The individual who is not interested in the well-being of his fellow man has the greatest difficulties in life and provides the greatest injury to others. It is from among such individuals that all human failures spring. It is when we are not interested in others that can be the source of our own failure and unhappiness.
The Pharisees in today’s gospel (Matthew 12:1‑8) complained to Jesus about His disciples who were picking heads of wheat as they walked and eating them because they were hungry. Harvesting is prohibited under the Law of Sabbath and therefore Jesus’ disciples violated the law. Jesus came to defend them by citing two well-known exemptions from the strict rule on the Sabbath rest, that of David and that of the priest who is doing temple services.
Rules, laws, regulations and traditions are good when they are meant to provide peace and order. Social order gives direction to our lives and promotes harmonious life. They are beneficial to us. But the moment we forget the person, for whom the laws were made, and become too legalistic, too formal and too structured, the laws cease to be life-giving. They stifle life. Instant judgments and counting the mistakes of others become so natural that mercy, forgiveness, and compassion are easily forgotten.
The trouble with the Pharisees was that they were so fixated on the letters of the law that they had hardly any regard for the human person. They were too legalistic, too formal, and too structured. At times, we also adopt this attitude. We tend to focus more on the strict implementation of the rules to the extent that life-giving relationships are endangered.
It is all right to be legal, but being legalistic is a different matter. And Jesus looks beyond the letter of the law and sees the person first; the person’s needs and wants go before the law. The person, for Him, is the qualifier of the law. He asserts the importance of human life over the Sabbath. Above all, he also shows that what actually pleases God is the act of charity. Charity acts immediately and does not delay. “I desire mercy, not sacrifice,” He said. He reminds us today that it is mercy, forgiveness and compassion that are the recipes for happiness and not sacrifice. Mercy is frequently associated with God’s loving kindness of which forgiveness is a fundamental manifestation.
Mercy is one of the fruits of charity and therefore proceeds from the love of God and neighbor. Traditionally, the works of mercy have been divided into two categories. The first category is the spiritual works of mercy which involves seven acts of charity: to convert sinners, to instruct the ignorant, to counsel the wayward, to comfort the sorrowing, to bear adversity patiently, to forgive offenses and to pray for the living and the dead. The other category is corporal works of mercy which involves: to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to give drink to the thirsty, to shelter the homeless, to tend the sick, to visit prisoners and to bury the dead.
Jesus teaches us that the recipe for happiness requires us to take equal parts of faith and courage, mix well with a sense of humor, sprinkle with a few tears, bake in a good-natured oven, scrape away any self-indulgence that is apparent, dust with laughter, add a helping hand of kindness and to serve all the above with generous helpings.
May God Bless You and Grant You His Peace!