How Mercy Should Prevail Over the Law

Friday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Year I
July 16, 2021

Readings for the Day
    First Resding: Ex 11:10—12:14
    Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 116:12-13, 15 and 16bc, 17-18
    Gospel: Mt 12:1-8

Word Count: 264
Reading Speed

    Slow (100 wpm): 2.5 minutes
    Average (130 wpm): 1.9 minutes
    Fast (160wpm): 1.6 minutes

Violation of the Sabbath Law is a major recurring accusation of the Pharisees against Jesus and His disciples. Here again, the action of Jesus’ disciples of picking heads of grain was considered by the Pharisees as harvesting, an agricultural work forbidden on the Sabbath. Clearly, their reasoning was unsound and fallacious, bloating a small issue and making it big and sensational. They closed their eyes lest they see and understand the need of the disciples for food. They gave more value to the order of things than to the order of persons.

Jesus rebutted that their accusation was false and unjust by citing what David did for himself and his companions, lawfully eating the holy bread intended only for priests. Ahimelech, the priest of Nob, gave this bread to David and his companions to eat because no other bread was available (1 Samuel 21:2-7). In saying this, Jesus showed the Pharisees how mercy should prevail over the law.

There are people today and, sadly, some clergy and religious who are so critical about little things, seeing them as grave violations. We can also be guilty of doing such to our own brothers in the Congregation, to our parishioners and to our lay collaborators, to people on the streets or slums trying to make a living, etc. We can be fast to judge and readily scold them or kick them out without hearing and understanding them with mercy and compassion.

For the second time around, Jesus taught the Pharisees and all of us to be merciful. He said it again, "I desire mercy, not sacrifice."

Fr. Joel R. Lasutaz, SSS

Image credit: flickr.com