Reflection for the Memorial of St. Anthony, Abbott

Today's readings are here: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/011712.cfm

In today's Gospel, the Pharisees (Jewish religious leaders) accused Jesus and his disciples of sin because they plucked the heads of grain, thus violating the Sabbath.  The reason for this accusation was the Pharisees were so focused on the letter of the law that they missed the spirit of the law, which is love; and when Jesus said, "The sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath," he was getting them back to the love that is the foundation of the Sabbath.


God created the Sabbath out of love for human beings because he wanted them, through worship, to refresh themselves in him and be strengthened to love their neighbor.  It was a day to help people prioritize their lives by putting God first and by teaching them that work was not the most important thing in life.  The worship of God would fill men and women with the love that is the spirit of the law.


Obviously, the Pharisees missed this as they turned the Sabbath into a meticulous set of rules as to what constituted work and what did not.  In their overemphasis on the mere external observance of the rules, they forgot the love in the heart, and became full of pride at their own success in keeping the law externally, and full of criticism at those who did not keep the rules.


The same thing can happen to us when we focus on the outward observance of God's law and forget the fact that the heart of the law is love.  God gave us the law because he loves us, and two greatest commandments ("You shall love the Lord your God with your entire being" and "You shall love your neighbor as yourself") are about love.


One thing we can do to avoid being external in our faith is to keep in mind how much God has loved us in Christ.  This truth warms the heart, keeps it aglow with love, and is kept in our hearts when we attend Mass weekly, receive the sacrament of Reconciliation frequently, and persist in prayer.


May God, through Christ, fill us with the love that is the core and foundation of the law.