In the Opening Prayer for this twenty-second week of the year, we pray to God: "by your constant care, protect the good you have given us". One of the good things which God has given us is freedom. While we often think of freedom in terms of being able to choose between one thing and another, freedom is in reality a much more profound gift than simply the ability to choose. Part of the profundity of freedom lies in the ability to discern before we make choices. Jesus seems to defend this freedom of discernment in today's Gospel both by the example he chooses and by the principle which he utters.

If David had done anything wrong in using the holy bread to feed his hungry men, Jesus could not have approved of his action. In the same way, Jesus is not countenancing disrespect for the Sabbath. He is setting everything within a wider context, where freedom means greater responsibility. Life is not simply a matter of keeping commandments, but rather of making discernments about the things that really matter and acting according with the fullness of Christian responsibility.