July 17, 2026
Friday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 393
Reading 1
When Hezekiah was mortally ill,
the prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz, came and said to him:
"Thus says the LORD: Put your house in order,
for you are about to die; you shall not recover."
Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD:
"O LORD, remember how faithfully and wholeheartedly
I conducted myself in your presence,
doing what was pleasing to you!"
And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
Then the word of the LORD came to Isaiah: "Go, tell Hezekiah:
Thus says the LORD, the God of your father David:
I have heard your prayer and seen your tears.
I will heal you: in three days you shall go up to the LORD's temple;
I will add fifteen years to your life.
I will rescue you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria;
I will be a shield to this city."
Isaiah then ordered a poultice of figs to be taken
and applied to the boil, that he might recover.
Then Hezekiah asked,
"What is the sign that I shall go up to the temple of the LORD?"
Isaiah answered:
"This will be the sign for you from the LORD
that he will do what he has promised:
See, I will make the shadow cast by the sun
on the stairway to the terrace of Ahaz
go back the ten steps it has advanced."
So the sun came back the ten steps it had advanced.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (see 17b) You saved my life, O Lord; I shall not
die.
Once I said,
"In the noontime of life I must depart!
To the gates of the nether world I shall be consigned
for the rest of my years."
R. You saved my life, O Lord; I shall not die.
I said, "I shall see the LORD no more
in the land of the living.
No longer shall I behold my fellow men
among those who dwell in the world."
R. You saved my life, O Lord; I shall not die.
My dwelling, like a shepherd's tent,
is struck down and borne away from me;
You have folded up my life, like a weaver
who severs the last thread.
R. You saved my life, O Lord; I shall not die.
Those live whom the LORD protects;
yours is the life of my spirit.
You have given me health and life.
R. You saved my life, O Lord; I shall not die.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord;
I know them, and they follow me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Jesus was going through a field of grain on the sabbath.
His disciples were hungry
and began to pick the heads of grain and eat them.
When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him,
"See, your disciples are doing what is unlawful to do on the
sabbath."
He said to them, "Have you not read what David did
when he and his companions were hungry,
how he went into the house of God and ate the bread of offering,
which neither he nor his companions
but only the priests could lawfully eat?
Or have you not read in the law that on the sabbath
the priests serving in the temple violate the sabbath
and are innocent?
I say to you, something greater than the temple is here.
If you knew what this meant, I desire mercy, not sacrifice,
you would not have condemned these innocent men.
For the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath."
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/071726.cfm
Commentary on Isaiah
38:1-6,21-22,7-8
(Note that the verse numbering for today’s reading is
read as a continuous text where vv 21-22 follow vv 1-6 and are then both
followed by vv 7-8.)
Today we have the story of a good man who faithfully
followed God’s will. It is our last reading from this part of the Book of
Isaiah. The other parts of the book will be read at other times in the
liturgical cycle.
The story told today seems to have taken place some time
before the Assyrian invasion by Sennacherib in 701 BC. Isaiah plays a
central role in the king’s dialogue with God. It begins with the prophet
telling the king, who is terminally ill, that it is time for him to put his
affairs in order for his approaching death. The prophet Elisha similarly
predicted the death of the Syrian king, Ben-Hadad (2 Kings 8:9-10).
The king turned his face to the wall (not of his bedroom,
but more probably of the Temple, God’s dwelling house), and prayed that God
would remember the good things he had done in the service of Yahweh during his
life. Among a line of kings who were steeped in idolatry and immorality,
Hezekiah stood out for his goodness.
It is possible, too, that he had as yet no son or successor
to take over from him, and so he wept bitterly. To think that he was going to
die without an heir was perhaps the greatest pain of what seemed a terminal
illness.
But his prayer clearly pleased the Lord, for Isaiah was sent
with the good news that Hezekiah would be cured and in three days’ time would
be able to go up to the Temple. More than that, he was promised that
another 15 years would be added to his life, and that Jerusalem would be
protected from the Assyrian king. (We saw in yesterday’s reading how
Sennacherib’s army, about to lay siege to Jerusalem, was decimated by a plague
which killed more than 180,000 soldiers and thus forced Sennacherib to
withdraw.)
Finally, Isaiah ordered that a poultice of figs be applied
by the court physicians so that the king could recover from an illness that was
originally (v1) believed to be terminal. Figs were often used for
medicinal purposes. Hezekiah, for his part, asked for some sign to confirm that
he would be healed and that he would be able to go to the Temple and make a
sacrifice of thanksgiving. It is not clear what sign he was requesting,
but it might simply have been the healing of what is described as a “boil”.
His request was granted and the sign promised was that the
setting sun would go back by ten steps, as indicated by its shadow on the “dial
of Ahaz”. The meaning is not clear, though the phrase likely refers to a
sundial. In any case, the promised sign took place. It may have been
a miracle or it may simply have been caused by the refraction of light.
