Mk 2:23-28

The Disciples and Sabbath

As [Jesus] was passing through a field of grain on the Sabbath, his disciples began to make a path while picking the heads of grain. At this the Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?” He said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and he and his companions were hungry? How he went into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest and ate the bread of offering that only the priests could lawfully eat, and shared it with his companions?” Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. That is why the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”

MEETING NEEDS: Jesus points out that genuine human need takes precedence over the rules governing human life and conduct. David and his men broke the rules in order to satisfy their hunger; the very real needs of people are more important than rules.

            The purpose of the Sabbath – rest – was to imitate God, who after six days of creating took time out of a break. As Jesus states it, the Sabbath was made for the people. It is God’s gift to them.

            To turn it around and say that people were made for the Sabbath is to get it backward. People are not made to fit rules; rules are made to fit the needs of people. When rules no longer serve their purpose, then they are to be changed, abolished, or ignored.

            So often people cling to the rules because rules offer safety, security, and protection from change. However, such an enclosure does not necessarily serve the needs. When someone is hungry, no rule concerning the prophet time for meals is appropriate – as demonstrated by David and Jesus.

            Likewise, when someone is sick, no rule concerning the usual office hours of a doctor applies. When someone has been in an accident and is being rushed to the hospital, the rule about stopping at every red light no longer applies in deference to the suffering person. Common sense and prudent judgment, rather, must prevail.

Response

Do you place rules above people or people above rules?