Gospel Reading of the day - September 5, 2011 with reflection

G O S P E L

The Pharisees were jealous of Jesus’ popularity with the people and so, at every opportunity, they sought to trap Him doing something that was in their view against the law of Moses. Here they want Him to cure a man with a withered hand on a Sabbath so they could accuse Him of breaking the law. Jesus is not to be intimidated by their hypocrisy and legalistic interpretation of the law and boldly calls the man forth and heals him in front of them.

 

ALLELUIA

R: Alleluia, alleluia

My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord; I know them, and they follow me.

R: Alleluia, alleluia

 

Luke 6:6-11

6 On a certain sabbath Jesus went into the synagogue and taught, and there was a man there whose right hand was withered. 7 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. 8 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. 9 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?” 10 Looking around at them all, he then said to him, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so and his hand was restored. 11 But they became enraged and discussed together what they might do to Jesus.

 

my reflections

think: We, too, can offer all our pain and sufferings to the Lord as St. Paul did and so help build the Kingdom of God.

LIVE TO LOVE

 

The Lord Jesus cured a man with a withered hand on a Sabbath. According to Jewish Laws, it is forbidden. But He did it not before He gave His teaching: “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?” Jesus was a pious Jew. His parents reared Him as one. He knew the Sabbath Law. But He was also God’s Son. He knew the spirit of those laws. He knew the purpose and importance of the Sabbath Law and all Jewish Laws. He took advantage of this situation to show them the real intent of the Law which is to be a good child of God and to merit salvation.

As a priest, I usually follow a schedule so that I could effectively attend to the needs of my parishioners and to give myself time to prepare well in disposing those commitments.

Once, I had a Mass at 6:00 p.m. in our parish. Half an hour before the time, I was already preparing myself. But just minutes before the Mass, my secretary called to say that a woman was in the office asking for a priest to give the Sacrament of Anointing to her dying mother. Immediately I told her I would go. I instructed my secretary to inform the people at Mass to wait because I would be attending to a dying person. I was hoping that they’d understand. But even if they did not, going to the dying person was the right decision. Although I was committed to the Mass, the soul of a sick person took priority.

After the visit, I rushed back to the parish to preside at Mass. I was told that some left but many stayed and even prayed for the sick person. I was sad for those who left (unless they had important schedules too!) but I was happy for those who stayed and even prayed for the sick I visited.

We always hear some lawyers and even non-lawyers cry out the Latin dictum, “Dura lex sed lex!” which means, “The law may be harsh but that is the law!” For Jesus, the law is the servant and men are its master. Of course, the ultimate Master is God for He created everything. But according to God’s purpose, the law must serve man. Man should not be enslaved by the law. Fr. Benny Tuazon