The WORD today (See http://usccb.org/bible/readings/071715.cfm) reminds me that God is not bound by laws and traditions.
In the gospel, we see people questioning the actions of Jesus and his disciples. They were picking up and eating grain on a Sabbath, something prohibited because no work should be done on Sabbath. Then Jesus tells them that the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.
The Law should serve man, not man serving the law.
God is God even on Sabbath, where there are a lot of laws prohibiting a lot of things. God does not follow man made laws – he is the source of the law. God is not bound by our traditions and laws. His power is not limited by anyone or anything.
However, this should not be abused. The law should serve man is not an excuse for breaking the law. Not following traffic signs when there are no police or other vehicles is still wrong. Stealing from the rich and giving to the poor is still wrong. God should never be an excuse from breaking the law. What God is telling us is that we should put things in perspective and respect the law. Even Jesus followed the law when he paid taxes. He allowed his disciples to break the law in the gospel not to show his power, but to show that life is greater than any law. Life is more sacred, and in that situation, protecting life by eating is more sacred than keeping a law which prohibits work to be done.
May we pray for a discerning heart so as not to abuse God’s power and Word, while bravely doing his work with and for him. Amen.
Father God,
Thank you for today. Thank you for another sunrise. Thank you for the reminder of your great love and great power. Lord, I pray that I would always remember that your love and your power is not limited by anything – by laws and traditions and by circumstances around me. Thank you also for reminding me how precious life is – that protecting it is above any man made law. Lord, as I work for you, help me to always put things in perspective. May I not abuse you, your love, and your power. Amen.
In Christ,
-g-
Ps
See related reflection:
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July 17, 2015
Friday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 393
Reading 1 Ex 11:10—12:14
Although Moses and Aaron performed various wonders
in Pharaoh’s presence,
the LORD made Pharaoh obstinate,
and he would not let the children of Israel leave his land.
The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt,
“This month shall stand at the head of your calendar;
you shall reckon it the first month of the year.
Tell the whole community of Israel: On the tenth of this month
every one of your families must procure for itself a lamb,
one apiece for each household.
If a family is too small for a whole lamb,
it shall join the nearest household in procuring one
and shall share in the lamb
in proportion to the number of persons who partake of it.
The lamb must be a year-old male and without blemish.
You may take it from either the sheep or the goats.
You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, and then,
with the whole assembly of Israel present,
it shall be slaughtered during the evening twilight.
They shall take some of its blood
and apply it to the two doorposts and the lintel
of every house in which they partake of the lamb.
That same night they shall eat its roasted flesh
with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.
It shall not be eaten raw or boiled, but roasted whole,
with its head and shanks and inner organs.
None of it must be kept beyond the next morning;
whatever is left over in the morning shall be burned up.
“This is how you are to eat it:
with your loins girt, sandals on your feet and your staff in hand,
you shall eat like those who are in flight.
It is the Passover of the LORD.
For on this same night I will go through Egypt,
striking down every first born of the land, both man and beast,
and executing judgment on all the gods of Egypt—I, the LORD!
But the blood will mark the houses where you are.
Seeing the blood, I will pass over you;
thus, when I strike the land of Egypt,
no destructive blow will come upon you.
“This day shall be a memorial feast for you,
which all your generations shall celebrate
with pilgrimage to the LORD, as a perpetual institution.”
Responsorial Psalm PS 116:12-13, 15 and 16bc, 17-18
R. (13) I will take the cup of salvation, and call on the name of the Lord.
How shall I make a return to the LORD
for all the good he has done for me?
The cup of salvation I will take up,
and I will call upon the name of the LORD.
R. I will take the cup of salvation, and call on the name of the Lord.
Precious in the eyes of the LORD
is the death of his faithful ones.
I am your servant, the son of your handmaid;
you have loosed my bonds.
R. I will take the cup of salvation, and call on the name of the Lord.
To you will I offer sacrifice of thanksgiving,
and I will call upon the name of the LORD.
My vows to the LORD I will pay
in the presence of all his people.
R. I will take the cup of salvation, and call on the name of the Lord.
Alleluia Jn 10:27
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord,
I know them, and they follow me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel Mt 12:1-8
Jesus was going through a field of grain on the sabbath.
His disciples were hungry
and began to pick the heads of grain and eat them.
When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him,
“See, your disciples are doing what is unlawful to do on the sabbath.”
He said to the them, “Have you not read what David did
when he and his companions were hungry,
how he went into the house of God and ate the bread of offering,
which neither he nor his companions
but only the priests could lawfully eat?
Or have you not read in the law that on the sabbath
the priests serving in the temple violate the sabbath
and are innocent?
I say to you, something greater than the temple is here.
If you knew what this meant, I desire mercy, not sacrifice,
you would not have condemned these innocent men.
For the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath.”
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