When the Pharisees saw [the disciples picking grain to eat], they said to Jesus, “See, your disciples are doing what is unlawful to do on the sabbath.”

In today’s gospel passage, the Pharisees confronted Jesus, who accused him of breaking the Sabbath by plucking a few grains of wheat to eat. Jesus responded by stating that plucking grain on the Sabbath does not violate the Sabbath. There is nothing in the Old Testament forbidding this. There we read, “Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even in plowing time and harvest time you shall rest (Exodus 34:21). The legalistic Pharisees naturally asked exactly what constituted harvesting. To be on the safe side, they used the strictest possible interpretation: what the disciples were doing broke this Sabbath requirement. They accused Jesus in the same way when he healed on the Sabbath.

However, Jesus, in his response to their criticism, reminds them that if they were as attuned to their religious tradition as they claim to be, they would not have condemned the “blameless.” He reminds them that the overriding value in the Jewish tradition is mercy and points out that there are precedents in the Jewish Scriptures for what his disciples are doing. Sabbath rest was a significant value; however, mercy is greater in God’s eyes. Viewing the actions of others with the eyes of mercy would recognize that basic human needs take priority over an overly strict interpretation of religious law, which often results in the condemnation of the blameless. We can resist this to the extent that something of God’s merciful vision has taken flesh in our interpretation of God’s hopes and desires for us.

What lens do I use to determine what needs to be done in all of my actions?

Let Us Pray:

O Jesus, help me to form a conscience that sees all of reality through the prism of your loving mercy.