Heads of Grains

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

Great Creator you scatter seeds for our food

and send rain and brother sun to help it grow

we depend on you for share and shelter

and you care for each of us as a loving parent.

We live in a world where people hoard goods

and others judge what their neighbors eat

yet many are hungry and waiting in long lines

while you have spread abundance everywhere.

When your disciples were hungry you fed them

despite the cruel outcry from religious leaders

and when a man was suffering you healed him

although the leaders decided to kill you then.

Let us be those who feed those around us

help us to be those who lighten the suffering

make us fearless in the face of threat and ridicule

so that all the people may be well and safe. Amen.