According to the letter to the Colossians, Christ was the image of God and through Him, all things were created, sustained, and redeemed. In today's Colossians reading, Paul emphasized that Christ had made the Colossians holy and blameless before God, but they had to continue steadfastly in the faith - they had to continue in their faithfulness to Christ so that they would become spiritually mature. Earlier, Paul had reminded the Colossians that he was praying for them. This would have been a great consolation to them. It was indeed a sign of abiding care.

In the beginning of Luke chapter 6, we read the drama when Jesus was faced with questions about fasting and the observance of the Sabbath. Refraining from work on the Sabbath was an important part of the Mosaic Law. In this scenario, Jesus' disciples were hungry and although it was the Sabbath, they were plucking and eating some grain from the edges of the fields. When questioned by the Pharisees, Jesus mentioned the incident with David and his hungry men who took bread reserved for the priests to emphasize that the Sabbath is to sustain life, there are times where exceptions are permitted to preserve life. Then Jesus claimed the authority to interpret the law by saying, ''The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath." Compassion is superior. This claim to authority must have been surprising. What do you think about Jesus' claim?