St. Thomas Aquinas, in his commentary on the Gospel of St. Matthew, provides these insights into the account of Jesus and his disciples walking through a field of standing grain on the sabbath:
" 'At that time, Jesus went through a field of standing grain on a sabbath.' The Lord knew what the disciples would do, and still The Lord chose for this to happen so that he might begin to abolish the Sabbath, as it is written above: 'The law and the Prophets prophesied until John [the Baptist]' (Matthew 11, 13). 'Jesus went through a field of standing grain.' By the "field" we understand the Sacred Scriptures. The 'sower' of this field is Christ. 'The one who sows is the Son of man' (Matthew 13, 37). 'The disciples, hungering, began it pick the heads of the grain.' There are two considerations here. The first is that of necessity, because they were hungry. Why was this a necessity? Because they were poor. 'Even to this hour, we hunger and thirst' (1 Corinthians 4, 11). The second is their condition, because every day they were impeded from eating by the crowds: they scarcely had even a place to eat, as we learn from Mark 6, 31. But how did they fill themselves? An example of abstinence is given us here, for they were not seeking great meals, but only the heads of the grain. 'But having food, and something for cover, we should be content with these' (1 Timothy 6, 8). According to the mystical sense, the plucking off the heads of grain means the multiple understandings of the Scriptures, or the conversion of sinners."
St. Thomas does not elaborate on the mystical sense, merely stating it. One may surmise, however, that he means that as many as are the heads of wheat in a field, so many are the ways in which the words of the Scriptures may be understood. As for the conversion of sinners, perhaps his meaning is that the heads of grain are those who are lifted out of their sins by the Apostles -- the Church.
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