Here we see how a good man approaches the news of his
death. His main concern is that God should be aware of the kind of life
he had led. At first he does not ask to be healed, but rather that he
experience final salvation with God. God then gives him what he had not
actually asked for, namely, that he be healed and many more years of life be
given to him. This is his reward for his fidelity to Yahweh during his
reign.
When we are confronted with serious sickness, our own or
that of people close to us, we too need that kind of attitude that accepts
fully what God wills for us at this time. Perhaps it is the end of our
time on earth, and we have to bid farewell to it and go forth to meet our God
face to face. Or it may be that our time has not yet come and we will be
called to live on, either totally or partially healed, for some time to
come. In that case, our healing is a call for us to greater service of
God and our neighbour. It is also an opportunity to re-orientate our
lives where that is necessary. Strange to say, a spell in hospital is not
infrequently a grace-filled time to reflect on the meaning and direction of one’s
life…perhaps even better than a retreat!
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Commentary on
Matthew 12:1-8
Today’s story follows immediately on yesterday’s words of
Jesus inviting those carrying heavy burdens to come to him for comfort and
relief. Those burdens were understood to be the yoke of the Law which
could weigh so heavily on the ordinary person. Today we see what kind of
burdens it entailed.
Jesus and his disciples are walking through a
cornfield. The disciples were feeling a little hungry so they began
plucking ears of corn to eat…nothing wrong with that. Gleaning,
especially where the poor were concerned, was not regarded as stealing:
If you go into your neighbor’s standing grain, you may
pluck the ears with your hand, but you shall not put a sickle to your
neighbor’s standing grain. (Deut 23:25)
Yet the Pharisees criticised the disciples’ behaviour before
Jesus. They were not upset by the plucking of the corn, but because it
was done on a Sabbath day. Most manual work was forbidden on the Sabbath,
including for instance, reaping. So we read in Exodus:
Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall
rest; even in plowing time and in harvest time you shall rest.
(Exod 34:21)
The question that would come immediately to the legalistic
mind would be what exactly constituted harvesting. In the minds of the
Pharisees, who would put the strictest interpretation in order to be on the
safe side, what the disciples were doing contravened the Sabbath requirements.
Jesus would have none of this nonsense. He gave two
examples which the Pharisees would find difficult to criticise. First, David’s
soldiers, because they were hungry, went into the house of God and ate the
”bread of offering”, that is, bread which was laid out as an offering to
God. According to the Law, only the priests were allowed to eat this
bread.
Second, he pointed to the priests on temple duty who not
only worked on the Sabbath, but did more work than usual on that day (like
priests today!). Yet no one found fault with them.
Jesus has two further and more powerful arguments. First, he
calls his accusers’ attention to a saying paraphrased from the prophet Hosea:
I desire mercy and not sacrifice… (Hos 6:6)
What this means is that the measure of our behaviour in
God’s eyes is not our observance of law, but the degree of love and compassion
we have for our brothers and sisters. Laws are for people; people are not
for laws. That is why a truly loving act always transcends any law.
If the Pharisees had fully understood the meaning of Hosea’s words, they would
not have “condemned these innocent men”.
Second, Jesus simply says,
…the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.
Jesus as Lord is not bound by even the God-given laws of
Israel. If, in the eyes of Jesus, his disciples are innocent, then they
are innocent.
Every time we read texts like this we have to look at how we
as Christians behave both individually and corporately. Legalism and
small-mindedness can very easily infect our Catholic life. We can start
measuring people—including ourselves, but especially others—by the observance
or non-observance of things which really have little to do with the substance
of our Christian faith. Of course, we can also go to the other extreme of
having no rules at all.
There is a very demanding law to which we are all called to
subscribe and that is the law of love. It allows of no exceptions.
But its practice can only benefit both the giver and the receiver.
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https://livingspace.sacredspace.ie/o2156g/
Friday, July 17,
2026
Ordinary Time
Opening Prayer
God our Father, your light of truth guides us to the way of
Christ.
May all who follow him reject what is contrary to the gospel.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives
and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Gospel Reading - Matthew 12: 1-8
At that time Jesus went through
the cornfields one Sabbath day. His disciples were hungry and began to pick
ears of corn and eat them.
The Pharisees noticed it and said
to him, 'Look, your disciples are doing something that is forbidden on the
Sabbath.'
But he said to them, 'Have you not read what
David did when he and his followers were hungry, how he went into the house of
God and they ate the loaves of the offering although neither he nor his
followers were permitted to eat them, but only the priests? Or again, have you
not read in the Law that on the Sabbath day the Temple priests break the
Sabbath without committing any fault? Now here, I tell you, is something
greater than the Temple. And if you had understood the meaning of the words:
Mercy is what pleases me, not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the
blameless. For the Son of man is master of the Sabbath.'
Reflection
In today’s Gospel we see that
there are many conflicts between Jesus and the religious authority of that
time. They are conflicts regarding the religious practices of that time:
fasting, purity, observance of the Sabbath, etc. In normal terms, they would be
conflicts regarding for example, matrimony between divorced persons, friendship
with prostitutes, the acceptance of homosexuals, communion without being
married by the Church, not to go to Mass on Sunday, not to fast on Good Friday.
