When you hear the Gospel accounts of Jesus encountering the religious leaders of His day, it can be astonishing. Jesus put up with a lot. Think of how much He had to endure patiently while people around Him could not see what was really happening – the Messiah had come.
Consider the example of the man with the withered hand. (Mark 3:1-6) It was the sabbath, and one might presume the Pharisees in the synagogue were occupied with prayer. Yet, when Jesus enters, “they watched him to see whether he would heal him on the sabbath, so they might accuse him.” What could have been a moment of prayer turned into a standoff and a microcosm of the battle between good and evil.
Jesus asked the Pharisees, “Is it lawful on the sabbath to do good or do harm, to save life or kill?” This should be an easy, uncomplicated question. One should do good and save life. Yet, the Pharisees did not answer. It was an inhuman response.
It is unclear why the Pharisees wanted to accuse Jesus. It could have been an intellectual stance of legalism that put rules over the good of the person. They could have felt threatened by Him. Whatever the cause, the Pharisees did not engage.
They displayed no compassion or hope for the man’s cure. This is more remarkable because they seemed to have no doubt Jesus could cure him.
The truth of the situation is clear from Jesus’ response, as He looked at them “with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart.” (Mark 3:5)
After Jesus healed the man, they “went out” and “immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.” (Mark 3:6)
It is sad to note the apparent absence of joy or celebration when this miracle takes place. There is no record in Scripture of the man asking to be healed. And yet, it happened. It was a gift. He must have been filled with emotion.
By contrast, the Pharisees had no joy. Tragically, the darkness of their hearts led to a disconnection with reality. Although they witnessed a miracle, they did not allow themselves to be interiorly moved or to wonder at the supernatural. Instead, the miracle became a cause to plot destruction.
Observing a miracle for the Pharisees was just that, more of an observation than an experience of seeing a human person restored by God. This should move us to reflect: How does it get to the point where you find yourself face to face with God and yet unmoved by His mercy?
Our response to the daily battle between good and evil shapes our lives and our eternity. Individual choices crescendo in our hearts, for or against God. How do we prevent our hearts from becoming hardened and keep ourselves open to love?
Only the love of God and grace poured into our hearts can make us capable of love. If we have hearts that can love, it is because the Lord loved us first. The Lord’s love softens and strengthens hearts.
Jesus invites us to draw near to His heart, to be loved by Him and to learn from His meekness and humility (Matthew 11:29). Here are some ways we can have hearts like His:
• Spend time in Eucharistic Adoration, speaking to God, heart to heart.
• Read Scripture to grow in knowledge of Jesus.
• Go to confession regularly. Ask God to heal your heart from wounds that make it hard to love.
•Choose Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy to be a regular part of your words and deeds. Offer them as a gift of self for the love of God.
• Prepare your heart for Holy Mass and welcome Jesus in Holy Communion.
• Pray to your guardian angel and St. Michael the Archangel to protect you from sin and all that would prevent you from loving God.
• Learn about the Sacred Heart devotion. Recall and pray an aspiration from the Litany of the Sacred Heart throughout the day.
• Pray for an increase in charity, to love God and others with His love. Ask the Blessed Mother Mary and the saints to intercede for your growth in charity.
• Ponder Mary’s humility and magnanimity. Pray to grow in those virtues and avoid sin.
• Express gratitude.
• Learn about the Divine Mercy devotion and pray the chaplet.
• Ask God for a meek and humble heart, recognizing that everything we are and have comes to us as a gift from God.
Sister John Paul Maher, OP, is principal of Worthington St. Michael School and a member of the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist.