September 5, 2026
Saturday of the Twenty-Second Week in Ordinary Time
Gospel: Luke 5:33-39

Today is Saturday of the Twenty-Second Week in Ordinary Time. The passage taken from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke presents to us the dispute between Jesus and the Pharisees concerning the Sabbath. I would like to take this opportunity to offer some reflections.

First, Luke tells us: “One Sabbath, as Jesus was passing through a field of grain, His disciples began to pick the heads of grain, rub them in their hands, and eat them. Some Pharisees said, ‘Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?'” (cf. Luke 6:1-2).

We often hear the Evangelist mention the law of the Sabbath. In the time of the Old Testament, how did the Lord ordain the Sabbath? At that time, the Lord commanded Moses to tell the whole of Israel: “Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your animals, nor the stranger who sojourns among you” (cf. Ex 20:9-10; Dt 5:13-14). Now, what was forbidden on the Sabbath? Let us consider a few examples: “For six days you may work, but on the seventh day you shall rest, even during the seasons of plowing and harvesting” (cf. Ex 34:21); “Six days you may gather it [the manna], but on the seventh day, which is the Sabbath, there will be none” (cf. Ex 16:26); “Do not light any fire in any of your dwellings on the Sabbath day” (cf. Ex 35:1). When those Pharisees who disputed with Jesus saw His disciples picking and eating the heads of grain in the field, they concluded that they had broken the law of the Sabbath, forgetting that the very essence of the Law is love.

In the example that Jesus cites from the Old Testament — namely, that of David, who, by royal command, came to Abimelech the priest and asked him for food (cf. Luke 6:3-4; 1 Sam 21:2-7) — we see that Abimelech the priest did not violate the law of Moses. Rather, he removed the bread of the Presence, which belonged to the worship of God (at that time there was only the bread of the Presence, and no other bread), and gave it to David, replacing it with fresh bread offered to God, thereby manifesting God’s mercy and compassion. In the same way, Jesus also wishes to show us through this that He is not a harsh God, but a God who loves mankind. He desires that we no longer think of God’s law as the Pharisees did, but that we contemplate God’s law and live out God’s love for the world according to the way He Himself has taught us.

God of might, giver of every good gift, put into our hearts the love of your name, so that, by deepening our sense of reverence, you may nurture in us what is good and, by your watchful care, keep safe what you have nurtured. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever

©Totus Tuus 2026
Cum Approbatione Ecclesiastica