Mark 3:1-6

1 Samuel 17:32-33, 37, 40-51

Psalm 144:1b, 2, 9-10

Mark 3:1-6

Jesus entered the synagogue.

There was a man there who had a withered hand.

They watched Jesus closely

to see if he would cure him on the sabbath

so that they might accuse him.

He said to the man with the withered hand,

"Come up here before us."

Then he 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.

Opening Prayer: Lord, I contemplate today a stark contrast between David and the Pharisees. David trusts in you and battles the evil Goliath. The Pharisees conspire against your beloved Son and plot evil. I want to be like David and conquer evil in my life.

Encountering the Word of God

1. David’s Victory over Goliath: Goliath was a fearsome and experienced warrior who was fully armed and ready for battle. David, on the other hand, was a young and inexperienced shepherd boy. From a human point of view, David had no chance against Goliath. The actions and words of David, however, reveal the depths of his faith in God and his love for God. He was zealous in the defense of God and would not stand still while Goliath committed the sin of blasphemy. David trusted completely in the Lord. He knew that just as the Lord saved him from wild animals, he would save him from the clutches of Goliath. In a way, David’s victory over Goliath prefigures Jesus’ victory over Satan. It is a victory that comes through humility of heart, confidence in God, and obedience to God’s word.

2. The Pharisee’s Hardness of Heart:  In the Gospel, Jesus is grieved at the Pharisee’s hardness of heart. Hardness of heart indicates a refusal to welcome God’s merciful love. It means rejecting God’s plan of salvation and trying to usurp the place of God who judges all things rightly. Jesus is angry at the Pharisees just as God the Father is indignant at human evil. Instead of choosing to do good on the Sabbath like Jesus, the Pharisees choose to do evil and conspire to put Jesus to death. 

3. Jesus as Lord of the Sabbath: The fact that Jesus cured a man with a withered hand recalls the image of Adam, who by stretching out his hand to take the fruit of the tree in Eden, committed an act of disobedience. The original sin of disobedience withered the hand of humanity and broke communion with God. Jesus is the obedient Son of Adam who cures the withered hand of humanity and restores humanity to communion with God. Jesus heals on the Sabbath and exercises his lordship over the Sabbath by undoing the effects of sin and inaugurating the new creation. He fulfills the original purpose of the Sabbath and brings humanity into communion with God.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you showed mercy to the man with the withered hand but were angered by the Pharisees. Why is that? What is it that moves you to compassionate love and to righteous anger? I come before you humbly and ask that you be merciful to me. Any merit I have, any righteous deeds I have done, I owe to your gracious love.

Resolution: Every Sunday, we, as Christians, celebrate the new Sabbath of the Lord’s Day. At each mass, we praise God for creating and saving us when we sinned. The Eucharist is the memorial that celebrates Jesus’ victory over sin and death. It is a foretaste of the heavenly banquet and anticipates our definitive life with God in heaven. How do I celebrate the new Sabbath? How can I make it a day truly dedicated to rest and worship?