Preservation of Life (HOMILY FOR FRIDAY OF THE FIFTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR II (JULY 19 2024)
HOMILY FOR FRIDAY OF THE FIFTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR II (JULY 19, 2024) Isaiah 38:1-6, 21-22, 7-8; Ps. 38; Matthew 12:1-8 Preservation of Life As part of keeping the Sabbath day holy, the Jews were forbidden from plucking grains. This is a way of saying that farmers should not go to their farms on Sabbath day for farming activities. Plucking of grain was seen as harvesting of grain which is a farming activity in itself. It is against this background that the Pharisees observed with displeasure and quickly pointed out to Jesus the “misdeed” of the disciples – they were plucking grains on a Sabbath day. Let us also consider this “misdeed” from another perspective. The disciples were familiar with the law of the Sabbath and how it forbade them from plucking grains. If ever one dares to disobey a law, surely not before the authority. To disobey a law before an authority is to slight the authority too. So, the Pharisees may not only have perceived a disobedience to the Sabbath Law