Tuesday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time
Some of my favorite memories as an Iowa farm kid were all about summer threshing time. A great time to experience “neighborliness” when farmers (and kids like us) came together to help neighbors harvest the oats crop. Our “job” was driving tractors! Harvesting the grain was an up-close and personal experience of the gift of the fields. A good year meant a good “stand,” and checking the quality of the grain heads meant stripping off the top kernels and rubbing them in the palm of your hands. Such a simple action, and yet a reverent nod to the abundance of God’s love filling all things great and small.
The Gospel today highlights the specific action of the disciples, who were hungry, stripping off some kernels as they walked along the standing wheat. Without getting into the questions of who owned the wheat, whether they had permission, or how much was actually removed, the center of the controversy came down to the simple act of the disciples stripping the kernels. The Pharisees objected that it was unlawful “work” according to the laws prohibiting work on the Sabbath.
Jesus answered by enlarging the picture to include the complexity of any human action which is conditioned by human choices, intentions, and needs. God made each person as the object of his love with the gift and responsibility of following one’s conscience. Jesus pointed out that one time even King David decided to allow his hungry soldiers to eat the Bread of Offering used for worship and reserved for the priests of the Temple. Genuine law is intended by the mind of the law-giver for the good of the people which allows for a sense of compassion. Jesus is the revelation of God and is the fulfillment of the law and the prophets. He provides us with the face of God and the depths of God’s love for us.
God’s love continues to sustain us in all things great and small – even the kernels in the palm of our hands speak of an abundance still to come.
Some reflection questions
- Do we ever lose sight of the purpose of law or the mind of the law-giver?
- Do we allow our conscience to respond to the legitimate needs of others?
Reflection by Fr. Daniel Petsche, OSB
Posted in Articles for Ordinary Time, Daily Reflections