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 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

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."    In Luke's Gospel this is called the second Sabbath after the first, indicating a feast day immediately following the normal Sabbath.  As work is forbidden on the Sabbath, the Pharisees accuse Jesus' disciples of violating the Sabbath.  But Jesus has just spoken (in our previous reading, above) about the new wine that needs new wineskins.  He reminds the Pharisees of David, who ate the showbread and gave some to those who were with him.  In this time of the new covenant, the food which was at one time not lawful for anyone but the priests to eat is now freely given to all by the 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.  The scribes and Pharisees hold to certain traditions that they had built up around the Law.   Among these traditions, healing was considered work -- and so therefore is not permissible on the Sabbath.  My study bible says that they believed they served God by zealously keeping these peripheral traditions, but their legalism makes them insensitive to God's mercy.  The Herodians are those allied with Herod, ruler of Galilee who serves the Romans.

In yesterday's reading, we observed how Jesus is in some sense more strict than the Law (such as in the Sermon on the Mount, when He spoke elaborating on the statutes against murder, adultery, regarding divorce and also the swearing of oaths, in Matthew ch. 5).  But what is always at work with Christ is love, God's mercy.  When Jesus says that the Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath, He is iterating just this very thing -- that it is mercy that is the law of God.  Jesus addresses what human beings need:  healing, food, and the kingdom of God.   The implication here is that man also needs the Sabbath, the nurturing from God and the rest in God the Sabbath entails.  The Law is meant to point to God, to a community at whose center is the worship of a loving God.  But if "legalisms" get in the way of the relationships a loving God mediates, then it is obstructing the establishment of such a community.  As Messiah, Jesus comes as Mediator for all us, teaching us what must be in our hearts, a deeper focus than the externals of the traditions built up around the Law.  Is someone hungry who is right before us?  Does someone need help in our midst?  This is not about focusing on fixing all the problems of the world, but developing a heart that responds to the loving power of God -- and that teaches us we are to be like Christ, God who has manifest as one of us.  We are to find the Holy Spirit and our connection to God's active mercy that is within us, and make an active effort to find where we are too hard-hearted to hear that Spirit and respond.  This is the true work of God we are meant to be doing.  This calls for a kind of alertness, a wakefulness to God that isn't about following a rule (whether that be a particular tradition or a social or politically correct rule), but is rather about responding to living love and mercy, right here and right now.  If, for example, solving problems of world hunger is important to you, don't snub the person who may be sitting in front of you at your own table.  Learn what hospitality is and truly means and demands of you.  The faith traditions we have are those meant to draw us closer to this kind of love, to an active worship through all things.   Christ draws us to be fully alive to all that is within and around us, a living love in action.  It is this law that is supreme above all else, that knows no boundaries and reaches deeply within us.  But are we prepared for its challenges to our assumptions and rules -- and even to our view of ourselves and others?