Mark § 10

(de Op. Monach. 23) For it was a precept in Israel, delivered by a written law, that no one should detain a thief found in his fields, unless he tried to take something away with him. For the man, who had touched nothing else but what he had eaten, they were commanded to allow to go away free and unpunished. Wherefore the Jews accused our Lord's disciples, who were plucking the ears of corn, of breaking the sabbath, rather than of theft.

And again it happened on the Sabbath, etc. We read in the following passages that there were many who came and went, and they did not even have time to eat, and thus they were almost hungry like men. But what they rub the ears of grain with their hands, and console their hunger, is an indication of a more austere life, seeking not prepared feasts, but simple foods. However, the Pharisees said to him: Behold, why are your disciples doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath? Note that the first apostles of the Savior destroy the letter of the Sabbath against the Hebionites, who, while accepting the other apostles, reject Paul as a transgressor of the law. Mystically, however, the disciples pass through the fields, namely those about which the Lord said: Lift up your eyes and see the regions, for they are already white for harvest. And he who reaps receives wages (John IV), as holy teachers observe with the care of pious concern those whom they seek to instruct in the faith of truth, and with diligent consideration ponder how each one should be drawn to salvation and in what order. And therefore it is understood that nothing is better than hungering for the salvation of men, which the first of the reapers, once hungering among the prayers, soon when offered the dainties he desired, heard: Arise, Peter, kill and eat (Acts X). And there is wonderful harmony of the sacrament, for there too animals ordered to be slain and eaten are sent from heaven, and here the disciples, consecrating the ears of corn with the Lord looking on, are said, according to the accounts of the other evangelists, to have rubbed them with their hands and eaten. For this is what the Apostle says: Mortify your members that are upon the earth, and put off the old man with his deeds (Coloss. III). For no one can otherwise pass into the body of Christ, nor otherwise nourish the teacher with the fruits of their progress, than if, having renounced the old desires, one becomes a new man with the new commandment of love. Therefore, to pluck the ears of grain is to draw men away from earthly intentions, where they had fixed, as it were, the root of their minds; but to rub them with hands is, through examples of virtues, to strip away, as it were, the husks and coverings of the chaff, even from the very desires of the flesh, the purity of the mind. To eat the grains is to be incorporated into the members of the Church, each one cleansed from the filth of vices, through the preaching mouths. And it is well remembered that the disciples did this while going before the Lord, for the teacher's word must precede, and thus the grace of the supreme visitation illuminates the following heart of the listener. Well on the Sabbath, for the holy teachers both labor in preaching for the hope of future rest, and equally admonish their listeners not to insist on superfluous works for the love of the world, but rather to labor hard for eternal rest in good works. Again, they walk through the fields with the Lord, who, striving to obey divine commands, delight in diligently meditating on the sacred words. They hunger in the fields, desiring to find the bread of life in the same sacred words they read through, that is, they care to reach those words by which they may kindle in themselves a greater love for their Creator. And this on the Sabbath, when they rejoice to be free from the turbulent thoughts with a calm mind, and to see how sweet the Lord is, and how blessed the man who hopes in Him (Psalm XXXIII). And assuming the habit of piety and humility, they strive to reach the rest of their souls. They pluck the ears that perhaps occur, and turn and purify them with their hands until they reach the food, when they take up the testimonies of the Scriptures which they reach by reading, and discuss them with diligent investigation until they find the marrow of love that seemed to be hidden in them. For just as the grains of wheat which refresh are veiled by the roughness of the chaff which bristles, so often under what seemed the usefulness of the letter are hidden the gifts of divine love, which feed the hungry and thirsty minds of the faithful with the dainties of inner sweetness. But this refreshment of minds indeed displeases the foolish defenders of the Sabbath, but is approved by the Lord of the Sabbath, for those who follow only the surface of the letter neither know true refreshment of minds nor reach the inner rest of souls. Hence their recklessness is rightly confounded by the mouth of Truth, while it is added:

(in Marc. 1, 13) We read also in the following part, that they who came and went away were many, and that they had not time enough to take their food, wherefore, according to man's nature, they were hungry.

