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

 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

Beginning with Monday's reading, Jesus has been responding to questions from disciples of John the Baptist, and also speaking about the Kingdom of God and its presence in His ministry.  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!"  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?"  My study bible notes here that the Pharisees are rigid in their legalism.  The Law allowed plucking a few heads of grain in a neighbor's field (Deuteronomy 23:25), but they consider it "reaping" and therefore unlawful on the Sabbath.  Jesus provides Old Testament references of blameless "violations" of the Sabbath, and thereby demonstrates that the law is not absolute over human need or service to God.  That David and his men partook of the showbread (1 Samuel 21:5-7) is a prefiguration of the Eucharist.  In the Old Testament this was forbidden to anyone but the priests, but in Christ it 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."  Christ is Author of the Law, and Lord over all of it.  As Lord, my study bible says, He teaches that mercy takes precedence over regulations, ordinances, and ritualistic observances.  Jesus quotes from Hosea 6:6.  It is the second time He has done so; the first was in response to criticism that He dined with and made disciples of tax collectors and sinners, also with an emphasis on healing (see this reading).

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 love in action, Christ's active work of mercy as an example of what He has just preached.  It is a defining act of God's presence in the world, by the Son of Man, Incarnate and with us to reveal God and God's truth and love.  Again, Jesus cites a common example of exception to the law, an allowance to save an animal.  The image here is one of God as life-giver, meaning that He is here not simply that we may have life, but that we may have it more abundantly (John 10:10).

What do we reject when we reject God?  This event calls us to be alert to what it is that brings life more abundantly to our world, to human beings.  Is it lawful to do good?  To save life?  These may seem like simple questions, but when we are faced with dilemmas of choice, it is often hard to discern what is meant to restore or give life -- or especially to enhance the quality of life for human beings and for all the world.  How do we judge?  We can observe in the Pharisees' reaction also something typical for us as human beings.  They are outraged that Jesus has made a direct challenge to their criticism, and their role as enforcers and upholders of the Law, its regulation and application.  They are blind to the effects of His work, and do not consider what is being revealed to them.  It tells us a story that revelation of God will have a dividing effect between those who embrace this reality and those who do not (10:34).   The flash of spiritual light means we must make choices, and those who reject will be driven further away.  It tells us that this powerful revelation is meant ultimately for judgment, although until that time we each are on a journey in which there is room for more than an abundance of mercy from a God who is love and who desires mercy and not sacrifice.  Let us consider, in the all-too-human image of the Pharisees, what the story tells us about ourselves.  To what do we cling, and for what do we give up what might be a precious image of ourselves?  Here, there is One from whom they may learn, but they are blinded by their outrage at His challenge to their ideas and authority.  Ultimately it must be the love of God that leads us to where we each need to be.  There are all kinds of things we may sacrifice for, but there is One whose love gives us so much more in return, and who calls on us to live it.