The Gospel of Mark
A Cornfield on the Sabbath: Mk 2,23-28
Plucking the Ears of Corn: 2,23-26
As with the previous episode, the question is followed by Jesus' counter question and a further response. No discussion follows. For the first time, the question comes directily from the Pharisees.
Deuteronomy 23,25 forbids reaping the neighbour's grain with a sickle but it does permit the plucking of ears with the hand. It was this activity which became equivalent to reaping and so unlawful on the sabbath as in Deuteronomy 5, the Ten Commandments. Exodus 31,14 goes further and prescribes death as the penalty for working on the sabbath.
Jesus now refers to the incident in David's life where he and his band performed a forbidden action, eating holy bread (1 Sam 21,2-7). Yet we note that here is no reference to the sabbath in 1st Samuel and David's need was driven by a real hunger. This is quite different to Jesus's disciples who are doing what is quite natural in a grain field, plucking, rubbing and maybe nibbling the grain.
The point of the comparison is rather between David and Jesus. If David could do what is forbidden (eating the holy bread) even more so could Jesus. This link between Jesus and David is made later when Jesus discusses the son of David in 12,35-37. This theme is highlighted by the two sayings which follow in verses 27-28.
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Two Sayings: 2,27-28
The evangelist connects these two sayings to the preceeding with the phrase "And he said to them" in verse 27.
The first saying, that the sabbath is for man, not the other way round, is found in Judaism. Both Genesis and Exodus stress that the sabbath is for the benefit of human rest, not about strict ritual observance. This saying sets the scene for the more important statement that follows.
Verse 28 with its reference to the Son of Man is the climax of this episode. "Son of Man" is the way Jesus speaks of himself. It carries the overtones of authority seen in Daniel 7,14. To us the readers who know about Jesus (1,1), that is acceptable. To the Pharisees, the claims of Jesus in this saying would have been a challenge, to say the least.
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The Sunday Gospel
The OT reading for the 9th Sunday, Dt 5,12-15, is one of the Ten Commandments, the third in the traditional Catholic numbering.
The Ten Commandments however come in two versions; they are found in the book of Exodus as well as Deuteronomy. With the third commandment, comparison is immediately invited because two different reasons are given for sabbath rest. In Exodus 20,8-11, the reason for the sabbath rest is that it is to be a celebration of God's creation, resting as God rested (as we saw above).
In Deuteronomy 5,12-15, by contrast, the sabbath is a celebration of God's salvation, re-creation if you like, as God led his people out of the slavery of Egypt. There is a stronger link to slavery than in Exodus and that also makes it appropriate for this Sunday's Gospel and Jesus' saying about the sabbath in 2,27. (The choice of "servant" instead of "slave" by the Jerusalem Bible as read at Mass therefore sounds odd.)
The emphasis on the sabbath seems appropriate for the first episode in this Sunday Gospel (2,23-28). But at the same time it also rather misses the point of this incident as we have seen.
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