NOTES for Mat 12:1-8
1 At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat. |
2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day. |
3 But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him; |
4 How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests? |
5 Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless? |
6 But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple. |
7 But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless. |
8 For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day. |
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Sometimes one hears from very intelligent and educated people that ritual is a kind of injection of faith for the uneducated, for simple people, for the average person. That through such injections some healing substance enters the body of society. It seems that Christ says "No" today to exactly this kind of reasoning.
Let us think once more about the position of the guardians of ritual purity. They can be understood, because there are things before which they feel sacred awe, and that is not alien to us. But is God there? Or is there only our habit of worshiping Him? When you love a person, you carefully keep everything connected with that person; some funny, unnecessary little trinket given many years ago can become ritual, can inspire awe, and that is beautiful.
Of course, the same is true in relation to God... on the personal level. But there is one essential addition here: the Lord is one, and there are many of us. Then the Savior's words are simple to understand, for what did Christ command us? He commanded unity: that they may be one (John 17:22). And what unites us, people of different confessions, and what divides us? On what ground can we seek ways to fulfill what God has commanded? We have one God, our Lord Jesus Christ, one word of God, the Bible, but we have completely different rituals. So where should we seek unity? After all, what matters is not the house, and even less its load-bearing structures, but the one who lives in it, although everyone loves his own home dearly and with trembling. It can even be said more sharply: remember how Christ does not share the disciples' admiration at the sight of the Temple.
So can ritual be a bearer of faith, as medicine brings health? Perhaps for someone, under some conditions... But it seems to us that only God heals.
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