September 4, 2010
Saturday of the Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
For as I see it, God has exhibited us apostles as the last of all, like people sentenced to death, since we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels and human beings alike. We are fools on Christ's account, but you are wise in Christ; we are weak, but you are strong; you are held in honor, but we in disrepute. To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are poorly clad and roughly treated, we wander about homeless and we toil, working with our own hands. When ridiculed, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we respond gently. We have become like the world's rubbish, the scum of all, to this very moment. 1 Corinthians 4:9-13
While he was going through a field of grain on a sabbath, his disciples were picking the heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands, and eating them. Some Pharisees said, "Why are you doing what is unlawful on the sabbath?" Jesus said to them in reply, "Have you not read what David did when he and those (who were) with him were hungry? Luke 6:1-3
Piety
Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallow be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation and deliver us from evil.
Study
Bread and manna are at the heart of sacred scripture in both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament. Today we reflect on one of those stories. Jesus used the bread in the temple to communicate important lessons that have become central tenants of our faith experience.
First, this story points out that serving the needs of people who are homeless and hungry takes precedence over obedience to the Sabbath command for rest. For if we take observation of the Sabbath to heart, in that devotion is an obligation to love and serve the Lord, the church and each other. This is an obligation that cannot be ignored.
The notes to the NAB explain the actions and words of the Pharisees. “The argument is that the law itself requires work that breaks the sabbath rest, because of the higher duty of temple service. If temple duties outweigh the sabbath law, how much more does the presence of Jesus, with his proclamation of the kingdom (something greater than the temple), justify the conduct of his disciples.”
We cannot ignore our duties when Jesus is truly present in the temple and in our daily lives. He dwells in the temple as the Son of God and begs to dwell with us. If he is to change the way that people view the temple and its related duties, then he starts with his own personal example. He takes the bread and changes it. Now longer is the bread the central object in the temple. When Jesus is present, he is the Lord of the Sabbath. This bothered those who were in the comfort zone of the law. Change comes hard but change comes. That is why Jesus connected these actions to what David did in the temple when those who were with him were hungry. David provided "precedence" for the cahnging of the law. Jesus provided precedence for the changing of the hearts.
This episode recalls the feeding of the 5,000 when he took five barley loaves and multiplied them to feed the entire population assembled to hear Him and be in His presence. It also is a foreshadowing of the central prayer in our faith that the Lord will share when he is asked to teach us to pray.
Stay tuned also for the central bread-changing incident of Jesus’ journey with us and prepare to participate in this dinner today and tomorrow and everyday.
Action
What role does your daily bread play in your life?
When you wake up this morning, will you have a slice of toast? An English muffin? A blueberry muffin? French toast? Or maybe a bagel?
At lunchtime, will you place your favorite food between two slices of whole wheat bread to make a sandwich? Will you opt for a “sub” on a torpedo roll or other variety of bread to accompany your lunch? Maybe half a sandwich and a bowl of soup?
When dinner rolls around, will you find yourself in a restaurant with family and friends, around the kitchen table, around the picnic table or around the television? Will there be a basket of dinner rolls and butter on the table? What else might be on the menu this holiday weekend? Hotdogs and hamburgers on bread? Pizza on bread?
Bread is ingrained in our lives and our diets. Wheat along with corn at the very heart of the ways we satisfy a hungry stomach. Jesus wants to satisfy a hungry stomach but also want to satisfy a hungry heart and soul. He knows his disciples will be of no value of they are sent into the world without meeting their basic needs. So He takes on that responsibility. However, Jesus now asks us to be his arms and legs to assure that all God’s children have their basic needs met.
As you pick up that bread during one of your meals today, consider the people around the world who will not pick up a crumb. The victims of the floods in Pakistan are among the latest people to suffer a tremendous natural disaster this year.
However, even though the human toll of these floods is high, the charitable response has been low. Perhaps we have been distracted by the whirl of activities surrounding the end of the summer vacation season. Like the Pharisees were distracted by the law, we might have been distracted by our road trips, the last weekend the neighborhood pool was opened, or the final preparation for sending our children back to school.
This week, NPR did a story examining why we have given less to the victims of the Pakistan floods than earlier disasters this year. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129605789
Guidestar.org has gathered a list of charities which are helping to alleviate suffering in Pakistan since the monsoon rains caused the flooding. Check out this list and consider donating to one of these causes. http://www2.guidestar.org/rxg/give-to-charity/nonprofits-working-in-pakistan.aspx
