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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 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
In yesterday's reading, we were told 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 the Pharisees were fasting. Then they came and said to Him, "Why do 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." In yesterday's reading, we were told that Jesus and His disciples were eating and drinking at table with tax collectors and sinners, at the home of Levi (Matthew), who had also been a tax collector when he was called by Christ. We also read that Jesus' disciples did not fast like John the Baptist's did. All this is cause for concern, questioning, and criticism. Today we have another incident in which Jesus' disciples are raising criticism because they eat -- or rather they "work" to eat -- they pluck the heads of grain. Jesus cites David's act of sharing the showbread with his tired and hungry men, something that was reserved for the priests. In a commentary on this story in Luke's Gospel, St. Ambrose writes that the Son of Man shares with everyone the food that was once reserved for only the priests, the food of the Lord of the Sabbath. This is the new covenant alluded to in yesterday's reading, when Jesus spoke of "new wineskins." We note also the healing quality and emphasis here yet again as has so consistently been the case of Mark's Gospel. The grain on the Sabbath is part of God's gracious care of man, out of which the Sabbath itself was given.
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 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. To modern ears, it's hard to understand why healing a man's hand would be unlawful on the Sabbath. But to understand what happens here, there are several factors at play to take into consideration. In addition to the Law given by Moses, there were traditions built up by the scribes and Pharisees around the Law. In such tradition, healing was considered work, and therefore not permissible on the 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." What we have to understand also is the zealousness by which they seek to guard their places; if we look at Mark's Gospel carefully, Jesus' fame and popularity is widespread and is happening very quickly. To heal on the Sabbath is another extension of Jesus' saying above: "The Sabbath was made for man." It is also in keeping with everything about Christ's ministry, and the Eucharist to come.
Food and mercy are intertwined somehow in our readings. It's a good thing to think about during Lent (although, for much of the Eastern Church, Lent will not begin for another few weeks). What does it mean to be fed? We must think of Christ's work as healing and, in particular, nurturing to everything that we are and can be. The image of the showbread as prefiguring the giving of the Eucharist tells us so much that we need to understand about His mission into the world -- even, indeed, its sacramental quality of giving our lives back to us in the fullness of His Incarnation. The nurturing of healing, the nurturing of feeding, the nurturing of the wedding banquet: all of these things are "made for man." God's gracious love and care is something we can never forget. So, in the light of Jesus' words about the Sabbath, what can we think about that puts us on the right track here? Even fasting as religious practice is meant to be done in service to mankind: the capacity to say "no" teaches us about our own capacity for transcendence, self-discipline, choice. To learn that "man does not live by bread alone" is perhaps one of the best things that we can learn in life, if we are truly to learn what is of greatest value in life, and to focus on that. When we pray for our "daily bread" in the Lord's Prayer, it's important to note that this isn't only about ordinary meals, but the bread of the Lord, the Eucharist. In the Greek, the word for daily can be more literally translated as "super-substantial," a kind of bread that is more than ordinary bread. So, in this context, the Sabbath is made for feeding, for nourishing, for giving us all the things we need for a truly healthy life on every level: physical, mental, spiritual. In the ministry of Christ, none of this is separable from one another. Indeed, the statement that man does not live by bread alone is meant to say that to separate the material from the rest is a false misunderstanding of what we truly need for a healthy life. If a human being has imperfect health, a birth defect, a disfigurement or loss of limb through accident, is afflicted with illness such as depression, through any sort of personal imperfection, they are not exempt from this wholeness. That sort of thinking is materialistic to the exclusion of what the fullness of life really holds, to the potentials for life in Christ. St. Paul teaches, in fact, that in our weakness God's strength is made perfect. Jesus' Sabbath is meant for wholeness and healing; the Sabbath made for man is part of God's care of us. In the understanding of sacrament, all this gift of the world that God gives us is returned with thanks and blessings to God -- who in turn, and through Christ's mission and ministry to the world, His life, death, and Resurrection, returns it to us in the fullness of what life truly is. That is nourishment indeed, something to think about, the gift of real wholeness, completeness. It is the fullness of His joy.
