Do Rules Rule?

A Gospel Reflection on Matthew 12:1-8

Matthew 12:1–8 NABRE

At that time Jesus was going through a field of grain on the sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat them. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “See, your disciples are doing what is unlawful to do on the sabbath.” He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry, how he went into the house of God and ate the bread of offering, which neither he nor his companions but only the priests could lawfully eat? Or have you not read in the law that on the sabbath the priests serving in the temple violate the sabbath and are innocent? I say to you, something greater than the temple is here. If you knew what this meant, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned these innocent men. For the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath.”

The Pharisees in the Gospel today come off as rule-followers to a fault. For them, a complete set of 613 written rules in the Torah , were then elaborated on through Oral tradition such that every aspect concerning the application of the Ten Commandments were regulated. For them, rules, ruled.

Ever see people become so rule-bound that they lose focus on what end the rule would serve? It should not be hard to imagine after coming through the COVID Pandemic. For example, during the Pandemic, must I, should I, should others, be wearing a mask? In some cases, it was hard to understand exactly what protocol was being followed by which business, municipalities, states, or countries at various times across the Pandemic. This left many navigating an extremely complicated web of rules for the vaccinated and unvaccinated, boosted or not boosted, and whether you will be outside, inside, or in public transit. Even then, who had the authority to enforce the rule?

The rules could confound even the most law abiding, and rule following citizen. Frustration was evident on the faces of everyone you encountered. Most passed their frustration off with a “grin and bear it” approach. Others, not so much. Often the practitioners and enforcers of the rules lost sight of the fact that whatever rule was applied, it had to be applied with mercy. That mercy had to be applied to the healthy and unhealthy, especially to those who had difficulty breathing or functioning even when not wearing a mask. Think of the asthmatic, the old, or the very small child. A “one-size fits all” approach, without consideration of the situation at hand, clearly left many angry.

We hear the Lord today tell the Pharisees, who are condemning the disciples for gleaning heads of grain to eat on the Sabbath, thereby violating the Law that, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” (Matthew 12:7 NABRE) Rules applied without mercy, a genuine care for the other, can have a terrifying effect. Think about the beaten man from the parable of the Good Samaritan who lay dying along the side of the road in Luke 10:29-37. A temple priest and then a Levite ignored him, passing by on the other side of the road, presumably for fear of becoming ritually unclean according to the law. For, if they are ritually unclean, how could they perform their duties at the temple? Rules, ruled. Without the assistance of a Samaritan, the beaten man would have likely died from his wounds. This is what happens when even very good people become so rule-bound that they forget that mercy must prevail.

There are many rules that govern our lives. Some are imposed to keep our communities safe, for example, driving within the speed limit. Others regulate how we worship the Lord, for example, how we pray as one within the Liturgy. Rules may be formal or informal. For example, the informal rules that enable politeness, the “pleases and thank-yous” so important in polite exchanges. All of these rules are good. However, when these rules are not applied in the context of the situation and with mercy, a tragedy, of the magnitude of leaving a dying man on the side of the road, could unfold. Love, the willing of the good of the other, must cause us to take a step back and ask, am I acting with mercy? For mercy must always come first.

St Bonaventure, Doctor of the Church, whose Memorial we celebrate today wrote that,

“In all your deeds and words, you should look upon this Jesus as your model. Do so whether you are walking or keeping silence, or speaking, whether you are alone or with others. He is perfect, and thus you will be not only irreprehensible, but praiseworthy.”

When we look to the application of the rules, especially as we chastise others for their forgetfulness of them, let us first reflect on the cross. Thanks be to God, on the cross, mercy, not the rule, rules!

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” (Matthew 5:7 NABRE)

End Notes:

“A Quote by Bonaventure.” Good Reads, Googlereads, 2 Mar. 2019, www.goodreads.com/quotes/1027279-in-all-your-deeds-and-words-you-should-look-upon.

New American Bible. Revised Edition. Washington, DC: The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2011. The Print.