I Desire Mercy

At that time Jesus went through the cornfields on the sabbath; his disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. When the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, ‘Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the sabbath.’ He said to them, ‘Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him or his companions to eat, but only for the priests. Or have you not read in the law that on the sabbath the priests in the temple break the sabbath and yet are guiltless? I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. But if you had known what this means, “I desire mercy and not sacrifice”, you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is lord of the sabbath.’

He left that place and entered their synagogue; a man was there with a withered hand, and they asked him, ‘Is it lawful to cure on the sabbath?’ so that they might accuse him. He said to them, ‘Suppose one of you has only one sheep and it falls into a pit on the sabbath; will you not lay hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a human being than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the sabbath.’ Then he said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He stretched it out, and it was restored, as sound as the other. But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him. Matthew 12:1-14

Humans love to judge others and find fault in others. It keeps us from taking the time to examine our own hearts. We push others away because of their faults and inadequacies, while thinking ourselves superior. The act of judging and condemning others immediately makes us less than. We miss opportunities of companionship and mercy everyday by our judgements.

Jesus finds himself judged by the religious leaders for eating on the sabbath. He goes on to heal the man with a withered hand. God's love is not judgement and God's mercy is not found in rules and exclusion. We are invited today to seek out the lost and to embrace those who can't fit in, because as we do we will find God at work.

Today, I ask God to help me set aside judgement and always act with mercy. May we go to the margins to find God at work today.