The conflicts were many: at home, in the school, in work, in the community, in
the Church, in personal life, in society. Conflicts regarding growth,
relationship, age, mentality. So many of them! To live life without conflicts
is impossible! Conflict is part of life and springs up since the time of birth.
We are born with birth pangs. Conflicts are not accidents along the way, but
form part of the journey, of the process of conversion. What strikes us is the
way in which Jesus faces the conflicts. In the discussion with his enemies, he
was not trying to show them that he was right, but wished to make the
experience which he, Jesus, had of God, Father and Mother, prevail. The image
of God which others had was that of a severe Judge who only threatened and
condemned. Jesus tries to have mercy on the blind observance of the norms and
of the law, prevail, since it had nothing to do with the objective of the Law
which is the practice of Love.
•
Matthew 12: 1-2: To pick ears of corn on the Sabbath day and the criticism of the
Pharisees. On a Sabbath day, the disciples went through the corn fields and
they opened their way picking ears of corn to eat them. They were hungry. The
Pharisees arrived and invoke the Bible to say that the disciples were
transgressing the law of the Sabbath (cf. Ex 20: 8-11). Jesus also uses the
Bible and responds invoking three examples taken from Scripture: (1) that of
David, (2) that of the legislation on work of the priests in the temple and (3)
from the action of the Prophet Hosea, that is, he quotes a historical book, a
legislative book and a prophetic book.
•
Matthew 12: 3-4: The example of David. Jesus recalls that David himself did
something which was forbidden by the Law, because he took the sacred bread of
the temple and gave it to the soldiers to eat, because they were hungry (1 S
21: 2-7). No Pharisee had the courage to criticize King David!
•
Matthew 12: 5-6: The example of the priests. Accused by the religious authority,
Jesus argues beginning from what they themselves, the religious authority, do
on the Sabbath day. On the Sabbath day, in the Temple of Jerusalem, the priests
worked very much, more than the other days of the week, because they had to
sacrifice the animals for the sacrifices, they had to clean, sweep, carry
burdens, kill the animals, etc. and nobody said that this was against the Law,
they thought it as normal! The Law itself obliged them to do all this (Nb 28: 9-10).
•
Matthew 12: 7: The example of the prophets. Jesus quotes the phrase of the Prophet
Hosea: I want mercy and not sacrifice. The
word mercy means to have the heart (cor)
in the misery (miseri) of others,
that is, the merciful person has to be very close to the suffering of the
persons, has to identify himself/herself with them. The word sacrifice means to
have (ficio) a thing consecrated (sacri), that is, that the one who
offers a sacrifice separates the sacrificed object from the profane use and
placed it at a distance from the daily life of the people. If the Pharisees had
had this way of looking at the life of the
Prophet Hosea, they would have known
that the most pleasing sacrifice for God is not that the consecrated persons
lives far away from reality, but that he/she placed totally his/her consecrated
heart in the service of the brothers and sisters in order to relieve them from
their misery. They would not have considered guilty those who in reality were
innocent.
•
Matthew 12: 8: The Son of Man is the master of the Sabbath. Jesus ends with this
phrase: The Son of Man is the Master of
the Sabbath! Jesus himself is the criterion of interpretation of the Law of
God. Jesus knows the Bible by heart and invokes it to indicate that the
arguments of the others had no foundation. At that time, there were no printed
Bibles like we have them today. In every community there was only one Bible
written by hand, which remained in the
Synagogue. If Jesus knew
the Bible so well, it means that during the thirty years of his life in
Nazareth, he had participated intensely in the life of the community, where
Scripture was read every Saturday. The new experience of God the Father, made
Jesus discovered much better the intention of God in decreeing the Laws of the Old
Testament. Having lived thirty years in Nazareth and feeling as his own the
oppression and exclusion of so many brothers and sisters, in the name of the
Law, Jesus must have perceived that this could not be the sense of the Law. If
God is Father, then he accepts all as sons and daughters. If God is Father,
then we should be brothers and sisters among ourselves. Jesus lived this and
prayed for this, from the beginning until the end. The Law should be at the
service of life and of fraternity. “The human being is not made for the
Sabbath, but the Sabbath for the human being” (Mk 2: 27). Because of his great
fidelity to this message, Jesus was condemned to death. He disturbed the
system, and the system defended itself, using its force against Jesus, because he
wished that the Law be placed at the service of life, and not vice-versa. We
lack very much in order to know the Bible at depth and to participate deeply in
the community, like Jesus did.
Personal Questions
•
What type of conflicts do you live in the family,
in society, in the Church? Which are the conflicts which concern religious
practices which today, cause suffering to persons and which are a cause of
discussion and polemics? Which is the image of God which is behind all these
preconceptions, behind all these norms and prohibitions?
•
What has conflict taught you during all these
years? Which is the message which you draw from all this for our communities
today?
Concluding Prayer
Lord, I muse on you in the watches of the
night, for you have always been my help; in the shadow of your wings I rejoice;
my heart clings to you, your right hand supports me. (Ps 63: 6-8)
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