Gospel: January 17, 2024

Photo by Willian Justen de Vasconcellos on Unsplash

(Wednesday)

2nd Week in Ordinary Time

Psalter: Week 2 / (White)

St. Anthony, abbot

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 114: 1b, 2, 9-10

Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!

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

Gospel: Mk 3:1-6

Again, Jesus entered the synagogue. A man, who had a paralyzed hand, was there; and some people watched Jesus: would he heal the man on the Sabbath? If he did, they could accuse him.

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Jesus said to the man with the paralyzed hand, “Stand here, in the center.” Then he asked them, “What does the law allow us to do on the Sabbath? To do good or to do harm? To save life or to kill?” But they were silent.

Then Jesus looked around at them with anger and deep sadness at their hardness of heart. And he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was healed. As soon as the Pharisees left, they met with Herod’s supporters, looking for a way to destroy Jesus.

Reflection:“Conscience is God’s voice.”

Conscience is God’s voice speaking to us from within. Openness to what our conscience dictates is what enables us to be governed by God’s grace. A person heeding God’s voice is the one who is sensitive to see God’s grace. Today’s Gospel narrates how Jesus healed a man with a paralyzed hand. The healing happened inside the synagogue. It took place on a Sabbath day. The synagogue is a holy place for the Jews and Sabbath is a holy time. When we experience God’s grace, our place becomes holy and our time turns sacred. The man whose hand was paralyzed experienced God’s grace when Jesus healed him. However, such moment of grace resulted in the connivance of the Pharisees with the supporters of Herod to destroy Jesus. They wanted to destroy the one who performed a holy act by restoring somebody to health. They were not able to hear God’s voice because of the hardness of their hearts. Our faith invites us to cooperate with God’s grace at all times. We can truly be governed by God’s grace when we heed his voice, responding to the challenge of doing something good for other people wherever and whenever possible.