Word to the Wise
Friday, July 18, 2008 - Friday in the Fifteenth Week of Ordinary Time
[Isaiah 38:1-6, 21-22, 7-8 and Matthew 12:1-8]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.
Given the way we "observe the Sabbath" in our country now, the gospel passage for today may seem quaint. Except for attending services (if any), life seems to go on as usual. For some folks, it's a working day (even Jesus points out that the clergy had to "work" on the Sabbath). Many of us "older" folks do recall the commandment about "servile" work on Sunday and that most stores were closed. One of the vestiges of observance in many states concerns the prohibition of the sale of alcohol on Sunday. I am occasionally amused in my travels by the rule that prohibits that sale till noon on Sunday! Stores have special barriers that they place at the end of the booze aisles! I think it may be said that the Christian "sabbath" seems "honored" more in the breach than in the observance! In their efforts to protect something sacred, the Pharisees were simply being true to what they believed was a direct command from God! There was no such as thing as "substantial compliance" to them. There was only total compliance! They ignored fundamental human need (which antedated the Mosaic Law!) and conveniently turned a blind eye to certain other needs (such as watering livestock) or to the fact that the temple personnel had to "work" to offer sacrifices, etc.. Jesus calls attention to their narrowness by noting that human hunger trumped the Sabbath as evidenced in the conduct of King David, their hero. He also twits them with the example of the temple priests. But the biggest trump of all was right in front of the Pharisees - the one who created the Sabbath in the first place! And that one says that mercy is greater than even the Sabbath. As the Lord of mercy, Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath! The expression, "Is nothing sacred?" is important. It could be tempting to pick up a stone and throw it at the Pharisees. However, I think we should stop and answer that old question. IS nothing sacred? If there is, what is it? Many Catholics would respond with the consecrated host and the person of the Pope, and human life in the womb. After that, what? Has "sacredness" become, like so many other things, a matter of personal opinion? The Pharisees were protecting a collective value! Perhaps we should pay some more attention to their complaint, without getting as rigid as they were about it. We might learn not only the value of mercy and human need, but also the value of keeping holy the Lord's Day! AMEN
config
view
logs
4096.0 KB
68 ms
4
