Friday, July 21, 2017
15th Week in Ordinary Time
1st Reading: Ex 11:10-12:14
Gospel: Matthew 12:1-8
It happened that Jesus walked through the wheat fields on a Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and began to pick some heads of wheat and crush them to eat the grain. When the Pharisees noticed this, they said to Jesus, “Look at your disciples; they are doing what is prohibited on the Sabbath!”
Jesus answered, “Have you not read what David did when he and his men were hungry? He went into the house of God, and they ate the bread offered to God, although neither he nor his men had the right to eat it, but only the priests. And have you not read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the Temple break the Sabbath rest, yet they are not guilty?
“I tell you, there is greater than the Temple here. If you really knew the meaning of the words: It is mercy I want, not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the innocent.
“Besides the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the Assimilated Life Experience)
Sabbath Laws in the time of Jesus were so strictly implemented to the people’s inconvenience. In effect people no longer looked forward to the Day of the Lord as a day of rejoicing. Today’s Gospel illustrates how oppressive the Sabbath Law was. The disciples were only plucking grains from the fields but they were already accused of harvesting, winnowing, and grinding grains. They made a mountain out of a mole hill. Jesus argued that the Law is never meant to oppress but to facilitate community life. When the Law becomes oppressive it creates chaos. The Law then ceases to be a law because its essence is order. It may involve personal sacrifices from individuals but the net effect should be an environment conducive to living lives to the full.
Jesus placed all the commandments under the umbrella of love. This great commandment stands on two legs, namely love of God and love of neighbor. Seen under the prism of love, the real intent of the Law declaring the Sabbath Day holy becomes clearer. The Sabbath Law is meant to afford the people time for relaxation and rejoicing in the Lord and ample time to praise and worship Him.
Thank God we don’t have to labor under the old Sabbath Law. When the spirit behind the law is love, we grow in freedom. This inspired St. Augustine to say, “Love God and do what you please”. This is not as simple as it sounds. While we have no problem loving God because God is not difficult to love, loving Him requires love of neighbor. There you go! Who finds loving neighbors easy? Let us ask God for the eyes to see him in our fellowmen so that the love we have for Him may make it easy for us to love one another. – (Atty.) Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., D.M.
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