At that time Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath; his disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. When the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.” He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? How he entered the house of God, and they ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him or his companions to eat, but only for the priests? Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath and yet are guiltless?  I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”
–Matthew 13:1-8 (NRSVUE)

I was hungry,
and the wheat was ripe.
So, I began picking
and eating the chewy grains
until I heard,

“What do you think you’re doing?”

My body seized with shame.
I clutched the grains tighter,
wishing they would vanish
like a magician’s trick:
when I opened my hands,
the evidence would disappear.

I wished I could disappear.

“How can you call yourself a believer and do that?”

The man would have continued,
but Jesus stepped between us,
casting a cool shadow of safety over me.

“Haven’t you read….?” Jesus said,
defending me.
“Haven’t you heard…?” Jesus said,
supporting me.
“If you had known…” Jesus explained.
Guilt and shame
flew from my body,
white doves
flapping their wings and taking flight.

Speechless, my accuser
went on his way.

Jesus turned to me.
Sunlight bathed us in warmth.

“Open your hands,” he said.
I did, revealing a few sweaty seeds.
He reached out his hands
and poured so many plump grains
into my cupped hands,
I couldn’t hold them all.

I felt the weight in my hands
and the weight of what happened.

Then I knew why I was invited into this story,
why I experienced it this way.

“You noticed I was bothered by the conversation I had yesterday, didn’t you.”

“Of course,” He said. “You felt judged and accused.
You blew it off as nothing,
but I didn’t.”

So then, a Sabbath rest still remains for the people of God.
–Hebrews 4:9 (NRSVUE)

Credits and References:
Disciples plucking grain by Meester van Antwerpen (1485-1491).  From Look and Learn, Creative commons .
Sabbath Rest by Esther Hizsa, 2025
Hand Through Wild Grass by Lloyd Morgan. Used with permission

© Esther Hizsa, An Everyday Pilgrim, 2025.
The unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without permission from Esther Hizsa is prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used provided there is a link to the original content and credit is given as follows: © Esther Hizsa, An Everyday Pilgrim 2013-2025.  http://www.estherhizsa.com