But they were filled with rage, and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus

Now it happened on the second Sabbath after the first that He went through the grainfields.  And His disciples plucked the heads of the grain and ate them, rubbing them in their hands.  And some of the Pharisees said to them, "Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?"  But Jesus answering them said, "Have you not even read this, what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him:  how he went into the house of God, took and ate the showbread, and also gave some to those with him, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat?"  And He said to them, "The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath."

Now it happened on another Sabbath, also, that He entered the synagogue and taught.  And a man was there whose right hand was withered.  So the scribes and Pharisees watched Him closely, whether He would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against Him.  But He knew their thoughts, and said to the man who had the withered hand, "Arise and stand here."  And he arose and stood.  Then Jesus said to them, "I will ask you one thing:  Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?"  And when He had looked around at them all, He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand."  And he did so, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.  But they were filled with rage, and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.

- Luke 6:1-11

On Saturday, we read that went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax office.  And He said to him, "Follow Me."  So he left all, rose up, and followed Him.  Then Levi gave Him a great feast in his own house.  And there were a great number of tax collectors and others who sat down with them.  And their scribes and the Pharisees complained against His disciples, saying, "Why do You eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."  Then they said to Him, "Why do the disciples of John fast often and make prayers, and likewise those of the Pharisees, but Yours eat and drink?"  And He said to them, "Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them?  But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; then they will fast in those days."  Then He spoke a parable to them:  "No one puts a piece from a new garment on an old one; otherwise the new makes a tear, and also the piece that was taken out of the new does not match the old.  And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine will burst the wineskins and be spilled, and the wineskins will be ruined.  But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved.  And no one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, 'The old is better.'"

Now it happened on the second Sabbath after the first that He went through the grainfields.  And His disciples plucked the heads of the grain and ate them, rubbing them in their hands.  And some of the Pharisees said to them, "Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?"  But Jesus answering them said, "Have you not even read this, what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him:  how he went into the house of God, took and ate the showbread, and also gave some to those with him, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat?"  And He said to them, "The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath."  The term the second Sabbath after the first indicates that a Jewish feast immediately followed the normal Sabbath, as a feast was also called a Sabbath.  According to St. Ambrose, my study bible notes, the "second Sabbath" is an image of the new covenant and the eternal resurrection:  the first Sabbath is the Law, while the second Sabbath stands in as the gospel that follows it.  Under the new covenant, that food which was not lawful at one time for anyone but the priests to eat is now freely given to everyone by the Lord of the Sabbath.   This was prefigured by David when he gave the showbread . . . to those with him.  This is also the second time in Luke's Gospel that the term Son of Man has been used by Jesus, indicating His identity and authority as the Christ. 

Now it happened on another Sabbath, also, that He entered the synagogue and taught.  And a man was there whose right hand was withered.  So the scribes and Pharisees watched Him closely, whether He would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against Him.  But He knew their thoughts, and said to the man who had the withered hand, "Arise and stand here."  And he arose and stood.  Then Jesus said to them, "I will ask you one thing:  Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?"  And when He had looked around at them all, He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand."  And he did so, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.  But they were filled with rage, and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.   My study bible says that according to certain traditions that the scribes and Pharisees had built up around the Law, healing was considered to be work.  Therefore it wasn't permissible on the Sabbath.   Their belief was that they were serving God by zealously keeping these peripheral traditions, but this legalism renders them insensitive to the mercy of God.  Let us observe, also, that Jesus offered the Pharisees a similar kind of choice in response to their criticism, when He said to them before healing the paralytic, "Why are you reasoning in your hearts?  Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Rise up and walk'?" (see Friday's reading).   In both that example and in this one in today's reading, He was responding to His own knowledge of their thoughts, another aspect of His divine identity as the One who knows hearts (1 Samuel 16:7; 2 Chronicles 6:30, Luke 16:15, Romans 8:27).   Note also their response to Christ's action against their thoughts; they are consequently filled with rage, a common characteristic of those who reject Christ in the Gospels.  Of course, they overlook the good in the healing that has been done.

The response of rage to Christ in the Gospels is quite an interesting thing to think about.  Why rage?  Why not resignation, or awe or astonishment at the healing that has been performed?  We can also witness to the blindness that the rage evinces, or perhaps creates in and of itself.  We might think perhaps that their rage is a response to the fact that things with Jesus certainly aren't going their way.  When they think their own particular way about what they consider to be correct, He defies them -- even performing spectacular healings that defy their own judgment and assumptions.  Their sense of the authority of their positions is violated by what He does.  Moreover, He knows their thoughts!  He knows the truth about what is in their hearts.  This is rather a frightening proposition for anyone; we consider our thoughts to be our own private business, our hearts a place guarded and known only to ourselves.  But, of course, that's not really true at all.  In any case, God knows all the thoughts of our hearts, and we may presume that God's messengers -- especially a guardian angel, does so, too, at least to the extent permitted by God for our welfare and guidance.  This is quite a disconcerting thought; we're not used to assuming that anybody else really knows our thoughts.  But it is especially enraging to those whose thoughts hold darkness, lies, or manipulation, who do not want their thoughts to come to the light (John 3:20).  There may also be a strange or perverse aspect of guilt that manifests as rage.  When we're hiding a particular act of mercilessness, or neglect, it may emerge as rage in those who simply are incapable of repentance, who do not wish to re-examine their own thoughts or admit to guilt for whatever reason.  It's important, to my way of thinking, that we not ostracize any of the characters recorded in the Gospels from our own consideration of human nature and our own particular pitfalls and temptations.  It seems to me that what is on display, and results in the denial of Christ, is far from aberrant in our world.  Rather, the Gospels expose what is often all too common, and give us guidance for our own awareness of ourselves -- and especially the practice of knowing ourselves.  From its inception, Christianity has embraced confession not as a way of counting up sins and doing penance, but instead as a way of knowing ourselves, of being aware of our own hidden thoughts, even the ones that we seek to conceal from ourselves.  In the earliest desert monastic communities, confession was simply a way of talking and dialogue, allowing the disciple of Christ to become aware of his or her own heart.  So essential has this been considered to Christian discipleship through the centuries that practice of what is called Prayer of the Heart, or the Jesus Prayer, is central to the Eastern monastic tradition, and now widely spreading in the West.   It is a short, simple prayer, based on the name of Jesus and also the phrase "Lord have mercy," but it is also a powerful way for Christ to meet our hearts and for us to offer our own thoughts to Christ's mercy.  (See this article about the practice, one among many available on the web and in many authoritative publications.)   Let us consider our own vulnerability to the human behavior we read about in the Gospels, our unwillingness to hear or see what God might be presenting to us, and our need for dialogue and a heart open to our Lord.  God's mercy is good, even when it is not what we expect or think we need!