Luke 6: 1-5
One sabbath while Jesus was going through the grainfields, his disciples plucked some heads of grain, rubbed them in their hands, and ate them. But some of the Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?”
Jesus answered, “Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God and took and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and gave some to his companions?”
Then he said to them, “The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath.”
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
Sabbath Intent
In the eyes of the Pharisees, who saw the 613 Mosaic laws as rigid requirements, the actions of Jesus and his disciples are ignoring the sabbath and, in doing so, breaking one of the Ten Commandments. Jesus’s response is seen in several places in the Gospels. As “lord of the sabbath,” Jesus shows that he doesn’t want to abolish the law, but is the fulfillment of the law. The original intent of all the commandments was to benefit the people of Israel. Keeping the sabbath holy meant giving people a time and space for rest, for worship, and for community. It is the later Pharisaic tradition that added increasingly rigid restrictions to the activities that people could do on the sabbath. Jesus’s response in today’s Gospel is a reaffirmation of the original divine purpose of the sabbath.
When we go back to the original commandment, and the way that Jesus treated the sabbath, it is clear that we are asked to find ways to pause, reflect, and spend some time with God. How will you take time for sabbath this week?
—Jesuit Prayer team
Prayer
Lord Jesus, you modeled for us what it means to honor the sabbath and set aside time for our relationship with you. Show us how to pause and give ourselves the space to spend time with you. Amen.
—Jesuit Prayer team
Pray with the Pope
The Holy Father’s Monthly Prayer Intentions Brought to you by Apostleship of Prayer the first Friday of each month.