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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 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 Jewish Law followed more than 600 man-made 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 into 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. At least for me, turning off my brain for that long seems impossible, though it would be welcome.
While the intention was to set boundaries around a day devoted entirely to the Lord, some 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 our Creator?
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In today’s Gospel, the disciples have violated the Sabbath by “working,” plucking grains of wheat to feed their empty stomachs.
But the Lord defends them against the charge of the Pharisees, because the Pharisees prized legal perfection over satisfying basic human needs.
Perhaps there’s a lesson in that for us today.
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Many religions are built upon a foundation of rules. Do this… don’t do that. While they can be helpful guidelines towards encountering the Divine, such rules must always lead us further along the path of love.
(Trying not to think about how hungry you are out of fear of breaking a man-made rule isn’t one of them).
Furthermore, it seems the Lord permits the breaking of rules if doing so eases human suffering.
Charity will always be the supreme, unbreakable law.
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Image credits: (1) Cornell Law School (2) Learn Religions (3) M. Wiley Wilson, WordPress