Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Years B Mr 2,23-3,6

If someone asked which day of the week we look forward to most, many people would answer – Sunday. It is a day of peace and well-being when we can devote ourselves more than ever to our loved ones and hobbies. Jewish Saturday

He preceded repose Sunday. It was a festive day for the Jews, and one Saturday incident experienced by Jesus is also described in today’s Gospel. The disciples walked across the field, plucking ears of corn and using crushed grain to ward off hunger. The Pharisees looked upon this as a great transgression against the law. According to them, Jesus’ disciples were reaping and threshing grain. If someone unknowingly violated the Sabbath, he would be admonished and offered a propitiatory sacrifice. But if he violated it even after being warned, i.e., knowingly, he could be stoned. It follows from the Gospel that the disciples had already been warned, so Jesus had to solve the problem. He gave the Pharisees a counter-question: Have you never read what David did when he was in need and when he and his company were hungry? How did he enter the house of God under the high priest Abiathar and eat the bread offered, which no one was allowed to eat except the priests, and he also gave it to those who were with him? By doing so, he made it clear that if they want to correct someone with the help of the law, they must not only thoroughly know the law and the disposition of the person from whom they are asking to fulfill it. They must apply the law not according to the letter but the spirit, that is, according to the intention of the one who gave the law. Indeed, the one who established the Sabbath law did not intend to trouble people, but to help them. Therefore, if the Pharisees demand the worship of God from people, regardless of the state in which they are, they are acting against the spirit of the law and the lawgiver’s will.

After this warning from Jesus, there was a great silence around him, which he used for a beautiful sentence: The Son of man is Lord even over the Sabbath. This sentence was very aptly said. Because Jesus is most called to tell people how they can use the holiday appropriately, he has every right to command him to use it most suitably. This is a severe warning to us. Jesus tells us that we, believers in God, must fulfill God’s commands and regulations. If we keep them according to the spirit and according to the intention of the lawgiver, then they will be a tremendous help in our lives. Otherwise, they become a meaningless and unbearable burden. To make it easier for us to fulfill these laws, the Church, our mother, and our teacher help us know them and implement them correctly.

Jesus also spoke about one law in today’s Gospel. It refers to the holy day, which for us, Catholic Christians, is Sunday and the commanded holiday. Jesus tells us how to live it correctly. If we allow ourselves the necessary rest on this day, if we listen to God’s word more abundantly and attentively, receive the Eucharist more religiously, and serve God more willingly in our brothers and sisters, we can be satisfied.

The CCC probably reproduces Just in point 2187: The sanctification of Sunday and the commanded feasts requires a typical zeal. Every Christian must refrain from imposing on another, without urgent need, obligations that would prevent him from sanctifying the Lord’s day. If certain habits (sports, restaurant services, etc.) or social needs (e.g., public services) require some people to work on Sundays, let everyone responsibly reserve enough time for recovery. Let the faithful care with love and moderation to avoid the excesses and indecencies that sometimes arise from mass entertainment. Despite the economic pressures, the public authorities must ensure that citizens have time for rest and worship. Employers have a similar obligation towards their employees.

We think of ourselves as good Christians. But is it true? Then how is it possible that so few parents of children who go to religion go to Church on Sunday? How is it possible that a sixth grader can’t even cross himself? How is it possible that older adults cry because their children leave them for long months without a visit? How is it possible that the Holy Scriptures are not found in the families we say are believers? See how many mistakes we make on Sundays? Do we feel that we are misusing it? Remember that we will live this Sunday entirely differently, as Jesus asks.

Saint Thomas Morus valued the Lord’s Day very highly. He went to Holy Mass every Sunday and continually ministered at it. Even the royal courtiers knew about it and occasionally remarked. Grand Chancellor Morus had only one answer: I consider it the most incredible honor to be a minister at the altar of the Lord God. It is more to me than being a minister in the king’s court. When he was in prison for his beliefs, he always wore holiday clothes on Sundays. The warden asked him why he was doing it when no one could see it. He replied that he was not doing it for the sake of the people, but solely to honor the holy day. Let us also appreciate the sacred day; let Sunday be an actual day of the Lord for us. Let’s use it for our spiritual good and the good of our neighbors.