A Homily on Luke 6:1-5 : First Feed the Hungry ( 6-9-25)

 A reflection on Luke 6:1-5, reminding us that hunger must be met with mercy before rules, both in family and community life. ( 6-9-25)

Praise be to Jesus Christ

A teacher once saw a poor boy by the roadside. The boy had found some fallen fruits and was eating them quickly. He did not wash them, and he just ate, because he was very hungry. The teacher, shaking his head, whispered, “What bad manners this boy has.” An old man who was standing nearby looked at the teacher and said quietly, “When the stomach cries, no one thinks of manners.”

In today’s Gospel (Luke 6:1–5), the disciples were hungry. They plucked ears of grain on the Sabbath. Some may even say perhaps they were not so hungry; maybe they simply pulled a few grains and ate on the way, like any of us might do. However, the Pharisees at once accused them.  But  Jesus did not scold His disciples, nor did He explain away their act. He justified them. He reminded the Pharisees of David who entered the house of God and ate the bread kept for priests  (1 Samuel 21:1–6), because hunger could not wait.

This is the point. For hunger, no law is greater. The law of life comes before the law of rule. When people are weak, when children cry in the house, when the poor beg at our door, we are not asked to preach to them first. We are asked to feed them. Only after the hunger is quieted can the heart be ready to hear the Word of God.

The Old Testament shows this again and again. When the Israelites were in the desert, God did not first repeat the Ten Commandments. He first gave them manna ( Exodus 16:4). When Elijah was tired and broken, God did not start preaching to him. He sent an angel with food and water ( 1 Kings 19:5–8). Only after his strength returned did God speak to him on Mount Horeb. God always begins with feeding.

The saints too understood this wisdom. Saint Vincent de Paul used to tell his companions that if a poor man comes to your door, even before speaking of God, give him bread. Later, when his stomach is full, he will be able to hear about the love of God.

This lesson belongs in our families also. Sometimes when children come home tired and upset, parents begin with advice or correction. But tired children need first to be comforted, fed, and embraced. Then they are ready to listen. In religious life too, when a brother or sister is discouraged, sometimes we quickly remind them of rules and duties. But the first act should be kindness, mercy, a word of hope. Rules are important, but they cannot replace love.

Jesus ends by saying, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath” (Luke 6:5). This means that love is greater than law, and mercy is greater than sacrifice. It also means that when He is Lord in our homes and communities, we will always place people before regulations, life before custom, and mercy before judgment.

So let us be kind and compassionate to the needy and very especially to the hungry. It is because Jesus invites us to make love the first law.

 Lord, give me the grace to understand others, and not to judge them by what they do. Amen.

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