Commentary on the Gospel of
Picking ears of standing corn was not what the Pharisees had objected to, but the fact that it was done on the Sabbath. They considered this simple act of plucking a few heads of corn as a five-fold breach of the Law: reaping, threshing, winnowing, bearing a burden and preparing a meal! In a Zen monastery I once saw a piece of calligraphy that said, “If you break the law you will never attain freedom.” Grim, but true, I thought. Then, underneath I saw written, “If you keep the law you will never attain freedom.”
