Word to the Wise
Wednesday, January 18, 2023 - Wednesday in the 2nd Week in Ordinary Time
[Heb 7:1-3, 15-17 and Mark 3:1-6]Then [Jesus] said to the Pharisees, "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. [Mark]
The Gospel According to Mark wastes no time in setting up the opposition between Jesus and various adversaries, especially the Pharisees. The latter get bad press in the gospels because there was apparent widespread corruption among them of their prestige and position in Jewish society as zealous observants of the Mosaic Law. They are pictured as allied with another "interest group," the scribes, who could read and write and were considered authorities in the intricacies of the law. [cf Mark 7:1-14 and 13:38-40]. They, too, are denounced by Jesus for their corrupt practices. In today's gospel scripture, there seems to be a clash of values: the Sabbath v. Compassion. Jesus cures a crippled man in the synagogue on the Sabbath. The Pharisees and scribes would consider healing to be "work" and prohibited activity on the Sabbath. Jesus' action seemed, to them, a violation of God's law.
Underlying the clash between Jesus and the Pharisees is that question of sacredness. Jesus emphasizes the sacredness of the human person if an apparent conflict with an observance arises. In modern terms, I experience this arising in situations where a well-intentioned Catholic presents the conflict between going to Mass on Sunday and staying home to take care of a sick loved one or worrying about COVID. But there are a thousand "What if..." questions that arise: Mass v. Kids' Soccer game, etc; etc;. A pastor has to show wisdom in weighing the values here. Are athletic events as important as caring for the sick?
In the case of the gospels, the clash between Jesus and the religious authorities of his day was partially one of values and partially one of abuse of authority. It is the latter that Jesus denounced while also teaching the value of the human person and the necessity of compassion in weighing the demands of religious law. We Catholics, from Pope to pewperson, need to continually keep that in mind. AMEN