Our Venerable Father Hilarion the Great (371).
2 Corinthians 3:12-18; Luke 6:1-10.
Read Luke 6:1-10
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
Very soon after beginning his public ministry Jesus came to the point when all of his actions were very attentively watched by many hostile and critical eyes. The Pharisees were basically spying on him and his disciples. They were trying not to overlook even the smallest fault making a great deal out of it.
One may think, what could be possibly wrong with plucking some heads of grain, rubbing them in hands and eating them? One the one hand, in accordance with the Jewish Law, it was totally permissible and was not regarded as stealing if a hungry pilgrim passing along one of the paths which intersected the corn field plugs the ears of corn as long as he or she “does not put a sickle into it” ( Deuteronomy 23:25). Yet, on the other hand, it was regarded as a grave sin if anyone would dare to make the same action on the Sabbath. In that case, he or she would break the law four times. The disciples of Jesus had broken the Law by reaping on the Sabbath, since they were plucking the corn, by threshing on the Sabbath, since they were rubbing the corn, by winnowing on the Sabbath, since they were flinging away the husks, and by preparing food on the Sabbath, since they were eating something that was not prepared in advance before the sunset on the Sabbath day. It may look hilarious for us, but it seemed to be a very big deal for the Orthodox Jews.
Jesus allows his disciples to break the Sabbath Law and on many occasions he had broken it by himself in order to encourage his contemporaries to reflect on their system of values. He never disregarded the Law without a reason, but always tried to emphasize that the Law does not have to be followed without paying attention to the urgent needs of a suffering person. The Law without compassion looses its original purpose. After all, the Sabbath is made for us, and not vice versa.
The Pharisees were so immersed in their rules and regulations that they forgot that the acts of mercy are more acceptable to God than the blind obedience to the directives. Being very competent in the scriptures and knowing them from cover to cover, they failed to see that even king David has broken the Law, when there was a greater need at stake.
Sometimes, it happens that we read the Scriptures without our mind being open. We want the scripture to prove our own beforehand prepared agenda. We take our theology to the Bible instead of finding it in the Bible. Therefore the lesson that we can learn from today’s reading is that we should not use the Scripture for authentication of our own concepts, but that we have to allow the word of God to speak to us in such a way that our ideas and attitudes are formed by its original authentic meaning.
Bible References