15th Friday of Ordinary Time
Scripture: Matthew 12:1-8
1 At that time Jesus
went through the grainfields on the Sabbath; his disciples were hungry, and
they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. 2 But when the Pharisees saw it,
they said to him, "Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do
on the Sabbath." 3 He said to them, "Have you not read what David
did, when he was hungry, and those who were with him: 4 how he entered the
house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him
to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? 5 Or have you
not read in the law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the
Sabbath, and are guiltless? 6 I tell you, something greater than the temple is
here. 7 And if you had known what this means, `I desire mercy, and not
sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless. 8 For the Son of man is
lord of the Sabbath."
The "Sabbath
rest" was meant to be a time to remember and celebrate God's goodness and
the goodness of his work, both in creation and redemption. It was a day set
apart for the praise of God, his work of creation, and his saving actions on
our behalf. It was intended to bring everyday work to a halt and to provide
needed rest and refreshment. Jesus' disciples are scolded by the scribes and
Pharisees, not for plucking and eating corn from the fields, but for doing so
on the Sabbath.
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