Today’s Gospel reading is not a story primarily about healing. It is about priorities. According to Jesus, the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. The intent of the Jewish Sabbath rest was to set aside a time to be refreshed and to worship God. When the scribes and Pharisees remain silent to Jesus’ question, Jesus himself gives the answer to his question by healing the withered man’s hand. Since the scribes and the Pharisees were really not looking for the truth, this healing left them angry with Jesus. This action of Jesus gives us an example of how we might be called to demonstrate the truth of our faith by our actions rather than just words.
There are certainly times when formal teaching and reasoned arguments are appropriate and even necessary. However, we must be willing to act on our beliefs as a convincing demonstration of our faith. Our belief in a compassionate God should inspire us to reach out to those who suffer. Our belief in God’s universal love can be shown through our actions towards those who are different from us. Our belief in God’s call for justice becomes our call as we take action for the relief of poverty. These are times when our actions must speak louder than our words.
Let us pray for the grace to see the world and the circumstances of our life with a pure heart, a heart not clouded by selfishness, envy, anger or greed. Let us keep all of the moral do’s and don’ts in the proper perspective of glorifying God by doing good. Let us never turn God’s moral law into our own selfish argument in order to condemn anyone.
