17 July 2015
Friday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Many say ‘the devil is in the details’, however, mercy, too, can be found in the details. In today’s first reading, we find numerous rubrics for the exact observance of Passover. There is the date of the feast, the quality and age of the lambs, the time of the lambs’ slaughter, the manner of cooking it, all the requirements for eating it, etc. etc. Why so many specifics? It is the Passover of the LORD. (Ex 12:11) The Passover was to be meticulously observed because every detail was to remind the people each year of the work of mercy which the Lord had done for them.
So, too, Jesus shows us that there is mercy in the details of Scripture. When the Pharisees in a rather vague manner claim that the hungry disciples are not permitted to glean grain from the fields on the Sabbath, Jesus responds with very precise counter examples: David and his companions eating the bread of offering; the priestly exception to Sabbath observance; the words of Lord I desire mercy, not sacrifice. (Hos 6:6) Let us ask the Lord to help us as we pray with Scripture and recall how He has been at work in our lives today, that He may show us some specific examples of His mercy that we may hold in our hearts and share with others.