Greater Than the Temple...

~~~ Exodus 11:10—12:14 ~~~ Psalm 116 ~~~ Matthew 12:1-8 ~~~

 

I say to you, something greater than the temple is here.

Worship in the temple was important to the people.
The temple is where they went to hear the scriptures.
The temple is where they received instruction in the many laws and rituals.
The temple is a building...an inanimate object.

Jesus was indeed greater than the temple.
 He was the living breathing walking talking temple.
He was the personification of the temple.
 

Jesus was responding to criticism for breaking the law
concerning keeping the Sabbath holy.
He and his followers picked a few handfuls of grain
as they walked across the field.
For this they were greatly judged as breaking the law.

When you have Jesus in your midst; whatever he does
is okay to follow likewise.
The Pharisees, however, were preoccupied
with the rules...each and every little letter of the rules.
We can even find this happening today.
Could it be that Jesus wants us to be understanding and compassionate?
The disciples were hungry...they were out on the road...
they may not have even been thinking about what day it was.

I know people who get confused about what day it is after they retire.
If they were out traveling with Jesus they had abandoned their regular routine.
They were on his schedule...they were following him.

Jesus says he wants more than dotted i's and crossed t's,
 he wants mercy, not sacrifice. 

 

The God who changes names and is unbound by time tells
Moses and Aaron the calendar was to be changed.
He is marking the calendar with his redemption story.

'...This month shall stand at the head of your calendar;
you shall reckon it the first month of the year...' 

 

 God is delivering his people out of the land of slavery.
As slaves they had no need of a calendar
because they were only allowed to do what they were told.
A calendar is useful for making plans...
keeping appointments.

You cannot set your own life as a slave.
But in the land of milk and honey everything would be different.

The blood of their paschal lamb would be the mark that would save them.

The psalmist sings my favorite psalm 116 today.
How can I make a return to the Lord
for all the good he has done?

 

 The cup of salvation I will take up,
and I will call upon the name of the LORD.

 

Blessings for us today are in the cup of salvation...
the very blood of our Paschal Lamb, Jesus.
Take the cup of salvation for he is greater than the temple. 

 He is here leading us through the fields of grain.
How I cherish the Eucharistic Celebration
of receiving his body and blood.