A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to 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.
Reflection: In today’s Gospel, we find Jesus in the synagogue on the Sabbath, and Jesus sees a man there, who had a withered hand. The Pharisees are there too, yet the atmosphere is thick with tension. The Pharisees are not there to worship; they are there to watch, to accuse, and to trap. They have turned the Sabbath—a day intended for rest, freedom, and joy—into a rigid cage of rules, that overlooked compassion.
Jesus, looking at Pharisees with both anger and grief, at their hardened hearts, does something radical. Jesus says to the man, to come near them—in other words, to come from the margins to the center. Jesus was not going to allow the Sabbath, to have power over God.
Imagine yourself there. What do you see? How do you feel? The Gospel says that the Pharisees remained silent. Their silence is a testament to their hardened hearts. The Pharisees are so obsessed, with their legal interpretation of the law, that they cannot see the God of mercy, the God love, the God of compassion, standing, right in front of them.
As I reflected on this scene from the Gospel, I couldn’t help to think, of the ministry of Father Greg Boyle, founder of Homeboy Industries. For decades, Father Greg Boyle has walked into the “synagogue”, of our judgmental society, and seen the “withered hands”—meaning, the gang members, the incarcerated, the “disposable” people, thrown away by society. Like the Pharisees, society often wants to condemn them. But Father Greg Boyle, following the example of Jesus, refuses to let them, stand on the edge. He invites them in, embraces them, and offers them tender love. A type of love, that sometimes it requires, breaking the rules of exclusion.
Father Boyle often says that we are not called, to “shape up” the marginalized, but to wake them up, to their “unshakeable goodness”. He invites them, to “stretch out their hand”—to move past their shame, to take a risk, and to trust, that they are in fact, “cherished”.
The miracle in the synagogue, in today’s Gospel, was not just, that a hand was healed, but that a man, was returned to himself. When Father Greg Boyle provides a job, a hug, or a listening ear, to a homeboy or homegirl, he is doing the same: he is healing the “inner withering”, caused by the shame, and violence of the world, who’s heart is hardened.
Today’s Gospel challenges us, that love of neighbor is the highest law. If we have the capacity to help someone, to restore someone, or to show mercy, we must do it—always, not just when it is convenient.
St. Agnes’ life, whose memorial the Church celebrates today, mirrored the teachings of today’s Gospel, as she chose God’s love, over worldly safety, even unto martyrdom, as she became a sacrificial offering of faith, against a hostile world, finding eternal life, through Christ’s power.
Action For the Day: Reflect on today’s Gospel, and follow that, with an intentional examination, of your heart: Are you clinging to traditions or rules, at the expense of love? Are you so focused on outward appearances, that you miss the true spirit, of God’s law—love for neighbor?
Let us ask the Holy Spirit, for the grace, to not let our hearts harden. Let us ask the Holy Spirit, for the courage to “stretch out our hands”—to act with mercy, compassion, and love, regardless of the cost.
Audio Reflection:
