Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?

 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath.  And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.  And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, "Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!"  But He said to them, "Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him:  how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests?  Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless?  Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple.  But if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless.  For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."

Now when He had departed from there, He went into their synagogue.  And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand.  And they asked Him, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" -- that they might accuse Him.  Then He said to them, "What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out?  Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep?  Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath."  Then He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand."  And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other.  Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him. 

- Matthew 12:1-14

Yesterday we read that Jesus answered and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.  Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.  All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father.  Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.  Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath.  And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.  And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, "Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!"  This is a very rigid kind of legalism that the Pharisees express.  The Law allowed for plucking a few heads of grain in a neighbor's field (Deuteronomy 23:25).  But the Pharisees accuse Jesus' disciples of "reaping" which is unlawful on the Sabbath.  In recent readings, it has become clear that the leadership is not only now critical of John the Baptist, but is in the process of rejection of Jesus and His ministry as well.  Perhaps they are looking for things by which they might further accuse His ministry.

"But He said to them, "Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him:  how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests?  Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless?"   Jesus provides Old Testament examples of blameless "violations" of the Sabbath.  He demonstrates that the law is not absolute over human need or service to God, my study bible tells us.  The partaking of the showbread by David and his men (1 Samuel 21:5-7) prefigures the Eucharist -- which in the Old Testament was forbidden to anyone except the priests, but in Christ is given to all the faithful.

"Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple.  But if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless.  For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."   Jesus goes forward in His arguments with the Pharisees, asserting that the Author of the Law is Lord over all of it.  As Lord, my study bible says, He teaches that mercy takes precedence over regulations, ordinances, and ritualistic observances.

Now when He had departed from there, He went into their synagogue.  And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand.  And they asked Him, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" -- that they might accuse Him.  Then He said to them, "What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out?  Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep?  Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath."  Then He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand."  And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other.  Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him.   Here is an immediate example where the exceedingly rigorous application of the law leads to contradiction.  The law allowed for the saving of the endangered life of an animal (property) on the Sabbath, and yet the Pharisees will seek to criticize Jesus for healing a man.  Once again, we observe Jesus assertively challenging the Pharisees on this point of the mercy that must be a part of those who honor the Lord:  "Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath."   But the Pharisees respond to this direct challenge with a more determined effort to destroy Him. 

Jesus' championing of the law of mercy becomes a point of contention for which He will eventually give His life.  Jesus speaks frequently of the use of power and authority as that which must be in service to all, especially within the framework of believers and those who follow Him in discipleship.  But in readings that describe events like the ones in today's Gospel passage, we see Jesus using power and authority in a decisive and assertive way.  In defense of the principle of mercy, Jesus is unstinting in His criticism of the leadership that refuses to serve mercy with its application of Law.  In that sense, they refuse both the Author of the Law (the Lord) and the Son of Man (His name for Himself as Messiah).  He will vigorously defend His disciples against false criticism, just as over the past few readings we have also read His defense of John the Baptist (see Saturday's reading) and also of His own ministry (Monday's reading).  Here in today's reading, Jesus "goes to the mat," so to speak, in defense of the will of the Lord, in which the fullness of justice includes mercy.  When He states that there is One greater than the temple, He clearly speaks of "the Lord" the Pharisees know from Scripture, but He is also speaking of Himself as Lord Incarnate.  In this role He proclaims mercy, and reminds the Pharisees (for the second time in Matthew's Gospel) that "I desire mercy and not sacrifice" (Hosea 6:6).  They can speak all they want to of regulation and rules built up around the Law, but nothing can supersede the aim and goal of the Law, which is the manifestation of God's love and will for good for human beings. Ultimately, both the Law and Jesus' ministry aim for healing.  That is, healing on many levels:  healing of individual and of community.  Without mercy, the message comes to us, there is no healing.  Mercy comes to us in many forms.  Forgiveness comes to mind as something that heals community and individuals, relationships outside of oneself and the soul within as well.  The practice of mercy is a form of God-likeness.  It does not contravene justice nor is it meant to; rather, mercy completes justice.  Without it, Jesus shows us in today's teaching, real justice, real righteousness, real healing, does not happen.  Let us take His teaching to heart and understand that He has already told us He is our physician.  In a reading from chapter 9, He replied to the critical Pharisees, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  But go and learn what this means:  'I desire mercy and not sacrifice.'  For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."  His is the fullness of the Law and its aim, and remains so for us today.   Jesus finds what needs healing, and this is why we turn to Him for our ailments at all times.