Readings:
Isaiah 38:1-6,21-22,7-8
Matthew 12:1-8
Reflection:
From time to time my students ask whether I have a favourite Gospel and I usually reply that it’s the one I am teaching that semester! The reason for this is that each of the Gospels has its own uniqueness and beauty: passages that touch the heart or invite me to go deeper as a disciple.
The response of Jesus today to those who question him and his disciples is one of those special passages from Matthew’s Gospel. Confronted with the challenge of the authorities to justify his behaviour, and that of his disciples on the Sabbath, Jesus draws on Hos 6:6 and replies that God wants mercy and not sacrifice. It’s not that ritual observance of the Sabbath was not important for Jesus, we know he frequently attended synagogue as an observant Jew, but the higher value is that of mercy (ḥesed). There is no equivalent to ḥesed in English because it encompasses mercy, forgiveness, graciousness, and faithfulness. It is because of ḥesed that Jesus cures on the Sabbath, touches lepers, and is found in the company of sinners.
With good reason Matthew is often considered the evangelist most concerned with Jewish practice (a great example is the section of the Sermon on the Mount on almsgiving, prayer and fasting in Matt 6:1-18 that is unique to Matthew). As true as this is, it is important to recognise that the sentiment contained in Hosea 6:6 is critical to understanding Jesus’ mission. Jesus uses it in Matt 9:13 and 12:7 to explain his mission. I can’t recall any other text that is used twice by Jesus to describe what matters most to him, and those who follow him.
Fr. Chris Monaghan CP, lectures in the New Testament and is President of Yarra Theological Union. He is a member of the Passionist community of Holy Cross in Templestowe.