Saint Peter Claver
The Lord of the Sabbath
"The Son of man is the Lord of Sabbath," says Jesus. Today's Gospel presents to us Jesus giving the true meaning of Sabbath. After the Apostles had picked the ears of corn and ate them on Sabbath, some Pharisees blamed them for working on Sabbath for it was prohibited to do any work on Sabbath. Recall the Third Commandment given through Moses: “Remember the sabbath day—keep it holy. Six days you may labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God. You shall not do any work…” (Exodus 20:8–10). From this Commandment, the Pharisees had developed a complex commentary which went into great detail about what kind of work was forbidden on the Sabbath in their view. One such regulation was to pick and mill grain. Thus, they judged that this was what the disciples were doing and were, therefore, violating the Third Commandment. However, Jesus' response, arguing from the scriptures, is very clear, the Son of Man is the Lord of the Sabbath. What does this really mean?
One of the ways in which Jesus spread the kingdom and its true meaning was through unveiling the characters of some Jewish groups of people like the Pharisees and scribes. The pharisees and scribes were not all that bad people, and the problem was not the Pharisees’ zeal for the law. In another passage, Jesus defended their authority to teach: “The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses. Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you” (Matthew 23:2-3a). The problem was their disposition. Our Lord continued, “but do not follow their example. For they preach but do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens… and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them” (Matthew 23:3b-4). The Pharisees seemed to exercise their authority in a controlling and oppressive manner towards others while allowing themselves much leeway (Matthew 15:3-6). These people took the law from God and made it a burden to others and themselves they would not follow them.
For instance, the Sabbath commandment to rest was from God. But the commandment to rest was not a requirement for its own sake as the Pharisees and Scribes had taken it to this level. This was not some legal requirement that somehow honoured God just by strictly keeping it. The Sabbath rest was primarily a gift from God to humanity in that God knew we needed rest and rejuvenation. He knew we needed time each week to slow down, offer special worship to God and enjoy the company of others. But the Pharisees turned the Sabbath rest into a burden. They made it out to be a strict legalistic observance that did nothing to glorify God or refresh the human spirit.
In defending his disciples, Jesus argues from the Scriptures that human need has precedence over ritual custom. In their hunger, David and his men ate of the holy bread offered in the Temple (1 Samuel 21:2-7). On every Sabbath morning twelve loaves were laid before God on a golden table in the Holy Place. Each loaf represented one of the twelve tribes of Israel. No one was allowed to eat this bread except the priests because it represented the very presence of God. David understood that human need took precedence over rules and ritual regulations. If they had not eaten the bread, they would die of hunger and this loss of life. God's law should be of life promotion, restoration and fostering (mercy), and this is why God desires mercy not sacrifice.
One key truth we can learn from this passage is that God calls us to interpret His law through the eyes of mercy. Mercy always refreshes us, lifts us up and fills us with new energy. It motivates us to worship and fills us with hope. Mercy does not impose a heavy legalistic burden upon us; rather, God’s mercy and law together rejuvenates us and refreshes us. More importantly, law should be interpreted with love and in the spirit of serving God and His people. It's not enough to just take the law strictly even at the point of risking life and violating human dignity. It is going the extra mile to doing the will of God and taking the faithful service of God and His people as the priority all the time. Provided we are doing the will of God, we are following the law.
Jesus by this gives us a new meaning of Sabbath and how we are to celebrate it. Sabbath indeed was and is meant for rest and rejuvenation and above all for worshipping our God, but this cannot overrule our obligatory service and charity we have towards each other and to God; we cannot stop loving and doing what is good because it is Sabbath. Jesus gives us this new meaning and so we have our sabbath in Jesus. Let us always recall the words of St. Gregory the Great reminds us, as we draw closer to the Lord’s Day tomorrow: “We therefore accept spiritually, and hold spiritually, this which is written about the Sabbath. For the Sabbath means rest. But we have the true Sabbath in our redeemer himself, the Lord Jesus Christ.” May we have the grace to rest in the Lord. Let us however be careful not to misuse Sabbath by doing whatever we want and what is not according to the law as many are doing today; Sabbath should be kept holy.
Reflect today on how you interpret the law of God. Do you interpret it in love and mercy? Do you keep the Sabbath Holy but with loving and serving God and His people in mind. Pray today that the Holy Spirit will keep enlightening you to interpret the law of God rightly.
Let us Pray
May your Spirit Lord guide me always to know you more and thus love you more by following your law in the right way. Help me to shed all misconceptions and misrepresentations of Your law in exchange for the truths of Your perfect love and mercy. May I cling to that mercy and love in all things and above all things. Amen.
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