Word to the Wise
Friday, July 15, 2022 - Friday in the 15th Week in Ordinary Time
[Isa 38:1-6, 21-22, 7-8 and Matt 12:1-8]"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." [Matthew]
JULY 15 ST. BONAVENTURE ofm - bishop and doctor of the Church.
[
The occasion for Jesus' words at the end of today's gospel scripture was the action of his disciples picking heads of grain to chew on the sabbath, which, in the eyes of the Pharisees constituted harvesting, work forbidden on the sabbath. Jesus' reply to the complaint of the Pharisees is almost the same as the time when he chose Matthew (Levi) to be an apostle. Then the complaint was that he ate and drank with sinners and tax collectors. In both cases, he put mercy above "sacrifice" (the Law of Moses). [cf Matt. 9:13]. Human need trumps formal religious observance. The Gospel According to Mark, in recounting this same incident, has Jesus saying further, "The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath. That is why the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath."
The issue does not stop there, however. Jesus declares himself "Lord of the sabbath," and that would be blasphemy in the eyes of the Pharisees who saw him as merely a troublesome rabbi from a village in Galilee. This would ultimately lead to the plot to get rid of Jesus. As the line from the musical JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR puts it, "He's DANGEROUS!"
My own legal background (I have a law degree) makes me slightly sympathetic to the feelings of the Pharisees, but Jesus' point is the best starting point. The purpose of law is to help human need in the midst of human community. To insist on observance when observance hinders the very goal of law is to abandon the values of mercy and compassion. The Code of Canon Law and the Catechism occasionally give rise to a form of Catholic "Pharisaisim" which causes more harm than good. All Church law must be interpreted in the light of love of God and neighbor, and not the other way around. As always, the gospel challenges us to consider our ways in the light of Jesus' ways. AMEN