(ubi sup.) But in a mystical sense the disciples pass through the corn fields, when the holy doctors look with the care of a pious solicitude upon those whom they have initiated in the faith, and who, it is implied, are hungering for the best of all things, the salvation of men. But to pluck the ears of corn means to snatch men away from the eager desire of earthly things. And to rub with the hands is by examples of virtue to put from the purity of their minds the concupiscence of the flesh, as men do husks. To eat the grains is when a man, cleansed from the filth of vice by the mouths of preachers, is incorporated amongst the members of the Church. Again, fitly are the disciples related to have done this, walking before the face of the Lord, for it is necessary that the discourse of the doctor should come first, although the grace of visitation from on high, following it, must enlighten the heart of the hearer. And well, on the sabbath-day, for the doctors themselves in preaching labour for the hope of future rest, and teach their hearers to toil over their tasks for the sake of eternal repose.

(ubi sup) Again, they walk through the corn fields with the Lord, who rejoice in meditating upon His sacred words. They hunger, when they desire to find in them the bread of life; and they hunger on sabbath days, as soon as their minds are in a soothing rest, and they rejoice in freedom from troubled thoughts; they pluck the ears of corn, and by rubbing, cleanse them, till they come to what is fit to eat, when by meditation they take to themselves the witness of the Scriptures, to which they arrive by reading, and discuss them continually, until they find in them the marrow of love; this refreshment of the mind is truly unpleasing to fools, but is approved by the Lord.

(non occ. sed v. Chrys. Hom. 39, in Matt) But being hungry, they ate simple food, not for pleasure, but on account of the necessity of nature. The Pharisees however, serving the figure and the shadow, accused the disciples of doing wrong. Wherefore there follows, But the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful.

(Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc.) The disciples of Christ, freed from the figure, and united to the truth, do not keep the figurative feast of the sabbath, wherefore it is said, And it came to pass, that he went through the corn fields on the sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn.

The disciples of the Lord plucked the ears of grain, as men accustomed to living no longer under the law. When the Pharisees became indignant at this, Christ silences them by pointing to David, who out of necessity broke the law during the time of the high priest Abiathar. Fleeing from Saul, the prophet David came to this high priest and deceived him, saying that he had been sent by the king on an urgent military matter. There he both ate the showbread and took back the sword of Goliath, which he had once dedicated to God. There were twelve of these loaves; they lay upon the table every day, six on the right and six on the left side of the table. Some ask: why did the evangelist here call the high priest Abiathar, when the Book of Kings names him Ahimelech (1 Sam. 21)? To this one may say that the high priest had two names: Ahimelech and Abiathar. It can also be explained differently, namely: the Book of Kings speaks of Ahimelech, the priest at that time, while the evangelist speaks of Abiathar, the high priest at that time, and therefore their accounts do not contradict one another. The priest on that occasion was Ahimelech, while Abiathar was then the high priest.

For David, when flying from the face of Saul, went to the Chief Priest, and ate the show-bread, and took away the sword of Goliath, which things had been offered to the Lord. (1 Sam. 21.) But a question has been raised how the Evangelist called Abiathar at this time High Priest, when the Book of Kings calls him Abimelech.

Or else, because when they hare rest from their passions, then are they made doctors to lead others to virtue, plucking away from them earthly things.

It goes on: And he said to them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath. For greater is the care to be taken of the health and life of a man, than the keeping of the sabbath. Therefore the sabbath was ordered to be observed in such a way, that, if there were a necessity, he should not be guilty, who broke the sabbath-day; therefore it was not forbidden to circumcise on the sabbath, because that was a necessary work. And the Maccabees, when necessity pressed on them, fought on the sabbath-day. Wherefore, His disciples being hungry, what was not allowed in the law became lawful through their necessity of hunger; as now, if a sick man break a fast, he is not held guilty in any way.

