Reflection for January 18, Wednesday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time: Mark 3:1-6

Gospel: Mark 3:1-6

Jesus entered the synagogue. There was a man there who had a withered hand. They watched Jesus closely to see if he would cure him on the Sabbath so that they might accuse him. He said to the man with the withered hand, “Come up here before us.” Then he said to the Pharisees, “Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?”  

But they remained silent. Looking around at them with anger and grieved at their hardness of heart, Jesus said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately took counsel with the Herodians against him to put him to death.

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Reflection:

Do you always help when you see somebody in need of help or you sometimes make excuses so that you would not be obliged to help? Like, pretending not to see anyone who is in need of your help. For example you see a poor man who is in dire need of help, what are you going to do to that poor man? Pretend not to see his obvious need of help? 

When Jesus went to the synagogue there was this man with a withered hand. He did not ask Jesus for help but Jesus knew that he needed help so Jesus called him and right there Jesus restored his withered hand.  

All of us also encounter people who are in need of our help. Perhaps many of us simply pretend not to see them for we don’t want to be disturbed. But there are those who would proactively go out of their way to give help even if they are not asked and these people are like Jesus and they have the heart of Jesus.

Let us always be proactive when we give help and let us always be sensitive to their needs. For there really are people who will not ask for help even if they obviously need help. They will simply leave everything in the hands of God and keep silent in the midst of their agony and distress. Therefore, we must do something to help them. – Marino J. Dasmarinas