The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath

 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 kill?"  But they kept silent.  And when He had looked around at 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 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."   The Gospel once again emphasizes aspects of healing and wholeness as the New Covenant of Christ.  Luke's Gospel says that this incident took place on a "second Sabbath after the first," meaning on a day of a fast.   The incident Jesus refers to was a time when David and his men were hungry, and were given the showbread to eat, although it wasn't lawful for any but the priests.  Under the "New" Covenant, it's a time when food which was not lawful for anyone but the priests to eat, is now given freely to all by Lord of the Sabbath.    This food given to the hungry is a sort of Eucharist, the holy bread which gives us depth of relationship to God.  Jesus is God Incarnate, He hungers as human being, but He is also Lord.

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 kill?"  But they kept silent.  And when He had looked around at 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.    Under the traditions of the Law, healing was considered work, therefore impermissible on the Sabbath.  Christ is put to the test here, and His answer is resounding for us:  God's work is healing work, and the Sabbath is a day for God's healing work in man. 

We have remarked on the fact that as soon as Jesus began His ministry in Mark's Gospel, His teaching and preaching are inseparable from the action of healing, or setting aright.  The unclean spirits respond to Him and are commanded, healings of all kind take place.  In today's reading, the Sabbath -- day consecrated to God -- is an occasion for God's work, and we learn more about God's love and mercy.  The notion of healing and wholeness is expanded for us, extended to the need of Christ and His disciples for food, and extended to this man with a withered hand.  Christ is in the synagogue for a reason:  He is always teaching and preaching in the synagogues on the Sabbath.  This becomes an important occasion for demonstration, and what it, in effect, a rebuke to the religious leadership.  God answers our hungers in many ways, but with the appropriate and good food that is best for our "whole" healing.  If we need correction so that our lives may go in a better direction, this is what is offered; repentance is a kind of "food" or "medicine" for sin, for wrong-headedness.  In all kinds of ways, God heals, and this exemplified in each of these stories of Christ.  In today's reading, the Sabbath is given to man for the purpose of true healing, and our full healing is really in right-relatedness to God.  When we worship God, we go to the place where our fullness really is, the image of who we are in God's eyes.  Healing a hand is a good symbol to think about.  How do we become "fully functional" in God's sight.  The world is full of stories of those who are given hard knocks by all kinds of ailments in the world, but with God's help find ways to turn those stories into ones in which purpose and meaning is found.  There's a powerful film about a woman who'd been a prostitute for over twenty years, and one day found herself in the emergency ward of a hospital.  All of her "own" answers failed her, and she prayed to God for help.  This acted in an immediate way to restore her, finding a place to heal and to grow.  In the end, the "normal" life she longed to go to became a life in which she ministers to women lost in a life of prostitution, and perhaps more importantly, an after-school program which she designed to help young girls before they get there.  It's a story of healing, finding a place with God's love, in which all of our lives can be that which contributes to others' healing, with God's help and mercy.  Our Physician heals us, but we remember that we go to Him first for all things, and for restoration.  "The Sabbath was made for man . . . Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath."  As one of us, He knows what we need to heal.