 |
The Disciples Plucking Corn On The Sabbath by Gustave Dore |
Mark 12:1-8
When the Pharisees object to Jesus' disciples plucking grain in a field to eat on the Sabbath, Jesus defends them by referencing King David on the lam eating the bread restricted to priests which was placed on a golden table in the Tabernacle as an offering and a symbol of God's enduring presence. This is a foreshadowing of the Eucharist as Jesus points to himself as the sacred bread and claims ultimate authority over sacred laws.
I love the way that Francis Fernandez emphasizes the link between old and new in this passage:
At one table two Passovers are celebrated, that of the figure and that of the reality. Just a sa painter on the same surface, first traces the outline and then adds the colours, so too does Christ. (John Chrysostom) Using the old rite, He established the true Passover, the feast par excellence, of which the former was only a figure.Francis Fernandez, In Conversation with God, vol. four
