Gospel Lk 6:6-11
On a certain sabbath Jesus went into the synagogue and taught,
and there was a man there whose right hand was withered.
The scribes and the Pharisees watched him closely
to see if he would cure on the sabbath
so that they might discover a reason to accuse him.
But he realized their intentions
and said to the man with the withered hand,
"Come up and stand before us."
And he rose and stood there.
Then Jesus said to them,
"I ask you, is it lawful to do good on the sabbath
rather than to do evil,
to save life rather than to destroy it?"
Looking around at them all, he then said to him,
"Stretch out your hand."
He did so and his hand was restored.
But they became enraged
and discussed together what they might do to Jesus.
Reflection
I think, as usual the scribes were focused on the wrong thing and they couldn’t let go of their hatred to hear Jesus’ message. They were desperate to find loopholes and any possible way to entrap Jesus in the law by twisting his words so they could persecute him.
It makes me think, how many of us today only look for the bad in others? Simply waiting for them to do something to set us off or make us angry.
I think it is funny since often if you are looking for someone to annoy or anger you, you’re probably going to find it (confirmation bias). I know I can struggle with this at times as I’m sure many others do as well. But it is important to try to see Jesus in everyone as we are made in the image and likeness of him. So anytime I find myself irritated or I catch myself searching for reasons to be offended, I pause, take a deep breath, and remember that every person is a child of God and is deserving of his love.
I don’t know how many of y’all have heard the acronym WWJD, when I was a kid it was said all the time at youth group and church retreats (we actually passed these bracelets around that had that on them). But what it stands for is, “what would Jesus do”. While we might not know what Jesus would do in every situation we can still strive to embody his teachings and values in our own actions, promoting love, compassion and understanding in our daily lives.
My mother actually sent me this prayer that I think goes along perfectly. I’ll have it linked below.
Lastly, I think someone is always going to be watching waiting for you to fail…there are plenty of scribes and Pharisees in the world. But in the end it doesn’t matter whether you fail or not, it’s how you respond and what you do after, that matters. Will you respond like Jesus or fall victim to the Pharisees of the world’s mean spirited ploys and cruel taunts?
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