Isaiah 38:1-6, 21-22, 7-8 / Matthew 12:1-8
The king Hezekiah that we heard about in the 1st reading is portrayed in the Bible as a great and good king. He is one of the few kings praised so highly as to have “trusted in the Lord the God of Israel; so that there was no one like him among all the kings of Judah after him, or among those who were before him” (2 Kings 18:5).
Among Hezekiah's first acts was the repair of the Temple, which had been closed during the reign of Ahaz, his father. He reorganized the services of the priests and Levites, purged the Temple and its vessels, and opened it with imposing sacrifices (2 Chronicles 29:3-36).
So why did he fell ill and was at the point of death and the prophet Isaiah even went to him to tell him to put his affairs in order for he was going to die?
Some sources had it that he was claiming credit for his religious reforms and boasting of his wealth, for which he was confronted by Isaiah the prophet (2 Kings 20:12-19).
Hezekiah lived another 15 more years of life after praying to God, and it was considered as a way for Hezekiah to purge his sins and his arrogance in assuming his righteousness.
Like Hezekiah we too may think that we are masters of our lives and we claim credit for our achievements and may even boast of our abilities.
It takes a serious illness and the possibility of death to make us realize that our lives are just so fragile and we are indeed nothing without God.
In the gospel, Jesus proclaims Himself as the master of the sabbath. In truth, the master of the sabbath is also the Lord and Master of life and of all creation.
May we humbly acknowledge who Jesus is and give Him thanks and praise and also to put our earthly affairs in order and into His hands so that He will always provide for us in our need.