The Passover text in the first reading narrates a ritual that prepared the Israelites for a journey out of bondage in Egypt. They had to move through rugged terrain, relying on God's providence and faithfulness, becoming the People of God with a community identity, proclaiming God as primarily "gracious and merciful" and forgiving. It is a memorial and feast day to remind future generations how God intervened in human history, shielding the Israelites from death and giving them new life in the Promised Land. This mercy and saving act of God continues with the incarnation of the Son of God in the person of Jesus Christ.

Matthew 12:1-8 describes a scene in which the disciples of Jesus plucked grain on the Sabbath; the Pharisees regarded this as work forbidden on the Sabbath. The Pharisees, regarded as "Teachers of the Torah," in their zealous attempt to make the Law relevant in all daily life, had become "obsessed with the minutiae of the Law". Jesus argued that plucking just enough grain to satisfy immediate hunger did not break the Sabbath because both King David and the temple priests did so without incurring God's rebuke. Compassion and mercy should motivate faithful adherence to the Law of Moses.

Sabbath is a gift from God, set apart to care for our body and soul, to take rest and worship God, not only for ourselves but in times of need, reaching out to others in deeds and words.