Plucking Grain on the Sabbath (Mark 2:23-28)

What is the purpose and goal of the Sabbath?

One Sabbath he was going through the grain fields, and as they made their way, his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. And the Pharisees were saying to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” (2:23-24)

This was a major concern for the Pharisees. The Sabbath was considered extremely important, and had become a key element of the Jewish identity in these days. It had expanded its biblical meaning to a long set of rules. One of them was that you should not pluck grain, since it was considered work. 

And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God, in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?” (2:25-26)

I first wanted to respond to them in a way they could accept, through the biblical example of David. He not only travelled on the Sabbath, but also ate bread from the temple, a bread that should be eaten only by priests. What I wanted to stress in this illustration is that in a time of need, this ‘rule’ of the Sabbath should not be more important than the care for humans. 

And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. (2:27)

A rule should not be more important than love, even the rules of the Sabbath. This was shocking to the Pharisees, because in their system of rules the Sabbath was extremely important. They were more concerned with rules than with the love of the Father, or the love of their neighbor. As many times in the world, people build large sets of rules with the belief that this will keep people focused on the right things. This approach has never been very efficient. It is not in this way that people will enter in meaningful relationships. It is old wineskins and I came to bring new wine. I came to invite people to the relationship of love with the Father, to the joyful obedience that brings fruits of peace and love. 

So the son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”

This title “son of Man” is what I used during my life, as a description of who I was and what I was going to accomplish. It evoked an important text in Daniel, as well as the way God spoke to the prophet Ezekiel, both prophets in exile in Babylon. My people, the Jewish people, was still in exile during my life, in a spiritual exile. They were still in sin and not in holiness, they were still far away from God. They were still focused on things and not on the Father. Even when they spoke of what the Father wanted, it was sets of rules of men rather than a call to love God with all your heart, soul and strength. These rules became a hindrance to coming to God, since they had become goals in themselves. They should have been tools for the relationship, thus flexible and adaptable, but they were rather walls you should not touch. In doing so with religion, people erect barriers between men, and have people focus on human authorities who teach these rules instead of focusing on the love of God and on seeking His face. 

What I said, that the son of man was lord even of the Sabbath was shocking to them. This title of ‘son of man’ could apply to me but also to any human being, it was preparing the way for my disciples to follow. Stating, although indirectly, that I was lord even of the Sabbath was very important. The Sabbath was a time of rest sanctified for the relationship with God, to first and foremost meditate on the love of God manifested in the creation and in the deliverance of Israel from Egypt. It was a time that should be focused on God. Yet, for many this God was very abstract and very distant, it was more a distant memory than a present experience. I came to remove this distance, I came to bring back the presence of God in the midst of the human communities. 

Many humans want to localize God in a temple, a church or a ‘religious building’. This allows humans to distinguish the sacred spaces and the secular spaces, to distinguish between the places where man can rule and places where God can rule. I came to break this dividing wall, to remind people that the whole creation is full of the glory of God, that the relationship with God is possible everywhere and at any time. 

The Sabbath was supposed to be a time of rest with God, but for many it signified that the other days were times for men to use as they wanted - although with a set of rules to observe. My path was to prepare people to become continual temples of the Holy Spirit. This was a revolution both concerning the Sabbath and concerning the temple. Men build temples and rules, while the Father asked only for a moving tent and listening hearts. The Father has always wanted to show humans that he wanted to accompany them everywhere. It was the case with Abraham, to whom the Father said: Go to the land that I will show you. It was the case with Moses who spoke face to face with God. It was the case with me. I never left the presence of the Father, I always sought the Father and did what he showed me to do. I showed through my example how to be a temple of God, since the Holy Spirit and the Father remained in me during all my years of ministry on earth. Since I was this temple of the presence of God, the purpose of the Sabbath - to remember God and rest in the relationship with him - was accomplished in me. 

In some ways I am the Sabbath, since I manifested in me the restful presence of God. I came to expand the importance of the Sabbath to every day of the week, and to show that in me people could find rest all the time. In me people can indeed find rest, run and not be weary, walk and not faint. I invited people to come to me, so that I could give them rest, to take my yoke upon them, a light yoke. This obedience to me was not to be difficult, it was a yoke of fellowship with me and with the Holy Spirit. This yoke of love required the communion with God that I offered. I sent the Holy Spirit so that anyone who believes in me could become a temple of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of the Father. In this way the law would be written on their hearts, and God could do what he did in me - to teach how to love in any and every situation. In this way they could become living temple, walking tabernacles of the presence of God, and they could remain in the perfect Sabbath rest. 

I invite you to discover always more that in me you find the Sabbath, the rest in the presence of the Father, and that this presence can become a continual presence. Ask with faith for the Holy Spirit, to be filled with the love of God, with the love for God. Remain in my presence, I want to give you the peace of the Sabbath rest, the perfect peace that only I can give. Remain in me and allow me to remain in you. I want to help you learn to be this holy temple of the peace of God, this holy rest in the joyful communion with the Father. I am indeed the lord of the Sabbath.