Not A Lot Of Oxen At Wal-Mart Today...

I used to tell a joke every now and again (and still do, whenever the situation arises...). It goes like this:

How do you tell the active Mormons from the inactive Mormons?

The active Mormons wear their Sunday clothes when they go shopping on Sunday at Smiths.

For those of you not familiar with culture in Utah, Smiths is a local grocery store chain that's open 24-hours a day, and Mormons are the predominant religion. One of the many things that make Mormons different is a recommendation not to do any shopping on Sundays. We're supposed to have all those things done on other days.

But there's always the parable of the "Ox in the Mire" to consider.

The exception comes from a story in Luke, chapter 14, verses 1-6. Basically, Jesus heals the sick on the sabbath. He's called on it, and here's what happened:

"And [He] answered them saying, which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day?

"And they could not answer him again to these things."

Today I had to go to the store and pick up medical supplies. Not sleeping the night before can create a medical need and getting relief is as big an issue as rescuing an animal in distress. Today I ventured out, bought what was needed, and returned home. Personally, I would have loved to have not shopped today--so would everyone else in the house.