Saturday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time
September 4, 2021
Saturday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 436
Reading I
Brothers and sisters:
You once were alienated and hostile in mind because of evil deeds;
God has now reconciled you
in the fleshly Body of Christ through his death,
to present you holy, without blemish,
and irreproachable before him,
provided that you persevere in the faith,
firmly grounded, stable,
and not shifting from the hope of the Gospel that you heard,
which has been preached to every creature under heaven,
of which I, Paul, am a minister.
Responsorial Psalm
- (6) God himself is my help.
O God, by your name save me,
and by your might defend my cause.
O God, hear my prayer;
hearken to the words of my mouth.
R. God himself is my help.
Behold, God is my helper;
the Lord sustains my life.
Freely will I offer you sacrifice;
I will praise your name, O LORD, for its goodness.
R. God himself is my help.
Alleluia
- Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the way and the truth and the life, says the Lord;
no one comes to the Father except through me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
While Jesus was going through a field of grain on a sabbath,
his disciples were picking the heads of grain,
rubbing them in their hands, and eating them.
Some Pharisees said,
“Why are you doing what is unlawful on the sabbath?”
Jesus said to them in reply,
“Have you not read what David did
when he and those who were with him were hungry?
How he went into the house of God, took the bread of offering,
which only the priests could lawfully eat,
ate of it, and shared it with his companions?”
Then he said to them, “The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath.”
Reflection: PLEASING TO GOD - THE MERE RULE OR SPIRIT OF THE RULE
The disciples were going through the fields where there were ripe corn standing. They rubbed the grains between their hands and ate them. This was not something they were allowed to do on the Sabbath. The Jews had made rules and rules about how the Sabbath was to be observed and how it would be broken. The many rules were such that it was very difficult not to break them perhaps even without one's knowing it! Jesus was unhappy about this kind of situation where people were tied up by their own rules--- that too, because of their religious foolishness. Jesus wanted to change that. But the Jews would not allow such changes. They would rather keep the laws of Moses and not break them. In this situation they had lost their freedom. But since it was for God it was ok. They were willing to lose their freedom to serve their God. That would give them much satisfaction and pride. They would not want anyone to break the rules but wanted everyone to submit to them dutifully. Jesus brings in the name of David the holy king of Israel who was so good that he could not do any wrong! No Jew would dare to say that David could do wrong and that is the trump card that Jesus used to silence them. However, it is possible that these people did not grasp the idea that Jesus wanted them to understand... that God could not be pleased by any cruel rule that they imposed on themselves!