Matthew 12: 1-8
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. When the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the sabbath.” He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him or his companions to eat, but only for the priests. Or have you not read in the law that on the sabbath the priests in the temple break the sabbath and yet are guiltless? I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is lord of the sabbath.”
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
I Desire Mercy
Sometimes it feels like God may think I’m a little slow on the uptake and need things repeated a couple (or more) times. When I read today’s Gospel, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of déjà vu in the message. Then I realized that the Gospel I wrote on last week included the same phrase “I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.” Perhaps this is a message that I really need to hear!
Sacrifices, particularly in the context of Jewish law, were things that one would do, or actions one would take. It might be easy to check off the box of having done something, without necessarily letting that something change us. Mercy is different. Mercy involves encounter—with another person or with God—that leads to transformation. The mercy God shows us is unbounded. We are not able to match God’s mercy, but we can strive to be in relationship with others in a way that reflects that mercy into the world. With the pain and division we see in today’s society, sometimes it feels easier to step away from people, or to keep others at arms’ length. But Jesus’ message keeps trying to get through to me, even if it means a little repetition.
—Lauren Gaffey works in communications for both the Midwest Jesuits and the Office of Ignatian Spirituality
Prayer
Lord, you’ve made it clear: you want me to show mercy. May my encounters with others bring into the world a fraction of the love and mercy that you have shown me, for “your mercy is everlasting” (Psalm 100:5). Amen.
—Lauren Gaffey
Pray with the Pope
Pray with the monthly prayer intentions of the pope.