Eight Days A Week

July 20, 2018

Jesus used every opportunity He could to reveal Himself and the Truth of the matter at hand. Today’s gospel is a beautiful example of choosing the better portion and understanding the essence of keeping the Sabbath holy. The commandment refers to the Sabbath as a day of rest because God rested on the seventh day. Rest from labor and work is a good thing, but taking it to the extreme is where we get ourselves in trouble and we allow the rule to undermine the reason the rule exists in the first place. Resting in the Lord, giving thanks, spending time in scripture, communion, and replenishing our souls is the essence of the third commandment. Some super strict practicing Jews even have the lights in their house on timers so that they don’t even have to lift a finger to flip a light switch on the Sabbath. While the practice itself is not a bad thing, if the Messiah Himself were to walk into your house, His presence outweighs not working on the Sabbath, and you better offer Him some wine or a beer or make Him a sandwich or some guacamole and chips at least! Does that make sense? 

Jesus challenges the Pharisees (and us) to take a second look at their minutia to put things into their proper order, or the better portion. He calls us to do the same because it is our human tendency to go extreme when we are passionate about things. We want to do things right and rule following, especially religious rules, becomes almost a badge of honor rather than a way of growing closer to God and others. It’s easy to get caught up in this trap and Jesus just wants us to remember that God’s work never takes a break. He is constantly in motion, working in our lives, and feeding us. The apostles didn’t even realize that their choice of snacks (heads of grain) was a foreshadowing to the Last Supper and the institution of the Eucharist, but that’s how Jesus rolls. He uses the ordinary to usher in the extraordinary. 

I have one personal experience that captures today’s theme. Dad died on a Sunday and being the “good Catholic” that I am, at one point I remember saying to myself that I would need to go to confession for missing Sunday mass. Really Jen? You still don’t get it. This was the most holy Sabbath you have ever had because the liturgy of the present moment captured you in an ocean of grace, mercy, and love. Don’t miss this Sunday mass right in front of you. Your dad rested in eternity on this Sabbath and that sacrament outdoes the darn rule. The liturgy of your dad’s last breath is the holy of holies because the Spirit of God is there bringing Him home. The Eucharist was never more real as our family members and best friends held hands around His deathbed, while priests and deacons recited the prayers for the dying. This indeed was the most sacred liturgy I have ever experienced and by far the better portion. How dare I think that any of that holiness was sinful? Jesus snapped me out of my small mindedness and back into the blessed sacrament of the moment. 

In today’s gospel He tries snap the Pharisees out of their small mindedness by saying, “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." The better portion, friends, is mercy because mercy is the only rule that Jesus Christ would have us live by eight days a week. Have a merciful day and it is well with my soul. 

Reading 1 IS 38:1-6, 21-22, 7-8

When Hezekiah was mortally ill,
the prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz, came and said to him:
"Thus says the LORD: Put your house in order,
for you are about to die; you shall not recover."
Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD:

"O LORD, remember how faithfully and wholeheartedly
I conducted myself in your presence,
doing what was pleasing to you!"
And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

Then the word of the LORD came to Isaiah: "Go, tell Hezekiah:
Thus says the LORD, the God of your father David:
I have heard your prayer and seen your tears.
I will heal you: in three days you shall go up to the LORD's temple;
I will add fifteen years to your life.
I will rescue you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria;
I will be a shield to this city."

Isaiah then ordered a poultice of figs to be taken
and applied to the boil, that he might recover.
Then Hezekiah asked,
"What is the sign that I shall go up to the temple of the LORD?"

Isaiah answered:
"This will be the sign for you from the LORD
that he will do what he has promised:
See, I will make the shadow cast by the sun
on the stairway to the terrace of Ahaz
go back the ten steps it has advanced."
So the sun came back the ten steps it had advanced.

Responsorial Psalm ISAIAH 38:10, 11, 12ABCD, 16

R. (see 17b) You saved my life, O Lord; I shall not die.
Once I said,
"In the noontime of life I must depart!
To the gates of the nether world I shall be consigned
for the rest of my years." 
R. You saved my life, O Lord; I shall not die.
I said, "I shall see the LORD no more
in the land of the living.
No longer shall I behold my fellow men
among those who dwell in the world."
R. You saved my life, O Lord; I shall not die.
My dwelling, like a shepherd's tent,
is struck down and borne away from me;
You have folded up my life, like a weaver
who severs the last thread.
R. You saved my life, O Lord; I shall not die.
Those live whom the LORD protects;
yours is the life of my spirit.
You have given me health and life.
R. You saved my life, O Lord; I shall not die.

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."