The first weeks of the school year are a familiar hustle, like stepping back onto the trusty treadmill. My feet know the steps, and I settle into a rhythm with much more rigor than summer vacation. Working in a Catholic, college preparatory high school, the pace is palpable in the drive of our students, their families, and my colleagues, all of us ready to take on the year and do great things. Deadlines, the pull toward perfectionism, and a brisk pace of professional and personal responsibilities offer a clear and rigid routine. If I’m not careful, though, this rigor tends dangerously toward auto-pilot, inflexibility, and a lack of awareness of the world beyond my own.

Whether ruled by rules or the hustle or whatever causes our personal blinders to draw us inward, today’s gospel invites us to consider the intention behind the routines and guidelines of our lives: are they serving us, our families, our communities? Are we making time to connect with God each day? Do we notice the world around us as we keep the tempo of our daily responsibilities?

The Sabbath is a moment to realign our lives: to pause, make space for reflection, connect with our communities and families, and turn our hearts and minds toward Jesus who is “lord of the Sabbath.” Stepping out of the routine or back from the rules allows us to practice a bit of flexibility, see the needs of others, and to nourish ourselves in ways we might otherwise neglect. Then, strengthened by the Sabbath and returning to our routines, we do so with a bit more perspective, openness, and balance than before.