In Mark’s Gospel, the conflict with the Pharisees begins early on in the Gospel-- at the beginning of chapter 2. And throughout chapter 2 and the beginning passage of chapter 3 St. Mark details five controversies—five vignettes in which Jesus encounters opposition in the form of disapproval, suspicion, and contention on the part of the religious authorities and even some of the populace. But in each of these controversies, Jesus reveals something about his identity and mission, inviting his questioners to believe in him.
When Jesus claims the power to heal the paralytic and forgive sins at the beginning of chapter 2, the pharisees calls him a blasphemer. When Jesus and his disciples eat at in the house of Levi, the scribes question his practice of eating with tax collectors and sinners. Next, the Lord’s piety is called into question because he does not fast like others claiming to be authoritative teachers. In today’s passage, the fourth controversy is much like the second and third, it involves food.
Notice, how the Lord neither affirms nor disputes the Pharisees’ interpretation of whether this is actually unlawful work. Rather, he gets to the heart of the matter, by redirecting the conversation to the Word of God—to the biblical story of King David and to the law that allows priests to do God’s holy work on the sabbath. Here, like in the other controversies, Jesus reveals something about himself--he equates himself with the anointed King and anointed Priest who are dispensed from the sabbath law because they are doing the work of the God of the sabbath. Jesus is the anointed Lord of the Sabbath.
Because of their hardness of hearts, the Pharisees are going to reject this claim. They refuse to allow the possibility that what Jesus is saying is true. That cannot and will not acknowledge an authority greater than themselves. That’s what we mean when someone is acting Pharisaical. They will not acknowledge truth outside of themselves; they will refuse to listen to logical, biblically derived arguments, the wisdom of the ages, the Word of God.
We who have already acknowledged Jesus as Son of God and Lord of the Sabbath, always need to make sure, of course, that we aren’t allowing the attitude of the Pharisee to creep in—that we don’t hold onto opinions that are contrary to the word of God. But, also in our evangelizing mission, we are likely to come across a Pharisee or two. Like Jesus, we are to patiently and clearly explain the Church’s position. We might have to endure some self-righteous mockery from time to time, so be it. We might even come across those who claim to be Catholic, we have strayed from authentic Church teaching, who ridicule us for holding fast to clear Catholic teaching. Oftentimes these Pharisaical, hard-hearted Catholics are harder to convince than those growing up without faith.
But again, like the Lord, in the face of religious controversy, ridicule, we patiently make recourse to the Word of God in Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition, and pray for their souls, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
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For the holy Church of God, that the Lord may graciously watch over her and care for her.
For the peoples of the world, that the Lord may preserve harmony among us.
For all who are oppressed by any kind of need, that the Lord may grant them relief and move Christians to come to the aid of the suffering.
For an increase in vocations to the priesthood and consecrated religious life, for all monastics and hermits, and that all Christians may seek the perfection for which they were made.
For our beloved dead, for the poor souls in purgatory, and for X, for whom this Mass is offered.
O God, our refuge and our strength, hear the prayers of your Church, for you yourself are the source of all devotion, and grant, we pray, that what we ask in faith we may truly obtain. Through Christ our Lord.
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