Reflection for January 22 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? 

Helping those in need is for all seasons; it is not strictly confined or limited to certain days or hours. As long as there are people in need of our help, we must assist them by all means, for this is what God wants us to do. 

We see this in today’s Gospel. There was a man with a withered hand, but it so happened that it was the Sabbath day. Did Jesus think of not healing this man because it was the Sabbath and His usual critics were closely monitoring Him? 

No, He did not! Instead, He called the man and said, “Come up here before us.” Then He said again, “Stretch out your hand.” The man stretched it out, and his hand was restored. 

We must not be afraid to help, regardless of who the person is and no matter the circumstances we are in. If we have the capacity to help, we must do so by all means. However, the reality is that some of us help selectively—we choose whom to help. Many of us especially help those who can reciprocate the favor; perhaps this is human nature. 

But Jesus challenges us through today’s Gospel to transcend this mindset and not be selective in extending help. – Marino J. Dasmarinas