Daily Gospel Reflection
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September 3, 2022
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?”
Jesus said to them in reply,
“Have you not read what David did
when he and those who were with him were hungry?
How he went into the house of God, took the bread of offering,
which only the priests could lawfully eat,
ate of it, and shared it with his companions?”
Then he said to them, “The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath.”
Today’s gospel reminds me of a pivotal scene from my favorite play, Robert Bolt’s A Man for All Seasons. The title character Sir Thomas More is interrogated by an ostensibly religious figure, in his case, the Archbishop of Canterbury.
The Archbishop informs More that while there can be doubt on the legality of Henry VIII’s marriage to Anne Boleyn and his severing of ties with Rome, there can be no doubt that Henry VIII is More’s King. Like every Englishman, he must always obey him and his commands.
More responds by saying that some people believe the Earth is round, others think it is flat, and there is considerable doubt over the issue. But, he then says to the Archbishop: “But if it is flat, would the King’s command make it round, and if it were round, would the King’s command flatten it? No. Therefore, I will not consent.”
Like More, Jesus recognizes a need for political and spiritual leadership in our world. Still, there is always a higher authority, that of God, and it is to him that our ultimate loyalty belongs. Thus, we must not hesitate to do what is right according to God’s teachings, revealed in Holy Scripture and tradition, to assist our fellow men and women in resisting unjust laws and practices.
This gospel is also an excellent argument against accusations that Christians do not care about this world but solely focus on the next. Jesus tells his followers they must work to improve the world now, regardless if it brings us into conflict with the authorities.
The process of doing so will not be easy. Indeed, the opposite is much more likely to be the case. But this should not keep us from doing so, as the “lord of the sabbath” calls us to do. And thus, at the end of our lives, we will know that we die, in More’s words, “As my King’s good servant, but God’s first.”
Prayer
God of truth and justice, you call us to hold your law firmly in our hearts—not only its words, but its spirit. Help us to let your law of love be imprinted on our hearts so that it may not be a second thought, but a fundamental norm. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Gregory the Great was a civilian official before becoming a monk, a cardinal, and finally, one of the most influential popes the Church has ever known.
He was born in 540, the son of a wealthy Roman senator. He was educated by the best teachers in Rome, and when he was still a young man, the emperor named him chief magistrate of Rome.
He filled this role for five years but clearly had other desires on his heart than his political career. When his father died, Gregory turned his home into a monastery and became a monk. He used his inheritance to build six other monasteries in the region.
When it came time to select a new pope, the faithful unanimously selected him by popular acclaim. As pope, Gregory was filled with zeal—he worked tirelessly and his contributions profoundly shaped the life of the Church.
As leader of the Church, he kept a close watch over the clergy and encouraged them towards holiness. He used papal money to ransom prisoners and to care for persecuted Jews and victims of famine and sickness. People of his day called him the father of the city of Rome, and the joy of the world.
He once observed English children being sold in the Roman Forum as slaves, and the sight made him decide to send missionaries to Canterbury—this was the beginning of Christianity among the Anglo-Saxons. He also sent missionaries to France, Spain, and parts of Africa during a time when Europe was being overturned by Lombards, barbarian forces from the north. These efforts helped Christianize these forces—Gregory himself went to visit the king of the Lombards.
Gregory is known best for his contributions to the liturgy. He reformed the Mass and the daily prayer of the Church and wrote prayers we still use today as well as commentaries on Scripture that shaped theology through the Middle Ages. He also collected melodies of plain chant used in the liturgy—today that style is known as Gregorian chant, after him.
Gregory is one of the four great doctors of the Church, along with St. Ambrose, St. Augustine, and St. Jerome. These four and 33 other doctors have been singled out for their ability to articulate and teach the faith.
Gregory died in 604, and his relics rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica. He is patron of teachers and students, musicians and masons. He is depicted in several places on campus, here in stained glass from the Basilica and the second window from the chapel in Lyons Hall. He is often shown with a bird nearby—it is said that the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove spoke into his ear when he preached.
“The proof of love is in the works,” St. Gregory said. “Where love exists, it works great things. But when it ceases to act, it ceases to exist.”
Pope St. Gregory the Great, you were the monk who became one of the greatest popes ever—pray for us!