The Immense Mercy of Our Lord
Gospel Reflection - Monday, October 27th
Jesus was teaching in a synagogue on the sabbath. And a woman was there who for eighteen years had been crippled by a spirit; she was bent over, completely incapable of standing erect.
When Jesus saw her, he called to her and said, “Woman, you are set free of your infirmity.” He laid his hands on her, and she at once stood up straight and glorified God.
But the leader of the synagogue, indignant that Jesus had cured on the sabbath, said to the crowd in reply, “There are six days when work should be done. Come on those days to be cured, not on the sabbath day.”
The Lord said to him in reply, “Hypocrites! Does not each one of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his ass from the manger and lead it out for watering?
This daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound for eighteen years now, ought she not to have been set free on the sabbath day from this bondage?”When he said this, all his adversaries were humiliated; and the whole crowd rejoiced at all the splendid deeds done by him.
— Luke 13:10-17
Few passages make Our Lord’s unending love and mercy more evident than today’s Gospel. It’s easy to get caught up in the laws of our religion and fall into a deep-rooted scrupulosity that perfectly mirrors the attitude of the pharisees at the time of Jesus.
Today’s Gospel is incredibly rich, but I want to focus this reflection on what I believe to be the main two lessons of it:
A call to beware of hypocrisy: we all sometimes fail to remember that the outward observance of laws should be a consequence of a merciful heart, not adherence for adherence’s sake. Our true calling is to love God and others, and if we fail to maintain a spirit of charity and justice when acting righteously, we’ll very easily fall into the sin of hypocrisy and forget the main point of Christian life: to act out of love of God and neighbor.
The Sabbath is meant for human flourishing: a proper understanding of the commandments —for this, we need the Church’s guidance—, is essential in trying to achieve holiness in our lives. In the case of the Sabbath, its proper celebration combines rest in Christ with acts of mercy that restore health and dignity. Healing a woman bound for eighteen years on the Sabbath shows that necessary charitable work is not a violation but the very fulfillment of the day.
It’s important to remember that this does not mean that the Sabbath —and other laws— aren’t important.
It means that we cannot be the hypocrites that Jesus rebukes: adhering to the laws in order to feel righteous instead of understanding that the laws are there to help us be more like God: loving, charitable, merciful and just.
May our actions be fueled by a charitable, loving heart, and may we seek to imitate Our Lord and Savior more and more every day.
In Christ,
Juan — Simple Man
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Amen!!!!!! Well said!!!!