Daily Gospel Reflection
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January 18, 2023
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.
As a litigator, I am often faced with situations where rights and laws conflict. For example, should my client be able to put up a 12 ft. privacy fence on his property even if it blocks his neighbor’s ability to enjoy a sunset?
In today’s reading, Jesus is facing a conflict in the law with an audience that is ready to pounce. On the one hand, there is the requirement to refrain from work on the Sabbath; and on the other hand, there is the commandment to serve and love one another. Will Jesus break one law to follow another?
It should not come to anyone’s surprise that Jesus would serve another. After all, Jesus does tell us that loving and serving our neighbor is the second greatest commandment.
However, upon a deeper reflection, it is possible that the alleged dilemma Jesus was faced with was no dilemma at all. Is Jesus, through his work of healing on the Sabbath, actually giving us a greater lesson of what it actually means to rest?
I must admit the law about refraining from work on Sunday was a favorite as a child. Now, as a husband, father, homeowner, friend, and professional, physically resting during the latter half of the weekend is simply unattainable. How do I rest in this hectic world?
Jesus in his simple, yet miraculous act of healing, gives me the answer by providing the true meaning of rest. It is not found in merely refraining from work, but instead in goodness. And the greatest good is Jesus himself. In the words of St. Augustine, “[Lord] [y]ou have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.”
This Sunday, despite the physical toils that are necessary parts of our lives; which certainly includes acts of charity that can and should become part of our day, let us pray that our soul can be still and rest in Jesus Christ, renewing us for our Christian purpose in the week ahead.
Prayer
Lord God, the fact that your detractors were observing you, hoping for you to make a mistake, did not deter you from being compassionate and loving as you healed the man with the withered hand. Give us today the same boldness to be compassionate and loving, no matter the cost. We pray this to you, Our God and our Teacher. Amen.
Saint of the Day
"Today, in many parts of the world,
under the inspiring grace of the Holy Spirit,
many efforts are being made in prayer, word and action to attain
that fullness of unity which Jesus Christ desires.
The Sacred Council exhorts all the Catholic faithful to recognize
the signs of the times and to take an active
and intelligent part in the work of ecumenism."Unitatis Redintegratio, §4
As Christians, we are all too familiar with the divisions that have plagued Christ's followers since the very first days of Christianity and continue to this day.
Throughout the twentieth century, as the modern world became increasingly fractured and plagued by violence, Popes John XXIII and Paul VI saw that Christians should heed even more closely Christ's call to be one as Christ is one with the with Father (Jn 17:21). If Christ says, in the Gospel of John, that the world would know that his followers were Christians because of their love for one another (Jn 13:35), the leaders of the Church saw how the bickering and the divisions between Christians marred their witness of Christ to the world. In a divided world, Christians ought to be a witness of the "one faith and one baptism" (Ephesians 4:4-6) they profess in Christ.
John XXIII and Paul VI, particularly, saw it was their responsibility, as Bishop of Rome, Successor of Peter, and Vicar of Christ on earth to try to follow Christ's command to Peter to "feed my sheep," and to care for the flock (Jn 21:17). Thus, these two popes worked hard to bridge centuries-old divisions between Christians. These popes (both canonized saints as of October 2018) advanced the unity of the Church worldwide. As pope, John XXIII established the Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity which is today the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity. This branch of the Curia became the Roman Catholic Church's representative in working with other Christians churches and ecumenical organizations.
John XXIII invited theologians from other Christian traditions to Vatican II as observers, such as George Lindbeck, a famous Lutheran American theologian. Opening up dialogue with other Christians led to continued dialogues with Orthodox, Lutheran, and Reform churches. Several of Notre Dame's own theological faculty have been asked by the Vatican to serve on these dialogues, a great honor and responsibility. In 1999, the Lutheran World Federation and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity jointly published the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification. This document was a milestone in Lutheran-Catholic relations, since many of Luther's theological rallying cries during the Reformation, nearly 500 years before, centered around issues of justification (e.g., sola fide).
John XXIII's successor, Paul VI, made a great leap in Christian and Orthodox relations by meeting with Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I of Constantinople in 1964, in Jerusalem. Together, Paul and Athenagoras revoked millennium-old excommunications that had been mutually invoked upon their respective churches. Tantur Ecumenical Institute, which houses Notre Dame's Jerusalem Global Gateway, was built to honor this meeting. The Vatican has entrusted to Notre Dame the responsibility for caring for and maintaining this important property, which is built to help Christians truly seek unity through the study of Scripture, discussion and prayer together.
Two important Church teachings regarding Christian Unity and Christian Ecumenism are Unitatis Redintegratio, "Restoration of Unity," and Ut Unum Sint, "That they may be one." Unitatis Redintegratio was a decree drafted by the bishops during the Second Vatican Council and officially promulgated by Paul VI on November 21, 1964. Ut Unum Sint is an encyclical letter by Pope John Paul II, published in May 1995, on the Church's commitment to ecumenism. Both documents urge Christians to work for peace and Christian Unity by healing divisions.
As we mourn the deep divisions in our nation, our Church, and our world, the witness of Christian charity in unity becomes all the more important. Our divided and conflicted world is full of men and women sorely in need of the light and truth of the Gospel.
The image above is of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, which is divided between six branches of Christian churches. It is a sign both of our unity in the mystery of Christ's death and resurrection and in the brokenness of our communion with one another.
On this opening day of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, may we work to heal divisions between all Christians, so that we may all be truly one in Christ!
Image Credit: Our featured image is in the public domain. Last accessed November 24, 2024 on Wikimedia Commons.
