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Now it happened on the second Sabbath after the first that He went through the grainfields. And His disciples plucked the heads of grain and ate them, rubbing them in their hands. And some of the Pharisees said to them, "Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?" But Jesus answering them said, "Have you not even read this, what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: how he went into the house of God, took and ate the showbread, and also gave some to those with him, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat?" And He said to them, "The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath."
Now it happened on another Sabbath, also, that He entered a synagogue and taught. And a man was there whose right hand was withered. So the scribes and Pharisees watched Him closely, whether He would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against Him. But He knew their thoughts, and said to the man who had the withered hand, "Arise and stand here." And he arose and stood. Then Jesus said to them, "I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or evil, to save life or to destroy?" And when He had looked around at them all, He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And he did so, and his hand was restored as whole as the other. But they were filled with rage, and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.
- Luke 6:1-11
On Saturday, we read that Jesus went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, "Follow Me." So he left all, rose up, and followed Him. Then Levi gave Him a great feast in his own house. And there were a great number of tax collectors and others who sat down with them. And their scribes and the Pharisees complained against His disciples, saying, "Why do You eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?" Jesus answered and said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance." Then they said to Him, "Why do the disciples of John fast often and make prayers, and likewise those of the Pharisees, but Yours eat and drink?" And He said to them, "Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; then they will fast in those days." Then He spoke a parable to them: "No one puts a piece from a new garment on an old one; otherwise the new makes a tear, and also the piece that was taken out of the new does not match the old. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine will burst the wineskins and be spilled, and the wineskins will be ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved. And no one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, 'The old is better.'"
Now it happened on the second Sabbath after the first that He went through the grainfields. And His disciples plucked the heads of grain and ate them, rubbing them in their hands. And some of the Pharisees said to them, "Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?" But Jesus answering them said, "Have you not even read this, what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: how he went into the house of God, took and ate the showbread, and also gave some to those with him, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat?" And He said to them, "The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath." My study bible explains that the term "the second Sabbath after the first" refers to a feast that immediately follows a normal Sabbath. This is happening on a feast day. (A feast was also known as a Sabbath.) It cites St. Ambrose referring to this "second Sabbath" is an image of the new covenant. The first Sabbath is the Law, while the second indicates the gospel that follows it. We note that we've just read Jesus' words about the "new wine" that needs "new wineskins" that will be able to expand. My study bible says that under the new covenant, the food which was at one time not lawful for anyone but priests to eat is now freely given to all by the Lord of the Sabbath. The example of David giving the showbread . . . to those with him is a prefiguring of Christ.
Now it happened on another Sabbath, also, that He entered a synagogue and taught. And a man was there whose right hand was withered. So the scribes and Pharisees watched Him closely, whether He would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against Him. The scribes and Pharisees had built up particular traditions around the Law. According to these, healing was considered work and thereby not permissible on a Sabbath. My study bible says, "They believed they served God by zealously keeping these peripheral traditions, but this legalism made them insensitive to God's mercy."
But He knew their thoughts, and said to the man who had the withered hand, "Arise and stand here." And he arose and stood. Then Jesus said to them, "I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or evil, to save life or to destroy?" And when He had looked around at them all, He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And he did so, and his hand was restored as whole as the other. But they were filled with rage, and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus. Jesus knows what their thoughts are, but this Kingdom is "breaking through" into the world. He may not be revealing His identity as Christ, but His work is to do the work of the Father, and this becomes confrontation with the "old." We note the rage that follows something positive and miraculous, something to give glory for, the healing of a withered hand.
On Saturday, we noted Jesus' statement, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance." Here, the "physician" label really becomes explicit, as Jesus demonstrates what it is to need new wineskins for new wine (also an image He gave us in Saturday's reading). In today's reading, Jesus really does heal, and acts as a physician, which we know our author, Luke, also was himself. We're given a more explicit notion of the Church as Hospital, someplace where we heal. And this will become a great metaphor for Christ's entire ministry. The reconciliation with God possible through the sending of the Son is healing and restoration for all of us, it's a form of wholeness that we can't live without. Here, Jesus defies the authorities not just because they are authorities, but because the tradition has worked against the true aims and intents of God. What's the Sabbath for? What is a feast day for? Why do we honor and glorify God? What are the attributes of God? Should we not give glory to God for our healing and restoration? Prayer is maybe the most eloquent way that we set about giving time to God out of an understanding of our own need for God. Spiritual life isn't separate from the rest of us; our minds, bodies, souls, and spirits are one whole working together. When we separate them too much is when we get into problems, like a separation of traditions from what the purpose of God's love is for and aims for. In Jesus' purpose of saving, there is always going to be the expression of God's love, of healing and restoration. We give glory to God with our hands, and today (in the reading) a hand is restored. Symbolically, we could consider the hand the basic tool necessary for work, and Sabbath is a day of rest. But to restore and heal human beings is an aim of God, and all feasts glorify God's works. Sunday, if you will, is a day for all kinds of things. We set aside the normal things we're concerned with in order to think about, pray about, raise our minds and hearts toward the things of God. What does healing really mean? Where does God want to lead us? With the Eucharist we are fed with the good things of God, like Jesus cites the example of David and the showbread as He and the disciples take grain for nourishment. We rest because we need that rest, and we rest in God or in Christ because that is where we take our restoration and healing from. It sets the whole notion of faith in a new light, of saving and healing, and getting in touch with what it is we really and truly need.
