- Friday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Matthew 12:1-8
Exodus 11:10-12:14
Psalm 116:12-13, 15-16bc, 17-18
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.”
Opening Prayer: Lord God, I will imitate your merciful love and offer you the pleasing sacrifice of a life lived in communion with your Son. Accept my offering today, purify it with your Spirit, and unite it to the sacrifice of your Son.
Encountering the Word of God
1. New Leadership: In the Gospel, Jesus and his disciples were walking through a field of grain on the sabbath. The Pharisees were spying on Jesus and saw that his disciples began to pick heads of grain. The Pharisees accused Jesus’ disciples of violating the third commandment, “Remember the sabbath day – keep it holy” (see Exodus 20:8-11). Plucking grain to satisfy hunger was actually permissible, even on the sabbath. A strong debate about the sabbath rest arose during the time of the Maccabees. Some thought that fighting to defend themselves on the sabbath was a violation of the Sabbath rest. Others, however, when they saw the massacre of men, women, and children on the sabbath, decided that fighting to defend life was permissible on the sabbath. Jesus doesn’t refer here to the Maccabees to defend the actions of his disciples, but to David and his companions. He alludes to how the priests bake new bread on the sabbath and do not violate the sabbath by doing so. He also alludes to how he and his disciples are greater than David: If David and his men can eat the bread of the presence in the sanctuary, and if the priests of the temple can prepare bread without violating the sabbath, how much more can I, the Son of Man and Lord of the Sabbath, and my disciples, pluck grain and eat it. There is something greater than King David, the Aaronic priests, and the Temple itself here!
2. New Bread: Jesus references the “Bread of Offering” or the “Bread of the Presence.” These were twelve loaves of bread prepared each week by the priests of the temple and stored in the sanctuary of the Temple on a table. The bread in the Temple was merely a symbol and sign that pointed to something greater. They were signs that prefigured Jesus, the New Bread of the Presence. Jesus is God incarnate and far surpasses any earthly bread. And yet, he transforms the sign of the old bread into an effective sign in the New Covenant. In the Eucharist, we have the sacramental presence of the glorified body of Christ. We receive the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus. When the priests would show the bread of the presence, they would announce to the people, “Behold, the Love of God for you.” When the priest in the mass holds the Eucharist above the altar, they announce: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world. Blessed are those called to the Supper of the Lamb.” We see how much God loves us: he is willing to die and be sacrificed for our sins and remain with us in the tabernacle under the appearance of bread.
3. The New Kingdom: In the Gospel, Jesus is preparing his disciples for the revelation of the New Kingdom. The Pharisees resisted this merciful Kingdom and preferred their human traditions. When the Pharisees saw Jesus curing on the Sabbath, dining with tax collectors and sinners, touching lepers, and criticizing their Pharisaical way of life, they plotted to kill Jesus. They built up a way of life that they thought led to holiness, but, in truth, was a false path that barred the way to heaven. Jesus announces today that he and his Father desire mercy more than animal sacrifice. God sees our hearts and will be merciful to the degree that we are merciful. The Kingdom Jesus inaugurates is not one of earthly power, wealth, and might; it is one of love, justice, gentleness, mercy, and forgiveness.
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you are my true King. I am your loyal subject. I know that you defend me and protect me from evil. I have no reason to fear with you at my side.
Living the Word of God: How did I live last Sunday? What made it special? Was it a time of prayer, worship, family, and joyful rest? What can I do better this Sunday?