[Catholic Caucus Devotional] My Catholic Life! Catholic Daily Reflections: Confronting Opposition

While Jesus was going through a field of grain on a sabbath, his disciples were picking the heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands, and eating them. Some Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is unlawful on the sabbath?” Luke 6:1–2

Though Jesus’ public ministry was still in its early stages, confrontations with the religious leaders had already become frequent. This episode marks the fourth recorded instance of such tension. In the previous days, the Pharisees had accused Jesus of blasphemy for forgiving the paralytic before healing him, of scandal for eating with tax collectors and sinners after calling Levi, and of impiety for neglecting the traditional practice of fasting. Now, He and His disciples are accused of violating the Sabbath law by picking heads of grain, rubbing them, and eating them.

Slowly, the Pharisees are emerging as hardened opponents of Jesus, increasingly focused not on the divine power and mercy He reveals, but on preserving their own rigid interpretations of the Law. These confrontations reveal both their growing hostility and Jesus’ authority as the true interpreter and fulfillment of the Law.

Though the Pharisees began going out of their way to confront Jesus, He was not intimidated and confronted their opposition directly. Today, as we read the Scriptures, we know well that many of the religious leaders at that time were deeply misguided in their understanding of the Law and its purpose. Such confrontations were shocking in a culture where ordinary Jews rarely challenged religious leaders. While the leaders themselves often debated among one another, it was almost unheard of for ordinary Jews to challenge them openly. For that reason, many of Jesus’ disciples likely felt a sense of surprise and tension as these encounters unfolded. At the same time, they may also have experienced a sense of relief as they witnessed Jesus expose the rigidity and oppressive practices that had long left many Jews feeling burdened, discouraged, and spiritually exhausted.

Though Jesus’ confrontation was necessary, we too must learn from their negative example. While we no longer encounter scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, Herodians, or elders in the same form as in first-century Israel, the underlying sins that afflicted them remain just as present in our world today.

Those underlying sins could be summed up as a misuse of authority for its own sake, a tendency toward outward religious observance without inward transformation, and a preference for human traditions over divine revelation. These tendencies manifest themselves in every generation. They are found not only within the Church but also in homes, businesses, governments, and every human institution.

Reflect today on the fallen human tendency to love authority for its own sake. Do you struggle with this? Power that is exercised without humility and without charity that seeks only the good of others is dangerous and often abusive. Look for such structures in your life—whether external or internal—and prayerfully surrender them to Christ. Allow Him, the true Lord of the Sabbath, to reorder your heart according to truth, love, and mercy, so that every exercise of authority in your life becomes an act of service, modeled after His own.

My all-powerful Lord, Your divine authority is absolute. You are the Source of all that is, the Sustainer of creation, and the Holder of dominion over all things. Every exercise of Your authority flows from perfect charity and infinite wisdom. Please reign in my life with that same loving authority, and help me to exercise any authority entrusted to me with humility, mercy, and the charity that flows from Your Sacred Heart. Jesus, I trust in You.

NAVARRE BIBLE COMMENTARY(RSV)

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God)

Today’s First Reading

From: 1 Corinthians 4:6-15

Servants of Christ (Continuation)
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[6] I have applied all this to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brethren, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another. [7] For who sees anything different in you? What have you that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if it were not a gift?

Trials of Apostles
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[8] Already you are filled! Already you have become rich! Without us you have become kings! And would that you did reign, so that we might share the rule with you! [9] For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death; because we have become a spectacle to the world, t o angels and to men. [10] We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute. [11] To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are ill-clad and buffeted and homeless, [12] and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; [13] when slandered, we try to conciliate; we have become, and are now, as the refuse of the world, the offscouring of all things.

Admonishment
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[14] I do not write this to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. [15] For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

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Commentary:

6. "Not to go beyond what is written": this is open to various interpretations. I t may be a proverb with which the Corinthians were familiar, meaning that one should stay on safe ground (in this cases Paul's guidelines for the infant Church at Corinth). "What is written" could also refer to all scripture or just to the quotations which Paul has used (cf. 1:19, 31; 3:19). In any event he makes it clear to the Corinthians that it is they themselves who, due to their immaturity and pride, have caused the dissensions in their community through exalting one preacher at the expense of others. Paul and Apollos have behaved quite properly and therefore cannot be held responsible for these divisions.

7. The Apostle comes back again to insist on what he said earlier (cf. 1:26-31): they have no cause to boast about the calling they have received. God called them without any merit on their part. "To be humble is to walk in the truth, for it is absolutely true to say that we have no good thing in ourselves, but only misery and nothingness; and anyone who fails to understand this is walking in falsehood" (St Teresa of Avila, "Interior Castle", VI, chap. 10). Therefore, the attitude of a humble soul, reflecting on the graces he or she has received, should be one of gratitude to God, the giver. Here is what St John of Avila has to say about this verse: "If you have the grace of God and want to please him and do excellent things, do not glory in yourself, but rather in him who made it possible-God. And if you boast of having used your free will well, or freely consented to God's inspirations, do not boast even on that account; boast rather of God who made you consent, inspiring you and gently influencing you-and who in fact gave you that free will whereby you were able to give your free consent. And if you are inclined to boast about the fact that you could have resisted God's inspiration and good influence and yet did not resist it, you should not boast about that either, for that is a matter not of doing something but of not doing something; and even that you owe to God, because he who helped you to consent in doing good also helped you not to reject that help. Any good use you make of your free will, in things to do with your salvation, is a gift from God [...]. So, always boast only in God, from whom all the good you have comes; and remember that without him the only harvest you reap is nothing, and vanity and evil" ("Audi, Filia", chap. 66).

