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Gospel: Matthew 12: 1-8
Jesus was going through a field of grain on the sabbath.
His disciples were hungry
and began to pick the heads of grain and eat them.
When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him,
“See, your disciples are doing what is unlawful to do on the sabbath.”
He said to the them, “Have you not read what David did
when he and his companions were hungry,
how he went into the house of God and ate the bread of offering,
which neither he nor his companions
but only the priests could lawfully eat?
Or have you not read in the law that on the sabbath
the priests serving in the temple violate the sabbath
and are innocent?
I say to you, something greater than the temple is here.
If you knew what this meant, I desire mercy, not sacrifice,
you would not have condemned these innocent men.
For the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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In Jesus’ day, strict adherents to the Law followed more than 600 rules. (A small change from the 10 Commandments first given to Moses by God!)
Many of these rules applied to the Sabbath – in particular, what was and wasn’t permitted –reaching down to the granular.
For example, it was not only forbidden to “work” on the Sabbath; you could not even think about work. Try doing that for a day – not even thinking about returning emails, phone calls, or text messages.
For me? Impossible.
While the Jews’ intention was to set boundaries around a holy day, allowing people to rest and to worship God, many followed the Law not out of love, but out of fear that God would punish them if they didn’t.
Is fear really the best foundation for encountering God?
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In today’s Gospel, the disciples have violated the Sabbath by plucking grains of wheat, which was considered an act of work.
But Jesus defends them against the Pharisees, saying, essentially, “They’re hungry!” In the Lord’s eyes, satisfying human hunger was more important than following a set of rules.
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What might this mean for us today?
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Many religions are built upon rules. Do this… don’t do that. While they can be helpful guidelines towards encountering the Divine, they should always lead us further along the path of mercy and love.
If they do the opposite, creating a type of fear in us, what good are they?
Secondly, it seems the Lord permits the breaking of rules – like the disciples “working” on the Sabbath – if doing so eases human suffering.
In his words, “Love (not fear) fulfills the Law.”
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Image credits: (1) Ministry of the Watchman International (2) CarelinksMinistries, YouTube (3) Portsmouth Abbey Monastery