Daily Scripture Reflection & Prayer: January 16, 2024

Date:   Tuesday of the 2nd Week in Ordinary Time

 Scripture Text:  Mark 2:23-28

As Jesus was passing through a field of grain on the sabbath, his disciples began to make a path while picking the heads of grain. At this the Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the sabbath?” He said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and he and his companions were hungry? How he went into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest and ate the bread of offering that only the priests could lawfully eat, and shared it with his companions?” Then he said to them, “The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath. That is why the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.”

Breaking the text open – background and summary:

The gospel reading for today from Mark shows Jesus again being questioned about the behavior of his disciples. Yesterday’s gospel dealt with his disciples not fasting as the disciples of others such as John the Baptist did. Today, we see his disciples plucking grain (deemed labor) on the Sabbath. Jesus’ response is two-fold. First, He reminds those questioning that even their beloved and esteemed King David made an exception to the rule because of extreme hunger. Then Jesus reminds them that the law is made for man, not the opposite; man is not made for the law. And the sabbath was given to the people for their benefit, a day of rest, not meant to be a day of man-made restrictions.

Jesus’ insistence on this principle is one which we must consider. Restrictions and expectations placed upon others by authorities are not always for the good of the people but rather add an unnecessary burden upon the ordinary person. Didn’t Jesus tell us that the whole of the law and the prophets is summed up in these two commandments: Love the LORD with all one’s heart, and with all one’s soul and with all one’s mind and love our neighbor as ourselves.

 Meditating on the text with personal questions:

What principle, who law, rules my mind, my heart, my actions, my life?

Praying:

LORD, Almighty Father, Beloved Son, Most Holy Spirit, You are love and with love You have created all that is good, our world and each of us. We offer You our praise and thanksgiving each day as we pick up our lives and continue our journeys home to You, the source of our being. Fill us with your transformative love and allow it to tenderize us completely so that we might be guided by it, informed by it, conformed through it, and transformed in it. Grant that love for You will be our motive for all we do, this day and all days. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.