Friday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Entrance Antiphon Cf. Ps 17 (16):15 As for me, in justice I shall behold your face; I shall be filled with the vision of your glory.

Collect O God, who show the light of your truth to those who go astray, so that they may return to the right path, give all who for the faith they profess are accounted Christians the grace to reject whatever is contrary to the name of Christ and to strive after all that does it honour. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.​

Scripture today: Isaiah 38:1-6.21-22.7-8; Psalm: Isaiah 38; Matthew 12:1-8

At that time Jesus went through the cornfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some ears of corn and eat them. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath. He answered, Haven't you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread— which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. Or haven't you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple desecrate the day and yet are innocent? I tell you that one greater than the temple is here. If you had known what these words mean, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath. (Matthew 12:1-8)

The Lord Our scene today is that of Christ passing through the cornfields with his disciples on the Sabbath. The synagogue service may have been over, or even yet to come, for a few verses later Christ enters the synagogue. We read that his disciples were hungry and began to pick for themselves some ears of corn to eat. There must have been others nearby and among them some Pharisees, who immediately approached our Lord with their complaint. His disciples were violating the Sabbath rest, which together with the synagogue service was the linchpin of the religious practice of the nation. The Scriptures proclaimed that the Sabbath day had to be kept holy. One of the features we notice in the debates between our Lord and his adversaries was his dexterous command of the entire Scriptures. He was continually revealing new treasures of teaching in them. On one occasion he was confronted by the Sadducees who refused to accept anything beyond the Pentateuch as being inspired. Accordingly, they did not accept the doctrine of the resurrection. So they posed their puzzle to our Lord of the woman who had had seven husbands. Our Lord immediately turned the tables by quoting, from the book of Exodus, words from God himself to the effect that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were still alive. So there was a resurrection from the dead, even accepting only the Pentateuch. On another occasion he quoted a psalm suggesting that the Messiah was not only Son of David, but David’s Lord — how could this be? He was alluding to his divinity and to the Incarnation. In our encounter today (Matthew 12:1-8) our Lord refutes the Pharisees by appealing to the example of their forefather David who took and ate bread on the Sabbath, and in the house of God itself. And, after all, in preparing the offerings of the lambs the priests themselves violate the Sabbath rest, and in the very Temple. How much more ought his critics respect what he allowed, for “one greater than the temple is here.” So in passing, our Lord claims to be greater even than the Temple, the house of God!

Jesus is greater even than the Temple! Now, the Temple was the greatest thing in the nation — while Herod built temples to the gods of various gentile populations, his architectural marvel was the Temple of Jerusalem. It was one of the great buildings of the ancient world. It must have reinforced the sense of the transcendent importance of the Temple of Jerusalem in the life of the nation, signalling to all and sundry that Yahweh, who dwelt there, was supreme. But our Lord says that he himself is a greater dwelling place of Yahweh God than is the Temple. “One greater than the Temple is here.” Further, in the matter of the Sabbath, he is its Lord. Lord of the Sabbath, too! Greater than the Temple, and Lord of the Sabbath, our Lord’s masterful use of the Scriptures continues. The Pharisees, he says, must go and learn the Scriptures. Elsewhere he accuses the Sadducees of not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God. Here he accuses the Pharisees of not knowing the Scriptures either: “If you had known what these words mean, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the innocent.” Let us notice a detail in this remark. “If you had known what (this) is, I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” The word “to know” (ginooskoo) has a broader meaning than its use here. While it is legitimate to translate it here as meaning, “if you had known the meaning of this text I now quote to you,” the word is used elsewhere to indicate an intimate knowledge of persons. For instance, in response to the Angel Gabriel’s message to her, Mary said, “how will this be, since I do not know man (ou ginooskoo)?” (Luke 1:34). At the Last Supper, our Lord in his prayer states that “eternal life is this, that they may know you (ginooskoosin), Father and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (John 17:3). That is to say, it is more than that the Pharisees simply lack knowledge of a key Scriptural text. Our Lord may have been implying that they do not know God, for God is merciful and desires mercy more than sacrifice. They must go and learn to know the mercy of God, which is to say, Yahweh God himself. He, Jesus, is the incarnation of the One who is rich in mercy.

Let us place ourselves with the disciples as Jesus confronts the Pharisees and defends his own. Look upon him! He is the Temple of temples, the abode of the living God. Destroy it, and he would raise it up in three days. He is the Lord of the Sabbath too. As the Lord, he is the revelation of the Father who is rich in mercy. Image of the unseen God, he is our Redeemer and our all. Let us love him with all our mind, heart, soul and strength, obeying him in everything.

(E.J.Tyler)

--------------------------------------------------------------------

A Second Reflection: (Matthew 12:1-8)

God Rich in Mercy It is not hard for a religious person to stray from the path that God intends, while remaining religious. The Pharisees were religious people, and were intent on adhering strictly to God's Law as they understood it. In general this is, of course, very laudable. But in their case — if we are to go on our Lord's words about many of them — they did not read the Scriptures with understanding. For instance, they overlooked the insistence of Scripture on mercy, mercy and justice. And so they judged people, condemned them, and were not merciful. They were sinking into pride. Consider our Lord's remarks in today’s Gospel (Matthew 12:1-8). They did not "understand the meaning of the words: What I want is mercy, not sacrifice." The Scriptures reveal that God is a God rich in mercy and kindness. He asks us to be like him, truly his children, and says that we must be like him precisely in his mercy if we are to benefit from his mercy and kindness ourselves.

Let us strive to be merciful especially in thought, resisting resentments, lack of forgiveness, bitterness in memories, for as our Lord says in another part of the Gospel, in this way we will be sons of our Father in heaven.

(E.J.Tyler)