Word to the Wise
Saturday, September 9, 2023 - Saturday in the 22th Week in Ordinary Time
[Col 1:21-23 and Luke 6:1-5]"The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath." [Luke]
These words are spoken by Jesus to the Pharisees who criticize his disciples for picking grain to eat on the sabbath, which in their mind constituted forbidden work in their interpretation of Mosaic Law. Jesus, in reply, does two things. He places human need over observance and at the same time makes a statement about his lordship. He is the whole reason for the sabbath!!! This, of course, is an outrage to the Pharisees and other religious leaders like the scribes and elders. On Monday, the grain-picking incident will be followed by a healing in the synagogue, again on a sabbath, which results in discussions among the Pharisees about "what they might do to Jesus."
"Fundamentalism" has many forms, but is essentially an effort to cling to certain traditional ways of belief and observance/behavior in the face of any evolution or development in those ways of thinking or acting. We Catholics have our own version of it. As Pope John XXIII pointed out in his opening address to the Second Vatican Council in 1962, it is one thing to insist on the truths of the faith, but still another to insist on certain ways of expressing it as if these ways are incapable of change. He spoke of the "medicine of mercy." Pope Francis has come under the same kind of Pharisaic criticism in our own country. In the Gospel According to Mark, Jesus accuses the Pharisees of elevating human traditions to the level of divine law. [Mk.7:7].
It can be difficult to distinguish between what we like and cherish in our Catholic tradition (with a small "t") and what is Catholic Tradition (with a capital "T") when we allow the former to take on the authority of the latter. The Pharisees and scribes had that problem and their rage led to lethal consequences. Our faith is in the LORD of the sabbath who is the reason for the sabbath in the first place!!! AMEN