The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath

 Now it happened that He went through the grainfields on the Sabbath; and as they went His disciples began to pluck he 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,  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 he 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."   That the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath tells us something about the Law, and about the New Covenant Christ brings as Messiah.  What was once not lawful to eat except for the priests is now freely given to all by the Lord of the Sabbath.  David, says my study bible, prefigured this when he gave the showbread to those who were with him.

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.   The scribes and Pharisees had built up particular traditions around the Law.  In accordance with such tradition, healing was considered work, and therefore was not permissible on the Sabbath.  They believed they were serving God by being zealous in such traditions.  There were exceptions in the Law to save the lives of animals on the Sabbath.  But Jesus' entire ministry is a mission of healing.  Salvation is a means of healing, in many ways and dimensions of life.  What is missing from the legalistic framework of understanding is the sensitivity to God's mercy that is embedded in the idea of healing. 

In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught that those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick." Salvation is all about healing; healing is the focus of this ministry.  If we think of healing as correction, we're not far wrong from the sense in which healing is offered here.  Healing puts things right, makes things whole, restores people (and all the world) to community and right relationship.  These are the real aims of the Law.  That the Sabbath was made for man, as Jesus says, is indicative of the true intention of the Law.  As Messiah, He is Lord of the Sabbath.  He is, in fact, author of the Law as Lord and Second Person of the Trinity, and He is the fulfillment of the Law as the God-man who is sent to us and gives us a New Covenant.  To understand Christ is to view life with a deeper eye to healing, to setting things right, to restoration and salvation.  In this framework, today's reading gives us an examination of what it is to have a legalistic kind of thinking.  From its inception, the early Church had a clear idea that legalism was not what our faith is about.  When we lapse into such thinking at any time in our understanding of the ongoing work of Christ's ministry in the Church, then we lose the thread of His love and teaching.  We forget what He brought into the world.  Christ's ministry is for salvation and healing.  At the same time, it is one in which we understand that to whatever extend we are not fully perfect beings, we are all in need of this salvation and healing.  There is none can claim exemption both from God's mercy and also for an ongoing need for growth through repentance ("change of mind") that is much more than a list of sins committed.  Our whole understanding of spiritual growth is based upon the idea that repentance is a kind of ladder to God, imaged in the vision of Jacob as he dreamed at Bethel:  "Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it" - Genesis 28:12.  This image in the Church is held traditionally to be one of our real spiritual journey, in which a lifetime of faith is meant to be a movement, an ongoing pilgrimage, leading to the place of union with God.  Christ, as Bridegroom in the wedding image of union of God with God's people, comes to show us the way, and to give us an idea of what real healing and restoration truly mean.  This is the way, His way.  It is a journey of true healing, in which we understand that each of us is in need of His love and mercy.  No one and nothing is excluded.