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| “The Disciples Pluck Corn” by Edward Armitage, c. 1865 |
Reading 1: Exodus 11:10—12:14
Although Moses and Aaron performed
various wonders
in Pharaoh's presence,
the LORD made Pharaoh
obstinate,
and he would not let the
children of Israel
The LORD said to Moses and
Aaron in the land
of Egypt
"This month shall stand
at the head of your calendar;
you shall reckon it the first
month of the year.
Tell the whole community of Israel
every one of your families
must procure for itself a lamb,
one apiece for each
household.
If a family is too small for
a whole lamb,
it shall join the nearest
household in procuring one
and shall share in the lamb
in proportion to the number
of persons who partake of it.
The lamb must be a year-old
male and without blemish.
You may take it from either
the sheep or the goats.
You shall keep it until the
fourteenth day of this month, and then,
with the whole assembly of Israel
it shall be slaughtered
during the evening twilight.
They shall take some of its
blood
and apply it to the two
doorposts and the lintel
of every house in which they
partake of the lamb.
That same night they shall
eat its roasted flesh
with unleavened bread and
bitter herbs.
It shall not be eaten raw or
boiled, but roasted whole,
with its head and shanks and
inner organs.
None of it must be kept
beyond the next morning;
whatever is left over in the
morning shall be burned up.
"This is how you are to
eat it:
with your loins girt, sandals
on your feet and your staff in hand,
you shall eat like those who
are in flight.
It is the Passover of the
LORD.
For on this same night I will
go through Egypt
striking down every first
born of the land, both man and beast,
and executing judgment on all
the gods of Egypt
But the blood will mark the houses
where you are.
Seeing the blood, I will pass
over you;
thus, when I strike the land of Egypt
no destructive blow will come
upon you.
"This day shall be a
memorial feast for you,
which all your generations
shall celebrate
with pilgrimage to the LORD,
as a perpetual institution."
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Commentary on Ex 11:10—12:14
In this reading from Exodus we have
jumped forward to the end of Moses’ contest of wills with Pharaoh. The first
nine plagues have been visited upon Egypt, and still the Pharaoh will not allow
the people of Israel to leave. Now God gives instructions to Moses and Aaron
about what later will be called the Passover Feast. This is done in preparation
for the repercussions from the slaughter of the firstborn of Egypt.
CCC: Ex 12:3-14 608
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 116:12-13, 15 and 16bc, 17-18
R. (13) I will take the cup of salvation, and call on
the name of the Lord.
How shall I make a return to
the LORD
for all the good he has done
for me?
The cup of salvation I will
take up,
and I will call upon the name
of the LORD.
R. I will take the cup of
salvation, and call on the name of the Lord.
Precious in the eyes of the
LORD
is the death of his faithful
ones.
I am your servant, the son of
your handmaid;
you have loosed my bonds.
R. I will take the cup of
salvation, and call on the name of the Lord.
To you will I offer sacrifice
of thanksgiving,
and I will call upon the name
of the LORD.
My vows to the LORD I will
pay
in the presence of all his
people.
R. I will take the cup of
salvation, and call on the name of the Lord.
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Commentary on Ps 116:12-13, 15 and 16bc, 17-18
This selection from Psalm 116
recalls the Passover ritual referring to the “cup of salvation.”
The psalm rejoices in God’s saving works in releasing the people from
their bondage. It gives us the image of the “Cup of Blessing” used in
the Passover celebration. It is this cup that the Lord first blessed and used
as our communion cup.
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Gospel: Matthew
12:1-8
Jesus was going through a
field of grain on the sabbath.
His disciples were hungry
and began to pick the heads
of grain and eat them.
When the Pharisees saw this,
they said to him,
"See, your disciples are
doing what is unlawful to do on the sabbath."
He said to the them,
"Have you not read what David did
when he and his companions
were hungry,
how he went into the house of
God and ate the bread of offering,
which neither he nor his
companions
but only the priests could
lawfully eat?
Or have you not read in the
law that on the sabbath
the priests serving in the
temple violate the sabbath
and are innocent?
I say to you, something
greater than the temple is here.
If you knew what this meant,
I desire mercy, not sacrifice,
you would not have condemned
these innocent men.
For the Son of Man is Lord of
the sabbath."
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Commentary on Mt 12:1-8
Following the
comment by Jesus in Matthew 11:28-30 about asking those burdened by strict Pharisaic
interpretation of the Law of Moses to come to him, we find a practical
example as the Pharisees attack the disciples because they picked some grain to
eat on the sabbath. In Pharisaic Law, that act is considered work, and is
forbidden on the Lord’s Day. Jesus reinterprets the law, citing the First Book
of Samuel (1 Samuel 21:2-7) and Leviticus (Leviticus 24:8). The implication of his final statement in this passage is clear
to us. “The ultimate justification for the disciples' violation of the sabbath
rest is that Jesus, the Son of Man, has supreme authority over the law.” [4]
CCC: Mt
12:5 581, 582, 2173; Mt 12:6 586, 590; Mt 12:7 2100
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Reflection:
What is most important about
what we believe? What is important about
our faith lived and practiced? Is it
that we attend Mass each Sunday as we are obligated to do? Is it that we scrupulously observe the
rituals, fasts, and abstinence rules? In
fact, some have challenged our practices based upon the Gospel passage from St.
Matthew. They have asked: do we need rules and laws, or even the precepts of
our faith at all? In point of fact, many
of the various Christian denominations developed out of a “sola scriptura (Bible only)” idea.
Their argument is that Jesus’
disciples were not confined to the religious rituals and laws of the Pharisees
and chief priests of the temple. In
fact, on many occasions, as in the passage given today, Jesus challenged them
on their practice of the faith. Even
when he reached out to the poor and downtrodden offering a lighter burden and
an easier yoke, he was speaking at least in part about the strict regulations
of the Pharisees.
As is generally the case,
when one takes the Lord’s demands based on only one aspect of his teaching, we
can justify almost any action in the name of being faithful to the Bible. The Church, in her wisdom, has looked for
millennia at the whole of Christ’s teaching, understanding in the broader sense
the Lord’s will for God’s people. This
broad and foundational view, long studied and reflected upon, lets us see
beyond the “face value” of such readings.
When Jesus challenges the
Pharisees he first testifies (by example) that he has come, not to destroy the
“Law,” but to fulfill the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 5:17ff).
He tells us that he has the authority to allow his disciples, because of the
vital role they are playing in God’s plan, to be exempted or dispensed from the
strict rules regarding “work” on the Sabbath.
He did not say that those rules regarding work were wrong or that they
should not be followed. He simply
dispensed his disciples from this obligation, just as those having authority in
the Church may dispense one of the faithful from a specific obligation based
upon need.
Jesus, in this instance, used
this point of contention as a teaching moment, trying to point out to the
Pharisees that what they had long hoped for, the coming of a Messiah, was
realized in the person of Jesus. (“I say
to you, something greater than the temple is here.”)
As in Jesus’ day, there are
those who would argue this point and lobby for an easier discipline, a more
flexible set of rules governing the practice of the faith. We submit to you today that, as difficult as
it is to adhere to the Precepts of the Church, it is those very ideals that
define us as Christian and Catholic.
Pax
[1]
The picture is “The Disciples Pluck Corn” by Edward
Armitage, c. 1865.
[3]
The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the
psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for
English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is
for private use only.
[4]
See NAB footnote on Matthew 12:1-8.
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