Reflection for Saturday 22nd Week in Ordinary Time
By
Fr. Aloysius Santiago sdb
Rector and Parish Priest
Don Bosco Shrine
Lingarajapuram, Bangalore
Today's WORD of GOD
Luke 6:1-2
One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and his disciples began to pick some heads of grain, rub them in their hands and eat the kernels. Some of the Pharisees asked, “Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”
Today's Reflection
Keeping the Sabbath
JESUS was Challenged about why HIS Hungry Disciples were “Harvesting” on the Sabbath HE Gave a Simple Common-Sense Answer. They were just Plucking Ears of Grain & Eating Them to Satisfy Their Hunger, a Anyone might Do while Walking through a Cornfield. HE Bolsters HIS Reply by Appealing to Another Time when David & His Men were Allowed Eat what normally was Reserved for Priests. Proper Observance of the Law Allowed for Exceptions, in order to Serve the Poor & the Needy.
JESUS is LORD of the Sabbath in a Deeper Sense. Colossians Speaks of HIS Winning Reconciliation for Us by Dying in HIS Mortal Body. JESUS Died to Obtain Peace for Us. In JESUS, Humble & Patient on the Cross, We Find Ourselves Drawn to Repudiate Sin (2 Cor 5: 21) so that HE can Present Us to GOD “Holy, Free of Reproach & Blame.”
2 Views about Sabbath
What People should Do or Not Do on the Sabbath was Disputed between JESUS & the Pharisees. According to the Pharisees, Simply Plucking Ears of Corn & Eating Them while Walking in the Fields Constituted “Manual Labour” & so was Forbidden on the Sabbath. For JESUS, It was Perfectly Right to Satisfy One’s Hunger on the Sabbath, Especially for People like HIS Disciples who were Never Sure where Their Next Meal would Come From. The Sabbath Law as as Interpreted by the Pharisees could be Safely Ignored.
GOD Bless Us All Today.
Have a great day and an awesome weekend.