Word to the Wise
Wednesday, January 22, 2014 - Wednesday in the 2nd Week in Ordinary Time
[1 Sam 17:32-33, 37, 40-51 and Mark 3:1-6]"Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?" But they remained silent. Looking around at them with anger and grieved at their hardness of heart, Jesus said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately took counsel with the Herodians against him to put him to death.
JANUARY 22, 2014 [U.S.A.] DAY OF PRAYER FOR THE LEGAL PROTECTION OF UNBORN CHILDREN
" Hardness of heart" is often accompanied by hatred and fear! When the Pharisees were willing to speak to the Herodians, people whom they usually regarded with contempt for their loyalty to the despised heirs of Herod the Great, their "hardness of heart" extended to murderous thoughts and plans. Unquestionably, Jesus was a threat to their "world." One can only imagine their silent glares to which Jesus reacted with anger and grief!
We cannot, however, extend judgment to those Pharisees and Herodians without first looking at our own hearts. Have we ever experienced, in ourselves, "hardness of heart?" This is a kind of persistence and stubbornness of negative feeling and opinion that we refuse to abandon even in the face of overwhelming reasons to let go of it. I'm sure we would not have to go any further than a discussion of politics to see this in action. But when it comes to matters of faith, one can truly understand why Jesus reacted the way he did. As a preacher and pastor, I find this most common and most distressing when political opinion begins to shape faith rather than the other way around. This is precisely the combination represented in the Pharisee/Herodian plotting!
The challenge in today's gospel is unmistakable. Our hardness of heart can cause us to miss the presence of the Lord and his mercy. Do we really want to take that chance? AMEN