2nd Week in Ordinary Time 2022 - Wednesday - Interacting with Pharisees (part two)

 
As I mentioned yesterday, chapter two and the beginning of chapter 3 of St. Mark’s Gospel contain a series of five vignettes in which Jesus performs a miracle or reveals something about his identity, and the pharisees, scribes, and onlookers react with disapproval, suspicion, and contention. 

Today’s healing of the man with the withered hand on the Sabbath is the last of these five vignettes, and following this Sabbath miracle, the pharisees begin to conspire with the Herodians to kill Jesus. 

What was their problem with Jesus’ miracle? They claimed he was once again violating the sabbath. But, Scripture is very clear that even on the sabbath when manual labor is forbidden, it is still lawful, in fact, laudatory, to help people. It’s even commanded. Deuteronomy says, “You shall not see your countryman’s donkey or his ox fallen down on the way, and pay no attention to them; you shall certainly help him to raise them up”. Mercy outweighs rigid adherence to the Law.

Because of their hardness of heart, the pharisees intellects had become darkened, their wills perverted. And, in reaction to Jesus’ good act, the Pharisees conspire to perform an evil act on the Sabbath, murdering Jesus. And so fierce is their wrath that they join forces with political opportunities whom they would normally avoid at all costs: the Herodians. 

The Pharisees are a prime example that the darkening of the intellect and the perverting of the will stem from self-righteousness and sin. We literally cannot think straight when sin has taken root in our hearts. The prideful will justify morally reprehensible acts, they will seek to silence truth, deface beauty, and punish goodness. Their twisted minds will often latch onto one apparent good, like the avoidance of work on the sabbath, 

 to the exclusion of greater goods, avoiding murder and worshipping the son of God. To those who have become accustomed to darkness, light become obnoxious to them, even painful and hateful. Those who surround themselves with worldly errors and indulge the deceits of sin grow further and further from God.

But just has God sent his son into the midst of the Pharisees, like God sent the youth David into battle with the Philistine giant, God sends us to perform mighty deeds, and hidden acts of charity, to speak powerful words of truth and whispers of compassion. Because as long as the modern pharisees and philistines  draw breath they can be reached, their souls are not beyond hope. We are sent to rescue the lost sheep, those who desire salvation and eternal life with God, even those who don’t recognize that yet—to bring the light of Christ into the darkest of places, the darkest of souls.

So may we be faithful in our God given task, in living out the Christian faith, and spreading the Gospel in this day and age, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For the holy Church of God, that the Lord may graciously watch over her, care for her, and give her strength and courage in her mission.

For the peoples of the world, that the Lord may preserve harmony among us.

For all who are oppressed by any kind of need, that the Lord may grant them relief and move Christians to come to the aid of the suffering.

For an increase in vocations to the priesthood and consecrated religious life, for all monastics and hermits, and that all Christians may seek the perfection for which they were made.

For our beloved dead, for the poor souls in purgatory, and for X, for whom this Mass is offered.

O God, our refuge and our strength, hear the prayers of your Church, for you yourself are the source of all devotion, and grant, we pray, that what we ask in faith we may truly obtain. Through Christ our Lord.