Monday, Twenty Third Week in Ordinary Time

Jesus asks many questions throughout the four gospels and we find one such question in today’s gospel reading. When Jesus goes into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, a man with a withered right hand was standing there. The Pharisees and scribes were watching Jesus to see if he would heal the man, thereby breaking the Sabbath law which prohibited work on the Sabbath. Knowing their intentions, Jesus addresses a question to them, ‘Is it against the law on the Sabbath to do good, or to do evil; to save life, or to destroy it?’ The question is left hanging in the air, waiting for an answer. How would we answer it? Clearly, it is against the Sabbath law to do evil on the Sabbath, but the implication of Jesus’ question is that it is never against the Sabbath law to do good, to save and enhance life. Doing good, relating to people in ways that bring wholeness and healing, is always timely. There is never a time when it is not appropriate. We are to take every opportunity that comes our way to work for the good of others, regardless of the day of the week. There is never a wrong time to do good. Any law which says otherwise is not God’s law. The sun never ceases to shine, even if clouds block our view of it. God never ceases to work in a loving and life-giving way and Jesus is the embodiment of God’s life-giving work. He cannot but touch the lives of others in ways that bring them more fully to life. The Lord’s life-giving and loving presence never ceases to shine upon us either, regardless of the day of the week, however dark situation in which we might find ourselves. He is the same, yesterday, today and tomorrow.