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
strictly observe the law or you sometimes bend the law so that the mercy, love
and compassion of Jesus could be seen through you?
The
question of observing the Sabbath day crops up again in the gospel. Jesus proves once again that it is far more
important for Him to make a big difference in the lives of the people than
observe the Sabbath day as what He did when He cured a man with a withered hand
amidst the protestation of the Pharisees.
The
gospel is silent if the sick man had faith but he was obedient, when Jesus told
him: “Come up here.” He simply followed without question. Our obedience to the
teachings of the good Lord can do us a lot of good if only we would learn to
follow it.
On the
other hand Jesus was well aware of the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. He knew that
they were there to watch and denounce His every move. For the simple reason that
He was slowly becoming a threat to their dominance in their society.
In the
same manner, Jesus is also well aware of our own hypocrisy towards Him. If we
are only using His name to gain dominance and popularity in our respective field
of influence. And if we are only using His name to advance our own selfish
interest. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
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