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Now it happened that He went through the grainfields on the Sabbath; and as they went His disciples began to pluck the heads of grain. And the Pharisees said to Him, "Look, why do they do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?" But He said to them, "Have you never read what David did when he was in need and hungry, he and those with him: how he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the showbread, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests and also gave some to those who were with him?" And He said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath."
And He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand. So they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him. And He said to the man who had the withered hand, "Step forward." Then He said to them, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" But they kept silent. And when He had looked around them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other. Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.
- Mark 2:23-3:6
Yesterday we read that Jesus went out again by the sea; and all the multitude came to Him, and He taught them. As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, "Follow Me." So he arose and followed Him. Now it happened, as He was dining in Levi's house, that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him. And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, "How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?" When Jesus heard it, He said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance." The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were fasting. Then they came and said to Him, "Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?" And Jesus said to them, "Can the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast. But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days. No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; or else the new piece pulls away from the old, and the tear is made worse. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins."
Now it happened that He went through the grainfields on the Sabbath; and as they went His disciples began to pluck the heads of grain. And the Pharisees said to Him, "Look, why do they do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?" But He said to them, "Have you never read what David did when he was in need and hungry, he and those with him: how he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the showbread, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests and also gave some to those who were with him?" And He said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath." We've just read about the new wine that must go into new wineskins, and it seems to me that immediately here Jesus gives us an example of "new winekins." If the new wine is grace and its work in the world, then here is an example of what grace does: the bread formerly available only for the priest was given to David and his men when they hungered, foreshadowing a kind of eucharist -- a distribution by grace. Here, grace is at work in and for human beings. The Lord of the Sabbath is both God and man, every bit human as hungered (with His men), and also fully divine. The Sabbath day comes in grace for human beings: that which restores (as in necessary rest), that which nurtures body and soul, that which heals.
And He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand. So they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him. Here my study bible tells us that according to certain traditions which the scribes and Pharisees had built up around the Law, healing was considered work, and thus was not permissible on the Sabbath. Thus they believed that they served God by zealously keeping these peripheral traditions, but this legalism made them insensitive to God's mercy. We note their purpose here in observing Jesus: it's simply to catch Him doing something by which they can press an accusation against Him. Concern for the man with the withered hand doesn't appear to exist in their minds at all.
And He said to the man who had the withered hand, "Step forward." Then He said to them, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" But they kept silent. And when He had looked around them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other. Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him. Several things are involved here. First of all it was not explicitly illegal to heal on the Sabbath; it was legal to save life, even that of an animal which was an important property, so we understand they are being extreme in what they believe is their service to the Law. Secondly, St. Augustine, for example, has commented that Jesus' anger here is a natural human emotion which is properly experienced in the face of sin. While there is sinful anger (see Matthew 5:22), there is also anger that is God-given and proper to humanity (Psalm 4:4). My study bible says, "Christ's anger here is in response to people professing God, yet having such hardness in their hearts that they could not rejoice in the healing of one of their brothers."
Jesus begins to expose the lack of grace in the Pharisees, and to exemplify the grace He seeks to share with the world and bring through His ministry. It's really not a case of changing the way that Jewish spiritual thought has been given and transmitted in its essential message and revelation; rather, it's a case of reminding the institutions what exactly that is -- of getting back to the understanding of the mercy of God and God's purposes for us in the world. When Jesus states that the Sabbath was made for man, He's not radically changing anything that Moses has said. He's fulfilling the law of Moses. It is the Pharisees here who are, in effect, changing the impact and meaning of the law by focusing on extremes and leaving out the great part of what God's love is about: mercy. That the Sabbath was made for man is an indication of our needs for restoration, spiritual, physical, mental, emotional -- all of it is there in the intent to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy. Ultimately, the Sabbath is for complete healing. As has often been said, God has no need of anything; it is God who reaches to us with love and mercy, and we are to respond in relationship, and dialogue. This love is for us, and God delights in our return of God's love. But what are the Pharisees doing here? They see the world as only a competitive place, with Jesus as a threat to their authority. Jesus is preaching love, mercy -- and mercy as healing, in every possible sense of the needs of a human being. Anger, a human emotion, is used in service to that mercy. But the anger of the Pharisees is used to tear down that which shows them up as deficient in their own emphasis on the purely negative, without room for love. Have we got that message? Are there places where we're offered a false guilt -- either by some form of political or social correctness (or even through bullying!), or even by someone who means to teach us in the Church -- at the expense of mercy and healing? What are we given at the expense of love, or of restoration? Let us note that so much is a question of what we or someone else really needs; love is to draw us to what is best for us, to what God has for us. Sometimes, like medicine, that may take forms we don't like or that teach us a kind of liberating humility. Even the Pharisees in today's reading should be learning something good for them from Christ's way of teaching them! But let us note the dire opposition of the intentions here in today's story: one is for mercy and healing (and truth is essential to healing), the other is to destroy a rival without seeing beyond the fear of losing power. That's the difference between bullying and someone who has our best interest in mind, even if they're telling us what we don't want to hear that is actually meant to heal. We begin with love and prayer, seeking God's way for what nurtures and heals. Let us remember His compassion but also His righteous anger. Let us always ask how we share God's love best with others.
