Lectio Divina – 36

Fr Martin Kallunkal

Reading    
“At that time Jesus went through the cornfields one Sabbath day. His disciples were hungry and began to pick ears of corn and eat them. The Pharisees noticed it and said to him, ‘Look, your disciples are doing something that is forbidden on the Sabbath.’ But he said to them, ‘Have you not read what David did when he and his followers were hungry – how he went into the house of God and they ate the loaves of the offering although neither he nor his followers were permitted to eat them, but only the priests? Or again, have you not read in the Law that on the Sabbath day the Temple priests break the Sabbath without committing any fault? Now here, I tell you, is something greater than the Temple. And if you had understood the meaning of the words: Mercy is what pleases me, not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the blameless. For the Son of man is master of the Sabbath” (Mt 12:1-8).

Reflection
In the 11th chapter of the Gospel according to St Mathew, Jesus invites His hearers to shoulder his yoke and, thus, find rest (Mt 11:28-29). In the passage we have just read, there is an implicit contrast between the yoke of Christ and the yoke of the religious elites of His time. The point of the debate is observance of Sabbath rest. In Pharisees’ estimation, the disciples of Jesus who picked ears of corn and ate on a Sabbath day violated one of the Sabbath laws. Indeed, Yahweh did command that none should do any work on the Sabbath day (Ex 20:10). But, did the disciples break this commandment? In order to check keenly on this, one has to answer a still more fundamental question: what is work? Giving two comparative examples from the Old Testament, Jesus shows (i) that eating is not prohibited on the Sabbath day, (ii) what way His disciples remain justified in their action, and (iii) what work one ought to do in order to enter the Sabbath rest. First: In the first comparative example, David and his men are said to have done something that the Pharisees of Jesus’ time prohibit. But, the priests of David’s time did not stop them from doing that. Eating is a life-sustaining act; and hence eating while one is hungry is not an optional work but a necessary daily activity willed by God. Therefore, eating when one is hungry is not a forbidden work even on a Sabbath day. Jesus does not address the question whether plucking the ears of corn is a forbidden work. For, Jesus knew that the scriptural verse which says, “If you go into your neighbour’s standing corn, you may pick ears by hand” (Deu 23:25), and for that reason he ignores the additional prohibition established by the Pharisees in this regard. Second: Citing the second comparative example, Jesus reminds the Pharisees that the temple priests fulfil their duties and yet remain blameless. The argument implied in the comparative examples is that: if David’s men can eat forbidden bread and temple priests can work on the Sabbath day, then Jesus who is far more superior to David and the Old Testament priests can allow his disciples to pluck ears of corn and eat when they are hungry. Third, Jesus declares that the actual work one has to do in order to enter the rest God that promises is work of mercy. Principle of mercy takes precedence over religious laws.

Prayer    
Dear Lord, Jesus, how blessed and privileged your disciples are! When they are accused guilty, you are there to protect them. Help me to believe that my God will do the fighting for me; and all I need to do is to keep calm” (Ex 33:14). Lord, your presence gives me tremendous freedom and spontaneity. Teach me, Lord, the ways and means to be with you and thus reclaim my innocence and liberty.

Contemplation
That God rested on the Seventh day (Gen 2:2) is the basis of Sabbath. It is to the same rest that God invites all humans in Jesus Christ. Taste the rest that God gives His children by practising stillness and silence.

Action
As the Scripture says, “to enter the place of rest is to rest after your work, as God did after His” (Heb 4:10). The work we are supposed to do is work of mercy. Call to mind the list of seven corporeal works of mercy as well as seven spiritual works of mercy. Perform at least a couple of them before you sit calm for your personal prayer the next time.