NOTES for Mar 2:23-28

Law and rules are only the starting point for any creative work. Let us liken them to scales. Every student must play scales day after day for many years in order to learn to perform Bach. The objections of the Pharisees then become obviously absurd, as absurd as objecting to a brilliant performance of Bach. Yes, unlike the Lord, we are still students. Therefore, we must play scales. But even a first-year student already tries to play simple études, understanding that scales are not an end in themselves; their performance serves a higher purpose. So it should be with all our rituals. This is what the words really mean: the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. For one often encounters a different, permissive understanding of these words, leading to a “philosophical” attitude toward fasts and prescribed prayers. We must be very sure that we play our scales well before allowing ourselves this.