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Manila Bulletin devider Opinion devider The Sabbath was made for man

The Sabbath was made for man

Published Jan 20, 2026 12:05 am  |  Updated Jan 19, 2026 06:20 pm
REFLECTIONS TODAY
Today’s Gospel invites us to view reality in two different ways. We can view it exteriorly, basing ourselves on mere appearances, or interiorly, as we perceive what is hidden from our naked eye.
Jesus’ disciples pick heads of grain while on journey on the Sabbath. They find a practical way to ease their hunger. The Pharisees see this and protest to Jesus that his disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath. They see only the exterior, a violation of the Sabbath rule and nothing else.
They ignore the wisdom of addressing a basic human need like hunger and insist on the punctilious observance of the rules.
Jesus refers the Pharisees to the popular story that involved King David, the greatest king of Israel.
At one point in his flight from King Saul, David entered the house of God and ate the bread of offering that only the priests could lawfully eat. The king even shared the bread with his companions.
The priest Abiathar did not show any sign of disapproval (1 Sm 21:7). Jesus says that in cases of necessity, pragmatism overrules religious ordinance.
Gospel • Mark 2:23-28
As Jesus was passing through a field of grain on the Sabbath, his disciples began to make a path while picking the heads of grain. At this the Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?” He said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and he and his companions were hungry?
How he went into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest and ate the bread of offering that only the priests could lawfully eat, and shared it with his companions?”
Then he said to them, “The sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. That is why the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”
Source: “365 Days with the Lord 2026,” St. Paul’s, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 632-895-9701; E-mail: [email protected]; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.
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