‘Sabbath for Man’ threshold

Jesus: ‘The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.”

It is possible to read in these words a teaching similar to the one held in Zen:
the boat is used to cross the river.

There is no point in carrying it on our back once we have reached the other shore.

Rituals only have meaning if they help lead the practitioner beyond/through the world and themselves.
From the moment rituals, beliefs, practices, recitations stand between man and the center, it is skillful to get out of it.

Jesus says: When David was hungry, he entered the temple on the Sabbath and ate the consecrated bread.

Behind the Sabbath, for which Jesus teaches us that it is “made for man”, there are also the beliefs, the representation of the traditions that we go through.
Having reached a certain degree, they can hold us back on the path, weigh us down, as long as we weigh them down with our tensions.

These tensions are also symptomatic of a blockage on the path.
Being accompanied is then necessary to help the man unclench his fists and jaws, to confront, to welcome the attachment to the props and beliefs,
The quality of the master will be noted in his ability to gauge whether the disciple is ripe for this shedding, whether he has walked beyond the threshold of: “the Sabbath is made for man,” and considered the level of usefulness of these beliefs and rituals on the path of the man in question.

Do not remove them too hastily lest he is no longer being able to continue.

The accompanying person can also cleverly keep such props available in order to present them when the user falters like a father teaching his youngest child to ride a 2-wheel bike: framing him with his hands without touching him, and always ready to catch him in case he loses his balance.

©FJ April 2024
Recueils / Participation/ Groupe De Pratique