I should have some sympathy with the Jewish Sabbath, if it were a Jewish Sabbath, and that for three reasons; first, that religion is an intrinsically sympathetic thing; second, that I cannot conceive any religion worth calling a religion without a fixed and material observance; and third, that the particular observance of sitting still and doing no work is one that suits my temperament down to the ground. But the absurdity of the modern English convention is that it does not let a man sit still; it only perpetually trips him up when it has forced him to walk about. Our Sabbatarianism does not forbid us to ask a man in Battersea to come and talk in Hertfordshire; it only prevents his getting there. I can understand that a deity might be worshipped with joys, with flowers, and fireworks in the old European style. I can understand that a deity might be worshipped with sorrows. But I cannot imagine any deity being worshipped with inconveniences.

Morality did not begin by one man saying to another, "I will not hit you if you do not hit me"; there is no trace of such a transaction. There is a trace of both men having said, "We must not hit each other in the holy place." They gained their morality by guarding their religion. They did not cultivate courage. They fought for the shrine, and found they had become courageous. They did not cultivate cleanliness. They purified themselves for the altar, and found that they were clean. The history of the Jews is the only early document known to most Englishmen, and the facts can be judged sufficiently from that. The Ten Commandments which have been found substantially common to mankind were merely military commands; a code of regimental orders, issued to protect a certain ark across a certain desert. Anarchy was evil because it endangered the sanctity. And only when they made a holy day for God did they find they had made a holiday for men.

In the higher sense, understand it thus: Christ's disciples walk on the Sabbath, that is, in the repose of the soul (Sabbath means rest); consequently, when they have attained freedom from the passions and from the assaults of demons, then they make the journey, that is, they become guides for others as well on the path to virtue, plucking up and uprooting all earthly and base illusory growths. For whoever has not first been freed from the passions and disposed himself to a quiet way of life cannot guide others and be a leader for them toward the good.

It goes on: Therefore the Son of man is Lord, &c. As if he said, David the king is to be excused for feeding on the food of the Priests, how much more the Son of man, the true King and Priest, and Lord of the sabbath, is free from fault, for pulling ears of corn on the sabbath-day.

In the same manner that he, according to his humanity, is like Abraham, even so, according to his divinity, he is before Abraham. As he is, according to his humanity, the Son of David, so is he also, as God, the Lord of David. As he is, according to his humanity, born under the law, so is he as God, the Lord of the sabbath.

(Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc.) He calls himself properly, Lord of the sabbath, and Son of man, since being the Son of God, he deigned to be called Son of man, for the sake of men. Now the law has no authority over the Lawgiver and Lord, for more is allowed the king, than is appointed by the law. The law is given to the weak indeed, but not to the perfect and to those who work above what the law enjoins.

He who raises wheat out of the ground with many stalks from one grain, He that makes the tree that is cut down send forth fresh branches, He that made Aaron's dry rod put forth buds, will raise us up in glory; He that raised Him up that had the palsy whole, and healed him that had the withered hand, He that supplied a defective part to him that was born blind from clay and spittle, will raise us up; He that satisfied five thousand men with five loaves and two fishes, and caused a remainder of twelve baskets, and out of water made wine, and sent a piece of money out of a fish's mouth by me Peter to those that demanded tribute, will raise the dead.

