At some point in your life, you’ve probably heard the phrase, "No good deed goes unpunished.” Now, maybe that sounds cynical, but as most can attest, in today’s Gospel, there are times when you can be criticized for doing or at least attempting to help someone.
In Jesus’ case, the scribes and the Pharisees were keeping a close watch on him…not to learn or be healed but to find a reason to accuse him of something. Once again, this took place on the Sabbath in a synagogue, and among those listening to Jesus' teaching was a man whose right hand was withered.
This meant that the man could not use his dominant hand to work, and some could interpret it as a punishment from God for some unknown sinful behavior. Knowing Jesus’ desire to heal people, you can imagine the scribes and Pharisees leaning forward in anticipation of what Jesus would do. Would he break the Pharisees' rule of not working on the Sabbath, or would he heal the man and restore his life?
Needing to Be Healed
In what happens next, we learn not only about the Sabbath but, more importantly, about Jesus’ identity as the Son of God. Jesus knew the intentions of the scribes and Pharisees, just like He knows ours as well. And so He said to the man who needed to be healed, “Come up and stand before us.” Can you imagine the sense of anxious anticipation that the man standing beside Jesus must have felt… suddenly, he had become part of Jesus’ instruction to live in communion with God…and it was going to be groundbreaking for all who were there.
Jesus gets to the point and asks all present, “…is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than destroy it?”
Imagine Jesus looking right at you and each person here as He lets the question sink in. Then, at just the right moment, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And suddenly, the man did as Jesus said, and his hand was restored.
What do you think you would have done if you were sitting in that synagogue? Would you have been afraid to go against the scribes, Pharisees, and experts; would you have had a spontaneous reaction of amazement and joy? How would you see Jesus? Would you be willing to consider that He was sent from God, perhaps the long-awaited Messiah?
Jesus is Real
My brothers and sisters, Jesus is as real to us at this Mass in His Word and the Eucharist as He was in that synagogue over two thousand years ago. He knows our thoughts, our wounds, our worries, and certainly our victories and defeats. He calls each of us by name to come to Him and stretch out our hands to receive His healing touch, whether through the Sacrament of Confession, the Eucharist, or the Word of God that reaches our minds and hearts.
Jesus also calls each of us to be like today’s Saint Peter Claver, who dedicated his life to helping the enslaved and maltreated and is famous for saying: “We must speak to them first with our hands before we speak to them with our lips.” May we reach for Jesus and extend His healing hands to those most in need.
- Father David's inspirational homily was recorded live during Mass at the Father Peyton Center this morning. You can view the Mass (and Rosary) on the Family Rosary YouTube page.
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