'And if you had understood the meaning of the words: What I want is mercy, not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the blameless. For the Son of Man is master of the sabbath.’
Mt.12:7,8
Jesus' disciple are condemned by the Pharisees for picking and eating corn on the Sabbath. Jesus defends his disciples by pointing out the hierarchy of true religion. Mercy is greater than sacrifice.
The history of the Church is littered with times when a genuine move of the Holy Spirit has had a picket fence built around it and membership tickets, with associated rule books, handed out. At such times the Holy Spirit quietly steps over the picket fence and moves on, leaving the membership tickets and rule books behind.
The Pharisees were still inside the empty fenced area with their rule books. Sacrifice had become an idol at the expense of mercy. Jesus set the record straight.
There's a little lawyer inside of me that loves rule books. They are so neat and tidy, so black and white. Mercy can be messy, painful even. Yet this is what Jesus calls me to be, not an agent of rules but an agent of mercy.
Jesus, help me be merciful with the people I meet today.
Little Flower, please pray for me.
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