19-Jan-16

Gospel MK 2:23-28
As Jesus was passing through a field of grain on the sabbath, his disciples began to make a path while picking the heads of grain.
At this the Pharisees said to him,
“Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the sabbath?”
He said to them,
“Have you never read what David did when he was in need and he and his companions were hungry?
How he went into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest and ate the bread of offering that only the priests could lawfully eat, and shared it with his companions?”
Then he said to them,
“The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath. That is why the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.”
Reflection:
"As Jesus was passing through a field of grain on the sabbath, his disciples began to make a path while picking the heads of grain.
At this the Pharisees said to him,
"Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the sabbath?”
Jesus Christ shines in the simplicity of His answer to the Pharisees' charge, "Then he said to them, "The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath."
Jesus is teaching the Pharisees that charity and love toward our brothers and sisters are the highest and most acceptable forms of worship.
God created man long before religion existed. The Ten Commandments were given by God in order to improve life, not to make it more difficult.
When we get so caught up in the observance of man-made religious tradition and worship that we would pass by an injured person so that we aren't late for Mass, then in God's eyes our priorities are out of order.
In matters of balancing the needs of mankind with the observance of religious rules and laws, common sense should prevail.
What parent returning home would not be upset to learn that those left in charge allowed the children to starve while they polished the silver?
God, our loving Father, desires our love and reverence, of course, but like any parent, He is much more concerned about how we treat our brothers and sisters.
"So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.' Matthew 5:23-24