January 19, 2021

Mk 2:23-28

One sabbath he was going through the grainfields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?” And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need of food? He entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and he gave some to his companions.” Then he said to them, “The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath; so the Son of Man is lord even 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.

Responding to God’s commandments

God gave the sabbath to his people and commanded us to observe it by resting and spending time in prayer and worship. Following the laws which God has commanded us to follow is crucial to a full and vibrant life of faith. However, no rules or regulations are meant to replace God in our hearts.

In the Gospel reading, the Pharisees, in their hardness of heart, accuse Jesus and his disciples of not properly observing the sabbath. Jesus tells them that they have forgotten the true purpose of the sabbath: to bring us closer to God. Their indignation prevents them from recognizing the Lord of the sabbath, the Son of Man, in their midst. Jesus wants us to observe the laws he has given us in a way that fills our hearts with love for God and others and not in a way that creates walls and hardens our hearts.

How can we respond to God’s commandments with greater love?

—Justin Prom, SJ, is a Jesuit scholastic of the Midwest Province studying philosophy at Loyola University Chicago.

Prayer

Lord, teach me to observe your commandments with love. Teach me to use everything, every gift and blessing, every difficulty, every encounter with another, as a means to praise, reverence, and serve you. Amen.

—Justin Prom, SJ