The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to contemplate the meaning of “The Son of Man Is Lord of the Sabbath” to our action as followers of Christ.
The Reading from the First Letter of Samuel presents that Samuel Is Sent to Bethlehem to Anoint David.
* [16:1] David is anointed two more times after Saul’s death (2 Sm 2:4; 5:3). In 17:28, his brother Eliab is not aware of David’s selection. These repetitions and inconsistencies reflect the final editor’s use of multiple sources. (1 Samuel, CHAPTER 16 | USCCB, n.d.)
Psalm 89 proclaims a divine title, which is here extended to David.
* [89:28] Most High: a divine title, which is here extended to David as God’s own king, cf. Ps 2:7–9; Is 9:5. As God rules over the members of the heavenly council (Ps 89:6–9), so David, God’s surrogate, rules over earthly kings. (Psalms, PSALM 89 | USCCB, n.d.)
The Gospel of Mark addresses the relationship between The Disciples and the Sabbath.
* [2:23–28] This conflict regarding the sabbath follows the same pattern as in Mk 2:18–22.
* [2:25–26] Have you never read what David did?: Jesus defends the action of his disciples on the basis of 1 Sm 21:2–7 in which an exception is made to the regulation of Lv 24:9 because of the extreme hunger of David and his men. According to 1 Samuel, the priest who gave the bread to David was Ahimelech, father of Abiathar.
* [2:27] The sabbath was made for man: a reaffirmation of the divine intent of the sabbath to benefit Israel as contrasted with the restrictive Pharisaic tradition added to the law.
* [2:28] The Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath: Mark’s comment on the theological meaning of the incident is to benefit his Christian readers; see note on Mk 2:10. (Mark, CHAPTER 2 | USCCB, n.d.)
Kimberly Grassmeyer asks “Are we able to trust and know that our God sees past all of those external manifestations, and into our hearts? Can we remember God’s promise to us that we were made - and are - perfect in God’s sight? That we are enough? That we are worthy? ?
If you’re like me, we don’t know how to hold these truths in our consciousness every day. We forget them when we doubt, when we fear, when we’re weak. So, I for one am happy to be reminded anew of the image of a young boy having been chosen by his God (when many others were available) to lead his people — and that in this choosing, he went on to slay the defiant, boisterous, name-calling bully giant. We, too, were each chosen by God, for good; we are all capable, worthy, and enough. We can all remember the example of David. Amen. (Grassmeyer, 2026)
Don Schwager quotes “The Lord of the Sabbath”, by John Chrysostom, 347-407 A.D.
"Doubtless he speaks of himself when he mentions the 'Lord of the sabbath' (Mark 2:28, Matthew 12:8, Luke 6:5). Mark relates a complementary saying about our common human nature, that "the sabbath was made for humans, not humans for the sabbath" (Mark 2:27). Why then should someone who gathered sticks on the sabbath be censured? The law that was established earlier could not be scorned without jeopardizing the law to be given later.
"The sabbath did confer many benefits, great blessings in the earlier dispensation. It made people more gentle toward those close to them. It guided them toward being more sympathetic. It located them temporally within God's creation and providence, as Ezekiel knew (Ezekiel 20:19-20). The sabbath trained Israel by degrees to abstain from evil and disposed them to listen to the things of the Spirit.
"They would have stretched the law out of shape if, when he was giving the law of the sabbath, Jesus had said, 'You can work on the sabbath, but just do good works, do nothing evil.' This would have brought out the worst in them. So he restrained them from doing any works at all on the sabbath. And even this stricter prohibition did not keep them in line. But he himself, in the very act of giving the law of the sabbath, gave them a veiled sign of things to come. For by saying, 'You must do no work, except what shall be done for your life' (Exodus 12:16), he indicated that the intent of the law was to have them refrain from evil works only, not all works. Even in the temple, much went on during the sabbath, and with great diligence and double toil. Thus even by this very shadowy saying Jesus was secretly opening the truth to them. Did Christ then attempt to repeal a law so beneficial as the sabbath law? Far from it. Rather, he greatly magnified the sabbath. For with Christ came the time for everyone to be trained by a higher requirement."(excerpt from THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 39.3) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on 1 Samuel 16:1-13 comments that God has chosen each of us to be his disciple and follow him. In Baptism, he gave us the greatest honor we could ever imagine: he made us his sons and daughters. But each person’s path is different. The Lord knows our gifts and our weaknesses, and he has a particular calling for each of us.
The sons of Jesse may have had to fight the temptation to compare themselves to their royal brother. But then again, maybe not. Maybe they trusted in God’s choice, both for themselves and for David, because they knew that God loved them and had the best in mind for them. May we always trust in the Lord’s desires for us!
“Lord, thank you for your perfect plan for my life.” (Meditation on 1 Samuel 16:1-13, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler comments that Saul was originally chosen to be king but Saul did things against the will of God. In Disobedience Saul is rejected. Samuel goes to Bethlehem and the older sons of Jesse are rejected. Then, the youngest son, David, is anointed to be the next King of Israel. In ancient times the Spirit of the Lord is described as possessing people. The Gospel of Mark presents the episode where disciples break off heads of grain to snack when hungry and are accused of harvesting grain on the Sabbath by the Pharisees. Jesus responds there are times when you have to do it and Jesus cites the show bread given to the men of David. When the high priest was named as Abiathar did Jesus make a factual error? Friar Jude comments that Jesus surrendered His Divine Prerogative that includes making errors. Mark, the first Gospel written, has little correction that may be in later Gospel accounts. The power to “loose and bind” what to follow or not to follow is claimed by Jesus.
Father Richard Rohr introduces womanist theologian Delores Williams (1937–2022) who connects the call Hagar experienced in the wilderness to the experiences of African American women.
As the result of these hard-time experiences and the encounters with God, Hagar and many African-American women manifested a risk-taking faith. Though she obeyed God’s mandate for her life, Hagar dared to give a name to the God she met in the wilderness. In a sense, this God is her God, and possibly not the God of her slave holders Abram and Sarai. No other person in the Bible names God. Many African-American women (slave and free) have taken serious risks in the black community’s liberation struggle. For example, in the midst of the violence and brutality that accompanied slavery in America, Harriet Tubman, with a price on her head, dared to liberate over three hundred slaves. She served as a spy and a general in the Civil War. She is said to have relied solely upon God for help and strength; she had no one else to look to. Thus we can speak of Hagar and many African-American women as sisters in the wilderness struggling for life, and by the help of their God coming to terms with situations that have destructive potential. [3] (Rohr, n.d.)
We have the gift of Sabbath time to ponder with gratitude our relationship with the Divine through our baptism as priest, prophet, and leader.
References
Grassmeyer, K. (2026, January 20). Daily Reflection January 20, 2026 | Creighton Online Ministries. Creighton Online Ministries. Retrieved January 20, 2026, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-january-20-2026
Mark, CHAPTER 2 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved January 20, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/2?23
Meditation on 1 Samuel 16:1-13. (n.d.). Word Among Us. Retrieved January 20, 2026, from https://wau.org/meditations/2026/01/20/1483524/
1 Samuel, CHAPTER 16 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved January 20, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1samuel/16?1
Psalms, PSALM 89 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved January 20, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/89?20
Rohr, R. (n.d.). God Calls Those on the Margins. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved January 20, 2026, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/god-calls-those-on-the-margins/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). The Son of Man Is Lord of the Sabbath. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved January 20, 2026, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/
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