Mark 3:1-6

Hebrews 7:1-3, 15-17

Psalm 110:1, 2, 3, 4

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 God, when my hand is withered due to sin, move me to seek out the healing grace of your Son in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. I trust that he can heal me and restore me to your friendship.

Encountering the Word of God

1. The Withered Hand of Adam: The healing of the man with the withered hand in the Gospel of Mark can be read in the light of two Old Testament stories. The first reference is to the sin of Adam and Eve, who reached out with their hands to take the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 3:6). Their hands withered in a sense due to this original sin. Jesus cured the man with the withered hand on the Sabbath, which celebrates God’s work of creation (Exodus 20:9-11) and work of salvation (Deuteronomy 5:12-15). God created human beings and gave us the ability to exercise our freedom. We can freely choose to do good or evil. But only by choosing what is good will we grow in true freedom. Adam and Eve broke the covenant of creation by their sin and withered the hands of all their descendants. We were wounded and weakened due to original sin and needed God’s grace to heal and strengthen us. God liberated Israel and the Sabbath was a day Israel was to remember their former slavery in Egypt and how God brought them out of Egypt. The Sabbath was a day to remember this liberation. Jesus today shows that he is the mighty one who restores God’s creation and effects God’s liberation. He does what is good on the Sabbath. He saves life and does not destroy it. The response of the Pharisees is not one of faith in the divine power manifested in and through Jesus, but a desire to put him to death.

2. The Withered Hand of King Jeroboam: The second reference to a withered hand in the Old Testament is to King Jeroboam, whose hand withered when he stretched out his hand toward the man of God at the altar at Bethel (1 Kings 13:4). Jeroboam was angry that the man prophesied that the altar at Bethel, which Jeroboam had set up, would be destroyed and that a son named Josiah would be born to the house of David. Jeroboam was not of the line of David, but was a general chosen by the people to lead the ten northern tribes who broke away from Judah and the line of David (1 Kings 12:20). When Jeroboam’s hand withered, he commanded the man of God to intercede for him so that his hand may be restored. Even though his hand was restored, Jeroboam did not repent of his evil ways. Instead, he appointed priests for his sanctuaries and ordained anyone who desired to become a priest. His sin led to the extermination and destruction of his line (1 Kings 13:33-34). Jeroboam was a false king who led the people of Israel into sin. He set up golden calves in Dan and Bethel so that the people of Israel would not be tempted to go to Jerusalem (1 Kings 12:25-33).

3. The Withered Hand of the Pharisees: In a certain sense the Pharisees were acting like King Jeroboam. Instead of leading the people to recognize Jesus, the son of David, as the Messiah, they sought to destroy Jesus and put him to death. When Jeroboam’s withered hand was healed by the man of God he persisted in his evil ways. When the Pharisees saw Jesus cure the man with a withered hand they persisted in their evil ways. There is an implicit irony: the withered hand of the man in the synagogue is healed while the hands of the Pharisees wither as they plot with the Herodians, who are supporters of a false king, to kill Jesus, the son of David and true king of Israel.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, I am always in need of your healing touch. No matter how far I progress in holiness in this life, there are still important areas of my life that need your wisdom, mercy, and love.

Living the Word of God: Is my hand withered due to sin? As I look over the past week, were my hands used for good or for evil? Were they hands of mercy, forgiveness, service, charity, and justice? Or were they hands of selfishness, sin, and impurity?