Exodus 11:10 - 12:14 / Matthew 12:1-89
The act of eating is an essential act for human beings.
To eat is to consume food and that is necessary to curb hunger and to sustain life.
To eat is also to remember that it is God who provided the food for us and that makes us grateful and thankful.
So it can be said that the act of eating is also an act of thanksgiving.
The 1st reading recalls the ritual of the first Passover meal.
In the act of eating the Passover lamb, God is showing His people that through this simple food, He will save His people and deliver them from slavery.
And that day is to be remembered and to be celebrated in the Lord’s honour for all generations to come.
In the gospel, the hungry disciples picked ears of corn and ate them as they walked through the cornfields.
The Pharisees saw it and criticized the disciples for doing something forbidden on the Sabbath.
It is here that Jesus gave this teaching: food is a blessing from God.
To eat when it is necessary is to give thanks and to honour God for His providence.
May we remember the merciful love of God whenever we eat and let us also share our resources with the hungry and needy so that they too will experience the merciful love of God.