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."  Once again, as in yesterdays reading (above), the Pharisees begin to criticize, based on their understanding of the Law and the traditions built up around it.  But Jesus brings up a blameless violation of the Law, when David and his men ate the showbread which was meant only for the priests (see 1 Samuel 21:1-6).  According to St. Ambrose of Milan, this is an illustration of the old and new covenants.  Under 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.  This was prefigured by David in giving 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.  My study Bible comments that, according to certain traditions built up by the scribes and Pharisees around the Law, healing was considered to be work.  So, therefore, it was not permissible on the Sabbath.  Once again, as in yesterday's reading and commentary, we observe that these men believed that by zealously keeping these peripheral traditions, they were serving God.  But their legalism made them insensitive to God's mercy.   The text tells us that Jesus looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts.  My study Bible comments on this that righteous anger is a natural human emotion experienced in the face of sin.  There is anger that is sinful (Matthew 5:22), but there is also anger that is God-given and proper to humanity (Psalm 4:4).  Christ's anger here, it notes, is in response to people who profess God, but who have such hardness in their hearts that they could not rejoice in the healing of one of their brothers.  

 

Today's reading expands on St. Mark's orientation, observed in yesterday's reading, to Christ's ministry as one of healing.  Healing involves all kinds of aspects of what it is to be a human being.  In today's case, we observe two:  one is the aspect of human hunger; the other is of a wounded limb. In yesterday's reading and commentary, we noted that Christ's sense of healing is for the full wholeness of a person, and it extends to the soul.  Ultimate healing is connected, therefore, to repentance and the forgiveness of sin, for it is in the freedom from the kind of bondage that sin brings that we may find ourselves.   But essential to concepts of healing in today's reading is yet another gift from God, and that is the Sabbath.  Jesus says,  "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.  Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath."  In our modern age, we might think about the Sabbath rest as a time simply to forget about our usual work, or to relax, or as is common, to exercise.  But the Sabbath is a holy day; we put aside our normal concerns and come to sit in rest in the Church, to be surrounded by the beauty there in worship services, and to consider ourselves a part of the kingdom of God and what that means.  If we come to participate in the Eucharist, then confession, putting ourselves before God, considering how God might guide us forward in life, and giving ourselves to our faith, is also part of our Sabbath.  So when Christ tells us that the Sabbath was made for man, He's indicating that indeed, all of this is necessary for us.  It restores us and heals us.  The spiritual life isn't separate from everything else in our lives, it gives us nourishment, rest in the places and ways that we need it, a refreshment of ideas and orientation, and perhaps most of all the Lord of the Sabbath.  For Christ, the Son of Man as Lord of the Sabbath, is our champion who heals us, and He is the one setting down the terms of mercy and true nourishment, caring for need, on the Sabbath in today's reading.  He is our Physician, who cares for soul, body, heart, mind, and spirit -- and guides us to the things which are truly needful.