And he entered again into the synagogue, etc. The man who had a withered hand indicates the human race withered in the fertility of good works, but cured by the Lord's compassion. His right hand, which had withered in the first parent when plucking the forbidden tree's fruit, was restored to the health of good works' juices by the Redeemer's grace when He stretched out innocent hands on the tree of the cross. And fittingly, the hand was withered in the synagogue, because where the gift of knowledge is greater, there the danger of inexcusable guilt is more severe. And they watched him whether he would heal on the Sabbath, that they might accuse him. Because the Master had excused the breaking of the Sabbath which they blamed in the disciples by a likely example, now they want to accuse the very Master by watching, so that if He heals on the Sabbath, they may charge Him with transgression; if He does not heal, they may accuse Him of cruelty or impotence. And he said to the man with the withered hand: Stand forth. And he says to them: Is it lawful on the Sabbaths to do good or to do harm? The Lord, predicting the calumny the Jews with faithless minds had prepared for Him, reproaches them because they violated the precepts of the law by a wrongful interpretation, thinking even from good works to rest on the Sabbath, while the law commands abstention from evil, saying: You shall not do any servile work on it, that is sin. For everyone who commits sin is a servant of sin. By this precept, He also foreshadows the form of the future age in the present: where those who have done good through the six ages of this world, will have rest in the seventh age, not from good works, but only from evil. For even if secular works rest, nevertheless the act of good work in the praise of God is not idle. To save a life or to kill? This is, to heal a man, or not? It is the same as He had said before, To do good or to do harm? Not that the supremely good God can be the author of evil or perdition for us, but that Scripture customarily speaks of not saving as killing. Just as He is said to have hardened Pharaoh's heart, not that He made a soft heart hard, but that He did not mercifully soften it, hardened by preceding merits. And when we pray, Lead us not into temptation (Matt. VI), by immediately adding, But deliver us from evil, we plainly are taught that to lead into temptation by Him is nothing other than not to free from evil, and to destroy a soul is not to save from perdition. If anyone is moved, why the Lord, when He was about to heal a body, asked about the salvation of the soul, let him understand either that the soul by the custom of Scriptures is put for the man, as it is said: These are the souls which came out of the loins of Jacob (Exod. I), or that these miracles were done for the sake of the soul's salvation, or that this healing of the hand signified the salvation of the soul, which, ceasing from good works (as I have said), seemed to have a withered right hand. But they were silent. And looking around at them with anger, grieved at the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man: Stretch forth your hand. And he stretched it out; and his hand was restored. The withered hand is ordered to be stretched out for healing, because in no better order is the fruitless weakness of the soul cured than by the largesse of alms. Therefore John the Baptist, when questioned by the crowds about what they should do so as not to be cast into fire like withered trees, commanded only this: He who has two coats, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise (Luke III). And in Ecclesiasticus it is said: Son, let not your hand be stretched out to take, but drawn back when it comes to giving (Eccli. IV). For in vain does he stretch out his hands to God in prayer for sins, who does not extend them to a begging widow to confer a benefit.

(ubi sup.) But mystically, the man with a withered hand shows the human race, dried up as to its fruitfulness in good works, but now cured by the mercy of the Lord; the hand of man, which in our first parent had been dried up when he plucked the fruit of the forbidden tree, through the grace of the Redeemer, Who stretched His guiltless hands on the tree of the cross, has been restored to health by the juices of good works. Well too was it in the synagogue that the hand was withered; for where the gift of knowledge is greater, there also the danger of inexcusable guilt is greater.

After confounding the Jews, who had blamed His disciples, for pulling the ears of corn on the sabbath day, by the example of David, the Lord now further bringing them to the truth, works a miracle on the sabbath; showing that, if it is a pious deed to work miracles on the sabbath for the health of men, it is not wrong to do on the sabbath things necessary for the body: he says therefore, And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand. And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath-day; that they might accuse him.

(in Marc. i. 14) For, since He had defended the breaking of the sabbath, which they objected to His disciples, by an approved example, now they wish, by watching Him, to calumniate Himself, that they might accuse Him of a transgression, if He cured on the sabbath, of cruelty or of folly, if He refused. It goes on: And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand in the midst.

On the occasion of the Jews accusing the disciples for plucking ears of grain on the Sabbath, the Lord had already shut the mouths of the accusers with the example of David, and in order to instruct them even more now, He works a miracle, through which He expresses the following: behold how guiltless of sin My disciples are — I Myself also act on the Sabbath day, manifesting this miracle. If working miracles is a sin, then doing anything necessary on the Sabbath is altogether a sin; but to perform a miracle for the salvation of a person is a work of God, and consequently, neither does one who does something not evil on the Sabbath violate the law.

