2nd Week in Ord. Time, Wednesday – 20th January 2021 — Gospel: Mark 3,1-6
Emotionally Integrated
Jesus knows the hearts of his opponents and understands their minds. He finds that they are not seeking to recognize his identity, rather, they are gathering evidence “so that they might accuse him” (3,2). By calling the man forward, Jesus focuses attention on the man’s needs and his own authority. Taking the lifeless hand, Jesus asks the experts whether it is permitted to do a good deed on the Sabbath or an evil one, to save life or destroy it. They said nothing. Their silence angered him and their insensitivity to human sorrow grieved him (3,4-5). Jesus could have had an emotional reaction to an event that seemed right. He was upset with the religious authorities because they closed their minds to Jesus, the embodiment of God’s love. They preferred to sanctity the Sabbath rule than to do a healing for the person. Instead, Jesus sanctifies the life of the man by asking him to stretch out his withered hand. The silence of hate from the religious leaders matches perfectly with Jesus’ creative action. Genuinely integrated Jesus puts his feelings at the service of his mission of salvation. Instead of controlling his feelings, he harmonizes them for sharing the divine love with the humanity.
