Saturday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time
The Lord of the Sabbath: Mercy Above Rules
Liturgical Cycle: C | Lectionary Cycle: I
Introduction
Paul reminds his Colossians that before their conversion, they were estranged from God. Now that they have been reconciled with God and one another, they should remain steadfast in the faith that has made them holy.
A frequent sign of their own insecurity is that people seek security in laws and traditions. The more they insist on these, the more they try to bend people to these, the greater their insecurity. Laws are supposed to be in the service of the community, not vice versa. They may never become a block or a screen between people. They are not absolutes but servants of people.
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
Jesus your Son came not to abolish the law
but to fill it with the dimensions of love.
Do not allow commandments and rules
to stand between you and us nor between people,
but let them lead us gently,
as good educators, to you and to our neighbor
and teach us to go beyond the law
in generosity and serving love.
Make us free with the freedom brought us
by your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
First Reading
You, yourselves, were once separated from God and opposed to him because of your evil deeds,
but now, God has reconciled you through the body of his Son, by His death, so that you may be blameless, holy, and without fault before him.
Just stand firm on the foundation of your faith and remain steadfast in hope. Remember the gospel you heard, which has been preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, have become a servant of this gospel.
Responsorial Psalm
R. God himself is my help.
O God, by your name save me,
and by your might defend my cause.
O God, hear my prayer;
hearken to the words of my mouth.
R. God himself is my help.
Behold, God is my helper;
the Lord sustains my life.
Freely will I offer you sacrifice;
I will praise your name, O LORD, for its goodness.
R. God himself is my help.
Alleluia Verse
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the way and the truth and the life, says the Lord;
no one comes to the Father except through me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
One Sabbath, Jesus was walking through a grain field, and his disciples began to pick heads of grain, crushing them in their hands to eat.
Some of the Pharisees asked them:
“Why do you do what is forbidden on the Sabbath?”
Then Jesus spoke up and asked them:
He entered the house of God, took and ate the bread of the offering, and even gave some to his men, even though only priests are allowed to eat that bread.”
And Jesus added:
“The Son of Man is Lord and rules over the Sabbath.”
Prayers of the Faithful
– That Christians may regard the commandments as doors to freedom from sin and evil and ways to serve God and people, we pray:
– That lawmakers everywhere make laws that are humane and serve the good of all in the community, we pray:
– That we may seek security in love of God and the service of people, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
God our Father,
in these signs, your gifts to us
and the fruit of our work,
we make ourselves available to you.
Do not allow us to seek false security
in observing the letter of the law
but help us to seek the insecurity and risk
of committing ourselves to you and people,
as Jesus did, your Son,
who lives with you and with us
now, and we hope and pray, for ever.
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God,
in this eucharist we have celebrated
the memorial of your Son’s death and rising.
He followed the law of the heart
and made love the heart of all laws.
Let the bread of life of your Son
make our love inventive and creative
in the service of people
and help us to follow the directives
of our hearts and consciences,
in the Spirit of Jesus Christ,
your Son and our Lord for ever.
Blessing
Christ has made us free. Let us not give up that freedom by slavishly sticking to practices and traditions that do not reflect the gospel. May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Reflection
6 September 2025
Luke 6: 1-5
The Lord of the Sabbath: Mercy Above Rules- Youtube
In today’s Gospel, the Pharisees accuse Jesus’ disciples of breaking the Sabbath law by plucking grain as they walked through the fields. To them, even this small act counted as harvesting, threshing, winnowing, and preparing food. What was meant to be a day of rest had become a crushing burden of rules.
Jesus responds by recalling how David, when hungry, ate the holy bread reserved for priests. Human need, He teaches, takes precedence over ritual. God’s law was never meant to suffocate but to give life. Yet Phariseeism reduces faith to legalism and control, forgetting mercy and love.
Phariseeism shows itself in many ways:
- Common Sense.Too often, instead of making life lighter, we complicate it. Rules pile up, and joy disappears. Yet God desires us to live simply, not to burden one another.
- A Fraternal Church.Our faith calls us to live as brothers and sisters, not as inspectors of one another’s faults. When we make the Church more fraternal, we create a family atmosphere where love abounds. Jesus said the world would know we are His disciples by our love—not by our lack of common sense.
- “It’s Not Allowed.”Like policemen or customs officers, we can fall into the temptation of controlling others by telling them what they can or cannot do. But true maturity is walking in freedom, knowing our own limits, and accepting God’s path for us. Freedom in Christ is not about endless rules, but about living in truth and mercy.
The Pharisees read Scripture but missed its heart. We too must come to the Word with open minds and needy hearts. Jesus, Lord of the Sabbath, reminds us that God’s love is greater than any rule, and His mercy always outweighs rigid legalism.