8. Verse 8 sums up a series of ironic remarks about the conceitedness of these Corinthians whom St Paul is taking to task. St Thomas Aquinas comments on this passage as follows: "The Apostle here considers four types of pride: the first, when one thinks that what one has does not come from God [...]; the second, which is similar, when one thinks that one has done everything on one's own merit; the third, when one boasts of having something which one does not in fact have [...]; the fourth, when one despises others and is concerned only about oneself" ("Commentary on 1 Cor, ad loc.").

The Apostle dramatically describes the disabilities which followers of Christ are happy to bear, like people sentenced to death in the arena they are a spectacle for everyone to watch. In other letters he again tells of the suffering an apostle must expect (cf. 2 Cor 6:3-10; 11:23-33; 2 Tim 3:11).

The last words in the passage-"the refuse of the world, the offscouring of all things"-may refer to a barbaric custom that obtained in some Greek cities: in the face of some public calamity, a citizen, in exchange for being treated royal for a period, agreed to be sacrificed to the gods; on the day of his sacrifice the people had the right to heap every kind of insult and filth upon him; he was "the offscouring of everyone". This sacrifice was offered to free the city of evil spells. Even if they do refer to this custom, these words have also a much deeper meaning: Christ by dying on the cross has redeemed the world; the apostle must follow in the footsteps of his Master, knowing that suffering completes "what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the Church" (Col 1:24).

Therefore, there is no trace of protest in what St Paul is saying here: he is pointing to the value of suffering, which the cross of Christ, helps us to recognize. "I will tell you which are man's treasures on earth," St. J. Escriva writes, "so that you won't let them go to waste: hunger, thirst, heat cold, pain, dishonor, poverty, loneliness, betrayal, slander, prison..." ("The Way", 194).

14-16. St Paul brings up the subject of the spiritual paternity of the Corinthians, because it was he who begot them in the faith. In view of this fact, his reproaches take on a special seriousness; his purpose is not to make them feel ashamed but to encourage them to acquire the virtues they need and to have them build up the Church, which has been established as "a communion of life, love and truth" (Vatican II, "Lumen Gentium", 9).

"Be imitators of me": whenever the Apostle puts himself forward as a model for the faithful (cf. 1 Cor 11:1; 2 Thess 3:7; Phil 3:17; Gal 4:12) he refers to the sufferings which his apostolate has brought upon him. All Christians should act in like manner (1 Thess 1:6-7; 2:14). If they do, they will be a support for one another, they will come to have the same sentiments as Christ Jesus, (Phil 2:5), and will be keeping out his commandment that each carry his own cross (Mt. 16:24).

The saints understood all this and taught others to face up to suffering, even severe suffering. "We always find that those who walked closest to Christ our Lord were those who had to bear the greatest trials. Consider the trials suffered by his glorious Mother and by the glorious Apostles. How do you suppose St Paul could endure such terrible trials? [...]. You know very well that, so far as we can learn, he took not a day's rest, nor can he have rested by night, since it was then that he had to earn his living" (St Teresa, "Interior Castle", VII, chap. 4,5).

Today’s Gospel Reading

From: Luke 6:1-5

The Law of the Sabbath
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[1] On a Sabbath, while He (Jesus) was going through the grainfields, His disciples plucked and ate some ears of grain, rubbing them in their hands. [2] But some of the Pharisees said, "Why are You doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?" [3] And Jesus answered, "Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: [4] how he entered the house of God, and took and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those with him?" [5] And he said to them, "The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."

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Commentary:

1-5. Accused by the Pharisees of breaking the Sabbath, Jesus explains the correct way of understanding the Sabbath rest, using an example from the Old Testament. And, by stating that He is "Lord of the Sabbath" He is openly revealing that He is God Himself, for it was God who gave this precept to the people of Israel. For more on this, see the notes on Matthew 12:2 and 12:3-8.

[The notes on Matthew 12:2 and 12:3-8 states: 2. "The Sabbath": this was the day the Jews set aside for worshipping God. God Himself, the originator of the Sabbath (Genesis 2:3), ordered the Jewish people to avoid certain kinds of work on this day (Exodus 20:8-11; 21:13; Deuteronomy 5:14) to leave them free to give more time to God. As time went by, the rabbis complicated this divine precept: by Jesus' time they had extended to 39 the list of kinds of forbidden work.

The Pharisees accuse Jesus' disciples of breaking the Sabbath. In the casuistry of the scribes and the Pharisees, plucking ears of corn was the same as harvesting, and crushing them was the same as milling-types of agricultural work forbidden on the Sabbath.

3-8. Jesus rebuts the Pharisees' accusation by four arguments-the example of David, that of the priests, a correct understanding of the mercy of God and Jesus' own authority over the Sabbath.

The first example which was quite familiar to the people, who were used to listening to the Bible being read, comes from 1 Samuel 21:2-7: David, in flight from the jealousy of King Saul, asks the priest of the shrine of Nob for food for his men; the priest gave them the only bread he had, the holy bread of the Presence; this was the twelve loaves which were placed each week on the golden altar of the sanctuary as a perpetual offering from the twelve tribes of Israel (Leviticus 24:5-9). The second example refers to the priestly ministry to perform the liturgy, priests had to do a number of things on the Sabbath but did not thereby break the law of Sabbath rest (cf. Numbers 28:9).]

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