Word to the Wise
Monday, September 11, 2023 - Monday in the 23th Week in Ordinary Time
[Col 1:24—2:3 and Luke 6:6-11]"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?" Looking around at them all, he then said to him, "Stretch out your hand." He did so and his hand was restored. But they became enraged and discussed together what they might do to Jesus. [Luke]
Each of the four gospels were composed at different times for different communities in different circumstances and from different perspectives. The conflict between Jesus and the religious authorities of his time took on a different color depending on the audience for which the particular gospel was composed. The audience for which the Gospel According to Luke was written was not the same as the one for the Gospel According to Matthew. Luke's audience would have included non-Jewish converts to Christianity who would have been puzzled or repelled by some Jewish beliefs and practices (circumcision?). Why, in today's gospel passage, are the "scribes and Pharisees" so enraged at Jesus for healing the man with the withered hand? This would have seemed like a "no-brainer" to Gentile converts. But it would have seemed like a "no-brainer" to the scribes and Pharisees as well. Healing was "work" and "work" was forbidden in the strict interpretation given by the scribes and Pharisees to the third commandment about keeping holy the Lord's day. What Jesus does is to say that love of neighbor is more important than strict observance.
An underlying problem was the issue of power. Jesus attacked a "system" of power and control that the scribes and Pharisees had created which they used for their own benefit and to the detriment of others. Both the question of the status of the Mosaic Law AND the religio-political status of the scribes and Pharisees are at play in the conflict between Jesus and them. Even Pilate saw this. [Matthew 27:18].
This is a helpful lesson to bear in mind in all things ecclesiastical. Is love of neighbor truly at stake, or is it someone's power status that is threatened? Does the latter stand in the way of the former? Today's gospel from Luke offers an example, but a quick peek ahead in Luke to 11:37-54 can help us understand the reaction of the scribes and Pharisees to Jesus and vice-versa!! AMEN