Wednesday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time – Mark 3:1-6
Today Jesus went to the synagogue on the Sabbath, as was his
custom. When he entered the synagogue,
he saw a man there who had “a withered hand.”
The Pharisees who were in the synagogue were watching Jesus
closely. They hoped that Jesus would
have the audacity to cure someone on the Sabbath. Thus, they would be able to justly accuse him
of breaking the Sabbath.
However, Jesus was aware of their thoughts. He said to the
man with the withered hand, “Come up here!” Then Jesus turned to the Pharisees
and asked them, “Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath rather than to do
evil?” None of the Pharisees responded
to his question. They remained silent. Then Jesus looked directly at the Pharisees. Jesus turned to the man and said to him,
“Stand up! Stretch out your hand.” The
man’s hand was restored. At this, the
Pharisees immediately left the synagogue and approached the Herodians. Together, they began to plot how they might
put Jesus to death.
This passage is from the third chapter of Mark’s
Gospel. Jesus had just begun his
ministry of teaching and preaching. Clearly
the Pharisees were concerned about Jesus’ growing popularity. Even though Jesus had just begun his
ministry, the Pharisees were already concerned about the influence he had with
the people. Thus, they decided to watch
him.
I wonder what it was like for Jesus to be watched at all
times by the Pharisees. He was under
constant scrutiny. Despite the fact that
Jesus was God, he also was completely human.
As a human being, he must have been concerned and afraid of what might
lie ahead. However, Jesus did not let
fear keep him from reaching out and helping the people. He refused to stop ministering to the people
who were in need and he continued to publicly preach his message.
I wonder if we were in this type of situation we would have the courage to
do be faithful to our call and our missions. I pray we will! Jesus will
strengthen us and grace us!
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