Word to the Wise
Monday, October 30, 2006 - 30th Monday in Ordinary Time
[Ephesians 4:32 - 5:8 and Luke 13:10-17]Jesus was teaching in a synagogue on the sabbath. And a woman was there who for eighteen years had been crippled by a spirit; she was bent over, completely incapable of standing erect. When Jesus saw her, he called to her and said, "Woman, you are free of your infirmity." He laid his hands on her, and she at once stood up straight and glorified God.
We all know the saying, "Is nothing sacred?" It is usually said with a rolling of eyes, a sigh, and a sad shaking of the head. Sometimes it is a function of being older and in the presence of those who are younger! Sometimes it is a reaction to something that appears to assault important values or practices in our lives. However, the question is an important one. IS anything SACRED? Does the question change if we ask it this way: Is ANYTHING sacred? And what does either statement mean? The incident in the gospel scripture for today may offer us an opportunity to reflect on this. Jesus is teaching on a SABBATH in a SYNAGOGUE. He notices and calls out to a WOMAN who is SICK. He LAYS HANDS ON HER. The leader of the synagogue is "indignant." Not only is Jesus doing "work" on the Sabbath, but he touches a sick woman. Both the Sabbath and the ritual laws of purity are violated all at the same time! Is nothing sacred? Yes, something is sacred - it is the human person who is crippled and in need of healing. Something more sacred than synagogue and sabbath is present! Something more sacred than ritual purity is present. She is the woman who is suffering! Should not the "sacred" aid her in her illness? Jesus is not denying the sacredness of sabbath and temple. After all, he was an observant Jew. He is saying that a true understanding of the sacred must include the sacredness of the human person and not simply space, time and ritual. If we confine what is sacred to those last three elements, we have lost the real meaning of the word. If the human person, made in the image and likeness of God, is not sacred, then nothing else can be. AMEN
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