Lord of the Sabbath

Tuesday,
January 16, 2018
2nd Week in Ordinary Time
1st Reading: 1 Sam 16:1-13
Gospel: Mark 2:23-28
One Sabbath he was walking through grain fields. As his disciples walked along with him, they began to pick the heads of grain and crush them in their hands. Then the Pharisees said to Jesus, “Look! They are doing what is forbidden on the Sabbath!”
And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did in his time of need, when he and his men were very hungry? He went into the house of God when Abiathar was High Priest and ate the bread of offering, which only the priests are allowed to eat, and he also gave some to the men who were with him.” Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is master even of the Sabbath.”
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the Assimilated Life Experience)
The Pharisees insisted on the strict implementation of the “no work” principle every Sabbath out of respect for the Creator who rested on the seventh day (Sabbath) of creation. But the Pharisees were overdoing it. They unreasonably expanded the concept of work resulting in the prohibition even of menial asks.
In today’s Gospel reading the disciples who were just picking heads of grain and crushing them in their hands were already accused of doing the heavy work of harvesting and milling the grains. Jesus took the Pharisees to task for their literal understanding of the Law. “The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath”.
The foregoing pronouncement by Jesus finds solid basis in the Book of Genesis. From the beginning of Creation God has already installed man as lord of creation. If he is Master of the created world then he should also be Master of the Sabbath.
Our preferred status before God in the realm of Creation should inspire us to soar higher. But how often have used “Sapagka’t kami ay tao lamang” as justification to submit to carnal dictates? Yes by nature we are weak but grace abounds to those who strive. Incidentally, the same phrase can be used to reorient our paradigms to the loftiness of our status as humans. “Lamang” also means “better off” if the accent is shifted to the last syllable. By shifting the accent we’d be saying in effect that because we are human beings, we are better off”. What an honor to be human! Of all modes of existence it is closest to being divine. Remember that God created man in his own image and likeness.
When God rested on the Seventh Day it was because he was satisfied with his project when Adam finally came into being. On this basis, the oppressive interpretation of the Sabbath Law counters the true spirit of the Sabbath, which is joy over man’s coming into being. – (Atty.) Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., D.M.