Saint Bonaventure
Mt 12: 1-8
At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the sabbath; his disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. When the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the sabbath.”
He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him or his companions to eat, but only for the priests. Or have you not read in the law that on the sabbath the priests in the temple break the sabbath and yet are guiltless?
I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. For 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.
I Desire Mercy
Pharisees. Their name is synonymous with self-righteousness, hypocrisy, and small-minded legalism. More than once, they found themselves on the receiving end of Jesus’ harshest tongue-lashings. Indeed, they are an easy, convenient group to loathe, and it is ever so tempting to use them as foils. We stack our lives against theirs, compare our faithfulness to their faithfulness, and always come out looking better.
When we juxtapose ourselves against such a villainous caricature, it is easy to lose sight of our own legalism, hypocrisy, and small-mindedness. We forget how quick we are to condemn and to criticize. We forget that Jesus and the law of love are the benchmark.
Drawing upon tradition, Jesus deftly reminds the Pharisees and, by extension, us, that mercy is at the heart of true faith. As we live into this day, may we be attentive to our propensity to criticize and condemn. May we resist these inclinations and embrace opportunities to extend God’s mercy.
—Douglas Gleber is the Director of Adult Faith Formation and Liturgy at Loyola Academy in Wilmette, IL.
Prayer
Gracious God, open our hearts this day to those in need of your mercy. Amen.
—Douglas Gleber