Thursday 12 June 2008

Background

The phrase "I desire mercy and not sacrifice" is foundin several New and Old Testament passages. I have sometimeswondered if this repeat of the quotation here is a request to takeits meaning seriously.

There are a number of other references here to Old Testamentstories. Deuteronomy23:25 allows the plucking of the grain (but not on theSabbath!) and the story of David and his companions is foundin 1 Samuel21:1-6 - but that wasn't the Sabbath either! Thereferences to priests in the temple can be found throughoutLeviticus.

Matthew has been showing Jesus as a person of authority and hasalready begun to speak of disagreements with some of the Pharisees.Here the disagreement is focused on the very detailed rules aboutwhat could and could not be done on the Sabbath. The commandment"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy" (Exodus 20:8) hadbeen redefined repeatedly (and meticulously) so that people couldbe sure they were getting it right.

So here we are reminded of two things. That judging others can leadto "condemning the guiltless" and that a great deal more is goingon in our relationship with God than defining and redefining therules.

To Ponder

What does mercy mean for you?

Who are the guiltless whom our societycondemns?

Are some things more important than rules ofbehaviour, or even rules of morality? What are they and why?

How does Jesus' claim to be "Lord of the Sabbath"(remembering he broke strict rules concerning the day) affect youruse of Sunday and your weekly life?