Daily Gospel Reflection
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January 19, 2022
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.
Reflection
They are waiting for Jesus. They are poised to assert dominance, their steadfastness in following the law. They are voyeurs, straining to see even the slightest sign of sin. One can just imagine the building anticipation in their minds, the quickening thump-thump of their hearts as they are on the verge of confrontation. They are ready to kill the man who does good, who challenges them.
They are all of us.
A man is in need. His hand is withered, causing people to turn away. Its ugliness makes him an enemy to all, such that they do not notice his pain. When asked to stretch out his hand, he stretches it out. In an instant—a thundering, powerful instant—he is healed, changed.
That man is all of us.
Over these last few years, hasn’t it seemed like everything is ossifying? Your typically well-tempered friend has no patience for your views. Maybe you have none for his. Beliefs well up like lava in a volcano, exploding with violence and self-assuredness, burning everything in its path. “The landscape is totally charred, but at least I got in that good jab. At least he knows what I think.” It seems like these last months have brought out our inner Pharisee. “My opponents are about to do something stupid, and I will be here to see it.” And to judge it.
This is simply a mask for our true identity. We all need healing. Our beliefs, our rules, turn our hearts to stone if held too dearly. Instead, let us hold dearly what matters: life, love, and God.
Thomas Merton speaks of “le point vierge”, the “virginal point” of stillness within us, where God maintains a domain of total honesty, love, and goodness. That depth within us pines for God, it pines for others.
These last few years have withered us and our hearts cry out for truth. Jesus can break the idol of our hardheartedness, making us dazzle in dullness and powerful in weakness. And he can even do it on the Sabbath.
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
As king of Denmark, St. Canute expanded the Church’s reach and power, and he is remembered as the first Danish saint—and the namesake of Notre Dame’s most famous football coach.
He was born in 1042, and ascended to the throne in 1080. He was ambitious and devout—he appropriated land for the Church and arranged for the support of clergy by enforcing tithes. He was generous in building churches and schools.
Canute was the grandson of another king Canute, who reigned over England, Denmark, and Norway in his age, and the young Canute imagined himself the rightful heir to this territory. He assembled his fleet to invade England in 1085, but was delayed by infighting and the attack was eventually abandoned.
Though he made the Church into a strong ally, he alienated his subjects by strictly enforcing tithes and the observance of feasts. A rebellion arose, and at one point, Canute was cornered by rebels in one of the churches he built. Canute received Communion and confessed his sins, even as bricks were being thrown through the windows. The rebels eventually broke through the doors and stormed inside, slaying Canute at the altar, along with his brother and 17 others.
Though he is noted as a martyr, it is not clear that he died for the faith, and his cause for sainthood might have been politically-motivated. Nevertheless, there were reports of miracles happening at his tomb. He was canonized in 1101, and as the first Danish saint, he is patron of Denmark. St. Canute is also the namesake of Notre Dame football coach, Knute Rockne (who immigrated from Norway).
Relics of St. Canute rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica.
St. Canute, patron saint of Denmark and Notre Dame’s Knute Rockne—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Canute is in the public domain. Edited from the original. Last accessed November 22, 2024 on Wikimedia Commons.
