Voice: Ting Ai
Today is Monday, 25th of August. Take a moment to be still in His presence.
We pray:
Almighty and everlasting Father,
we thank you that you have brought us safely to the beginning of this day.
Keep us from falling into sin or running into danger;
order us in all our doings;
and guide us to do always what is right in your eyes:
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Psalm 71:17-22
17 O God, from my youth you have taught me,
and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.
18 So even to old age and gray hairs,
O God, do not forsake me,
until I proclaim your might to another generation,
your power to all those to come.
19 Your righteousness, O God,
reaches the high heavens.
You who have done great things,
O God, who is like you?
20 You who have made me see many troubles and calamities
will revive me again;
from the depths of the earth
you will bring me up again.
21 You will increase my greatness
and comfort me again.
22 I will also praise you with the harp
for your faithfulness, O my God;
I will sing praises to you with the lyre,
O Holy One of Israel.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as It was in the beginning, is
now, and shall be forever. Amen.
Mark 2:23-28
23 One Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and as they made their way, his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. 24 And the Pharisees were saying to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” 25 And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him: 26 how he entered the house of God, in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?” 27 And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”
This is the Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
Reflection
At the tips of your fingers
One can quite easily walk through a wheat field. The light stalks part as you pass, brushing against your waist and fingertips. As you move along, you can pluck the grains almost without thinking. It is no labor at all—hardly something you could call “work.”
If the disciples had broken the Sabbath law that day, it was by the slightest margin—just by the tips of their fingers. Yet the law is the law. Cross the line, however slightly, and you are judged as guilty. The irony of this moment should not be lost on us.
So the Pharisees confronted Jesus: “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”
Were the disciples guilty? Jesus did not answer them directly. Instead, He reminded them of the story in 1 Samuel 21, where David and his men ate the consecrated bread reserved only for priests. If even David, God’s chosen king, did this, what then? From that story Jesus declared:
“The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”
The Sabbath is perhaps Judaism’s greatest gift to the world: the command to rest. Once every seven days, God calls us to stop our labor, to join in worship, and to share life with family and community.
If Sabbath were only a law, breaking it would be as easy as brushing grain from its stalk. But that is not why God gave it. The Sabbath was never meant to enslave us; it was meant to bless us.
Jesus Himself would go on to fulfill the law, making the true blessings of the Sabbath available to all. For Christians, our day of worship and rest flows out of this Sabbath principle. It is no longer a legal burden. In Christ, we do not “break” the Sabbath—but we are invited to live out its blessing.
For some, this may fall on a Sunday; for others, perhaps on another day of the week. What matters is not the rule but the rhythm: rest, worship, and community.
When you honor life as God designed it, you will not live with regret. The gift is right there—at your fingertips. Reach out, and take hold of it.
In closing we pray:
You have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you. Amen.
(St. Augustine in his book, Confessions)
In closing, be blessed by this song, Song for the Sabbath
written by Hilary Lim
performed by Calvin Gan
Can we lay our burdens down
Lose our striving to be found
By the One who bears our load
Can we let our plans fall through
Walk another mile or two
With a stranger on the road
Our Father feeds the sparrows
The hours and times are His
We can leave the land to rest
For He gives what we need today
We can live with open hands
To bless the ones who come our way
Come our way
Can we give until it hurts
Love our neighbour in the dirt
Of the brokenness we share
Can we turn the other cheek
Be gentle with the weak
Live more humbly than we dare
We’re seeds that live by dying
Our Father makes us grow
We can leave the land to rest
For He gives what we need today
We can live with open hands
To bless the ones who come our way
Come our way
Link to today’s Morning Office
About This Daily Devotion
This weekday devotion is drawn from the Morning Office and is part of a project initiated by Revd Canon Terry Wong, with contributions from clergy and members across various parishes. Each entry includes selected readings from the appointed Psalm and another Scripture passage, accompanied by a reflection and prayer. An audio option is also available, often ending with a hymn or song. We encourage you to both read and listen.
Our aim is to help Anglicans engage more deeply with our rich liturgical tradition, while meeting the devotional needs of today’s believers. This project began on Ash Wednesday 2025 and is offered on weekdays only.
For feedback, please write to us at info@mpcc.org.sg
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