But Jesus, deeply grieved in heart at the hardness of their hearts, said in effect: "Let the ones who see continue to see. Let the ones who refuse to hear do what they want to do. Let the ones who are hard in heart become stone. But let your right hand become full and tender. Rise, beg no longer." … In effect Jesus was saying: "Do not continue to beg because of having a withered hand, but after you finally have received it healthy and whole and have begun to work, stretch out your hand to the poor. Rise up and stand in their midst. Become a marvel to those who see. In you the struggle concerning the sabbath is finally being contested. Stand in their midst, so that the ones who are lame in their legs might stand.… Stretch out your hand. I am not touching you so that they may not bring a charge against me. I am speaking with a speech so that they may not think that touching is an act of work. God did not say, 'Do not speak on the sabbath.' But if speech becomes an act of work, let the one who has spoken be an object of amazement. Stretch out your hand." … While the withered hand was restored, the withered minds of the onlookers were not. For they went out and immediately, according to the reading, were debating what they would do to Jesus. Are you debating what you will do? Worship him as God. Worship the wonder worker. Worship one who worked good things on behalf of another. He did not add plasters; he was not tenderizing with lotions. He did not apply medical ointments. He did this work openly, standing in their midst, and not in a hidden way, so that some might retort: "He applied a plant; he added a plaster."

If angry emotions which spring from a love of what is good and from holy charity are to be labeled vices, then all I can say is that some vices should be called virtues. When such affections as anger are directed to their proper objects, they are following good reasoning, and no one should dare to describe them as maladies or vicious passions. This explains why the Lord himself, who humbled himself to the form of a servant, was guilty of no sin whatever as he displayed these emotions openly when appropriate. Surely the One who assumed a true human body and soul would not counterfeit his human affections. Certainly, the Gospel does not falsely attribute emotions to Christ when it speaks of him being saddened and angered by the lawyers because of their blindness of heart.

Feelings cannot exist in anything but a living soul. These events show that just as Jesus had a human body he had a human soul. We read about the diversity of his feelings in the reports of the same Evangelists [who attested his divinity]: Jesus was astonished, was angered, was grieved, was elated, and similar emotive responses without number. Likewise it is clear that he experienced the ordinary fully human experience of interconnectedness between his body and his soul. He was hungry; he slept; he was tired from his journey.

In the mystery of the redemption of man, Christ is pointed to as a triumphant lion in Mark, wherefore in the same: "Looking round upon them with anger."

I exhort you that you not carelessly slumber so as to leave everything to God. Nor, when diligent in your endeavors, imagine that by your own exertions the whole work is achieved. God does not will that we should be indolent. For God does not do the whole work by himself by fiat. Nor is it his will that we should be entirely self-sufficient. For God does not commit the whole work to us alone.

(Vict. Ant. e Cat, in Marc.) For they knew that He would certainly cure him. It goes on: And looking round about upon them with anger. His looking round upon them in anger, and being saddened at the blindness of their hearts, is fitting for His humanity, which He deigned to take upon Himself for us. He connects the working of the miracle with a word, which proves that the man is cured by His voice alone. It follows therefore, And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored. Answering by all these things for His disciples, and at the same time showing that His life is above the law.

Or else it means the avaricious, who, being able to give had rather receive, and love robbery rather than making gifts. And they are commanded to stretch forth their hands, that is, let him that stole steal no more, but rather let him labour, working with his hand the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. (Eph. 4:28)

Note also the word "was restored"; there was a time when we had our hands, or active powers, healthy — namely, when the transgression had not yet been committed; but from the time our hand reached out for the forbidden fruit, it became withered with respect to the doing of good. But it will again return to its former healthy state when we stand in the midst of the virtues.