When the Pharisees saw (the disciples plucking grain), they said to him, “See, your disciples are doing what is unlawful to do on the sabbath.”

One of the things Jesus did that infuriated the Pharisees was his seemingly cavalier attitude toward the sabbath. Let’s be honest: there’s nothing in the Torah that forbids plucking grain on the sabbath. That is not identified as work. But the Pharisees, ever jealous to safeguard the sabbath, had multiplied instances of what qualified as work. And, let’s be honest, Jesus seems to have gone out of his way at times to exasperate the Pharisees. When Jesus healed the man who had been sick for 38 years on the sabbath, aside from whether his word qualified as work, I always imagine the Pharisees saying, “Jesus, couldn’t you have waited one more day?”

Sabbath rest was a very important value. The gospel passage today, however, reminds us that mercy is a greater value in God’s eyes. The actions of others need to be viewed with the eyes of mercy. These eyes seek to understand why people do what they do, eyes that recognize that basic human needs take priority over adherence to religious law. The failure to look upon others with eyes of mercy often results in the condemnation of the blameless. It is a temptation we can resist to the extent that something of God’s merciful vision has taken flesh in our lives.

Jesus shows his priorities in our gospel reading, saying that feeding the hungry takes priority over a certain narrow understanding of the sabbath Law. Jesus’ word and his whole life help us sort out what is really important from what is not.

God’s mercy touches us through Jesus; do I allow that mercy to reach others through me?

Let Us Pray:

O Lord, help me to be merciful as you yourself are merciful.