Matthew 12:1-8

At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. 2 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.”3 He answered, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4 He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. 5 Or haven’t you read in the Law that the priests on Sabbath duty in the temple desecrate the Sabbath and yet are innocent? 6 I tell you that something greater than the temple is here. 7 If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. 8 For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” - Matthew 12:1-8

Dear Jesus,

You and your heavenly Father created the Sabbath for people to find rest in you.  You never intended for it to prevent people from getting what they needed to sustain body and life.  In the same way you have blessed the rhythm of regular worship at local churches to sustain the souls of people.  You never intended that church attendance would be the measure of true righteousness.  Help me to see in the way you enlightened the Pharisees about their dead formalism, an insight for my own superficial judgements.  Give me a deeper understanding of how your statement regarding mercy, "I desire mercy and not sacrifice" informs my thinking about everything done around my church.  Make all of us a grace filled, grace producing, grace relieving people.  

Amen

Pastor Don Patterson 

If you do not understand grace, you will never understand how to speak to people for God. 

Additional Reading: Galatians 5 and 6