The Feast of St Bonaventure | Friday 15 July 2022

Today is Friday the 15th of July, the feast of Saint Bonaventure.
The Porter’s Gate sings, ‘Blessed are the Merciful’.
Blessed are the merciful
Blessed are the merciful
Blessed are the merciful
For they shall receive mercy, mercy
Forgive us as we forgive those who sin against us
Forgive us as we forgive those who sin against us
Lord have mercy on us
Show Your mercy through us
Lord have mercy on us
Show Your mercy through us
Lord have mercy on us
Show Your mercy through us
Mercy

Today’s reading is from the Gospel of Matthew.
Matthew 12: 1-8
At that time Jesus went through the cornfields on the sabbath; his disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. When the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, ‘Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the sabbath.’ He said to them, ‘Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him or his companions to eat, but only for the priests. Or have you not read in the law that on the sabbath the priests in the temple break the sabbath and yet are guiltless? I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. But if you had known what this means, “I desire mercy and not sacrifice”, you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is lord of the sabbath.’

In this scene, there are two groups following Jesus as he walks through the cornfields – the Pharisees and his disciples. Both are there for seemingly different motives. Where might you put yourself and for what reason?
The Pharisees find fault with what the disciples do. It is not lawful, full stop. But Jesus responds to them with examples of ‘and yet …’ What might be some of the ‘full stop’ or the “and yet” experiences for you?

As you listen again, notice the manner in which Jesus deals with this conflict – how he engages and speaks. What do you observe?
‘I desire mercy not sacrifice.’ Jesus quotes the prophet Hosea who gives God’s response to a nation that has lost its way. Speak with Jesus, who is mercy, about how it is for you to be following him.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.