Saturday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time

(Optional Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary) 
 
On Saturdays in Ordinary Time when there is no obligatory memorial, an optional memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary is allowed. [1] Mass texts may be taken from the Common of the Blessed Virgin Mary, from a Votive Mass, or from the special collection of Masses for the Blessed Virgin Mary. (USCCB recommends: #28. The Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary. )

“The Disciples Pick Grain”
by Gustave Dore, 1865

 
Readings for Saturday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time [2]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [3]
 
Readings and Commentary: [4]
 
Reading 1: Colossians 1:21-23
 
Brothers and sisters:
You once were alienated and hostile in mind because of evil deeds;
God has now reconciled you
in the fleshly Body of Christ through his death,
to present you holy, without blemish,
and irreproachable before him,
provided that you persevere in the faith,
firmly grounded, stable,
and not shifting from the hope of the Gospel that you heard,
which has been preached to every creature under heaven,
of which I, Paul, am a minister.
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Commentary on Col 1:21-23
 
Setting the scene for this selection, St. Paul has just concluded his quotation of an early Christian hymn, probably known to the Colossian church. In this passage, he applies the promise of salvation contained in it to the members of the faith community. The apostle reminds them that they are reconciled in Christ and encourages them to be faithful to the Gospel they have been given, the one true Gospel of which St. Paul is a minister.
 
CCC: Col 1:20-22 2305
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 54:3-4, 6 and 8
R.  (6) God himself is my help.
 
O God, by your name save me,
and by your might defend my cause.
O God, hear my prayer;
hearken to the words of my mouth.
R. God himself is my help.
 
Behold, God is my helper;
the Lord sustains my life.
Freely will I offer you sacrifice;
I will praise your name, O LORD, for its goodness.
R. God himself is my help.
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Commentary on Ps 54:3-4, 6 and 8
 
Psalm 54 is an individual lament.  The psalmist first cries out to the Lord for help against a godless enemy.  In the second part, praise and sacrifice are offered as a consequence of the salvation confidently expected. "The major stress in the psalm is clearly on the powerful and effective Name of Yahweh. Yahweh may seem absent from the world, but those who invoke his Name with faith and courage will discover the reality of his awesome presence." [5]
 
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Gospel: Luke 6:1-5
 
While Jesus 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?
How he went into the house of God, took the bread of offering,
which only the priests could lawfully eat,
ate of it, and shared it with his companions?”
Then he said to them, “The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath.”
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Commentary on Lk 6:1-5
 
The Pharisees attack the disciples because they picked some grain to eat on the sabbath. In Pharisaic law (Mishnah: Shabat 7:2) [6] that act is considered work and is forbidden on the Lord’s Day (Exodus 34:21). It is noteworthy that this action is permitted in other parts of the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 23:26). [7] The Lord reinterprets their law, citing the First Book of Samuel (1 Samuel 21:2-7) and Leviticus (Leviticus 24:8). The implication of his final statement in this passage is clear to us. “The ultimate justification for the disciples' violation of the sabbath rest is that Jesus, the Son of Man, has supreme authority over the law.”[8]
 
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Reflection:
 
Sometimes the more we dig into Scripture the more difficult it becomes to understand exactly what a passage was meant to say.  What jumps out at us today is the phrase: “The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath.”  On the surface and in the context of St. Luke’s Gospel this seems to be very clear.  Jesus, who is the Messiah, the anointed one sent by God to reveal himself to the world, is Lord of the sabbath, the holy day set aside for the Lord.  It is Jesus who determines what is just and unjust on his day, and he has authority over all those who may wish to interpret the Law of Moses as quoted in the biblical books of Leviticus and 1 Samuel.
 
When we compare the encounter related today in St. Luke’s Gospel with the same story in the Gospel of St. Mark, we come to a completely different conclusion.  In St. Mark’s Gospel this is the conclusion of the encounter:
 
Then he said to them, "The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath. That is why the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath." (Mark 2:27-28)
 
Adding in the idea that God intended the sabbath as a blessing to mankind changes the intent of the second part of the phrase.  The son of man then seems to be anyone who keeps the sabbath day holy and not specifically Jesus, the Son of Man, assuming the title provided by Isaiah.
 
What comes out of our comparison, however, is not confusion!  It is a richness of truth that allows us to understand that Jesus is Lord of the sabbath as the Son of God must be, and that the sabbath, established new in us, is a blessing as a consequence.
 
Today we offer up the prayer that we may always be faithful to the sabbath (a difficult thing in this secular society that erodes the sacred with impunity).  We ask that the Holy Spirit keep us focused during our sabbath on the things of God and offer him our heartfelt thanks for all he has done for us.
 
Pax

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[1] General Norms for the Liturgical Year and the Calendar Miscellaneous Notes no. 5: “Outside Advent, Christmas Time, Lent, and Easter Time, on Saturdays which have no commemoration having the rank of Obligatory Memorial or higher, a Mass in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary may be celebrated. This is indicated in the calendar by “BVM.” The readings and prayers may be selected from the Collection of Masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary.”
[2] The picture used is “The Disciples Pick Grain” by Gustave Dore, 1865.
[3] S.S Commemoratio
[4] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[5] Marvin E. Tate, Psalms 51–100, vol. 20 (Word Biblical Commentary Dallas: Word, Incorporated, © 1998), 49.
[6] Mishnah: an authoritative collection of exegetical material embodying the oral tradition of Jewish law and forming the first part of the Talmud.
[7] Pablo T. Gadenz,  The Gospel of Luke (Baker Academic, Grand Rapids MI © 2018),122.
[8] NAB footnote on Matthew 12:1-8.