about the law in general and the Sabbath in particular, we too are inclined to misrepresent God’s Word. You see, none of us seem to have much of a problem kneeling before our Lord and admitting that we are poor miserable sinners. It’s the truth. But admitting such a thing when we are in the world with friends and family is something all together different. Sin is shameful. So, we always have excuses. These excuses are made to make our faults acceptable. I remember one person telling me that he keeps on living a life of sin, cheating on his family, because he was convinced that God would not want him to be unhappy. And this is what made him happy.

This may be an extreme case, but it’s the same with us. I just didn’t feel like it. I just couldn’t make it because… fill in the blank. We are filled with excuses. These are the same kind of excuses the Pharisees used to proclaim their superiority over just about everyone else. And besides, at least we aren’t as bad as that other guy – right?? At least I pray every once in a while. At least I hear God’s Word every now and then – right?? Oh how easy it is to be like the Pharisee.

We dare not make excuses or serve our own needs. We serve the needs of others. And that’s what Jesus would say is perfectly acceptable even on the Sabbath. Jesus heals on the Sabbath. Jesus picks food in the field on the Sabbath. Was such a work a necessity? Was such work to the Glory of God? Was it a work out of mercy? If yes, then work.

This Sunday we recognize the service of those in our church. Today, especially, the work of the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League is honored. Not that we don’t honor all mission work, but this organization has continued to do the Lord’s work serving many different congregations, organizations and countries all over the world. We are proud of the work they do. We are proud that they continue to make an effort to do God’s work each time they are given the opportunity.

But we would be remiss to forget that for 50 years now, Christ Lutheran Church has been doing the Lord’s Work in Parkville (for a short time) and in Platte Woods. The Word has been proclaimed and the Sacraments administered. The Lord has been placed before God’s people for a half century from generation to generation. God did not create a day where works giving glory to our Lord for the sake of the service of His people would ever be considered wrong.

Just the same, there is no day that it would ever be considered wrong, to praise our Lord for what He has done for us. In our works of service – for 50 years in this place – we have done so from the gift of life and faith won for us in Christ Jesus. We give thanks and serve Him and His Church because He was willing to pay the ultimate price for you and me on the cross. He marched up Golgotha, was nailed to that dreaded tree for the sake of your life today and for eternity. In Christ are our works of service. But in Christ is so much more for each of you today. In Christ is your life.

So heed the words of those who are often times not invited to speak. Listen to the one the world doesn’t want to hear from. But instead of that person being a known terrorist in New York City, let it be another voice that the world doesn’t want to listen to – the Lord’s voice. Hear and speak of the message of salvation, the forgiveness of sins – even when the world doesn’t want to hear of Him. Listen to the one who gives you life and share that life with others. It’s to be the voice of Jesus in our homes, in our communities and in our lives. His life is our life. Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen