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Theo Tigno•
9/4/2011 4:01 pm
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Monday, September 5th 2011 |
Luke 6: 6-11
On a certain sabbath Jesus went into the synagogue and taught, and there was a man there whose right hand was withered. The scribes and the Pharisees watched him closely to see if he would cure on the sabbath so that they might discover a reason to accuse him. But he realized their intentions and said to the man with the withered hand, "Come up and stand before us." And he rose and stood there. Then Jesus said to them, "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.
Dawg's Thought:
Today's prayer intention - for those who are living on the streets.
Sometimes, when I'm running late for something that is an act of charity, I have this (foolish) expectation that all the lights should be green. (Did I mention foolish?) A lot of times, my expectation of God brings me to being "enraged". Yet, who am I enraged with?
Lately, this has been much less of a pattern because of a simple thought: it was my choice that put me here, not God's.
It was the Pharisees' choice to want to test Jesus, and yet they ended up enraged. It was the Pharisees' choice to use someone for their own gain. It was the Pharisees' choice to ignore the dignity of the person and the dignity of God's commands, rather using both person and God's ways for their own personal gain.
We know that God can part the waters. We know that God can raise someone from the dead. We know that God can make a man walk on water. God's dominion is not in question. Rather, what is often in question is how we expect God to act in accord to ourselves. It is tragic to think that we can "use" the knowledge of God's awesome dominion as a means to project (and tell God) what He should do.
The Pharisees "knew" that Jesus could heal the withered hand of a man. In a way, they should a (very misguided) faith in the power of Jesus. What they failed to do was to "know" Jesus ... to "know" His ways ... to "know" humility and love.
Blessed Pope John Paul II said that they oppose of "to love" is "to use". Through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, may we live our lives to "love and serve our Lord" versus "using" Him. Take care and God Bless.
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