"Everyone of us needs a half hour of prayer each day, except when we are busy, then we need an hour."
--St. Francis de Sales
"Everyone of us needs a half hour of prayer each day, except when we are busy, then we need an hour."
--St. Francis de SalesJanuary 20, 2021
Wednesday of the
Second Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 313
Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of God Most High,
met Abraham as he returned from his defeat of the kings
and blessed him.
And Abraham apportioned to him a tenth of everything.
His name first means righteous king,
and he was also “king of Salem,” that is, king of peace.
Without father, mother, or ancestry,
without beginning of days or end of life,
thus made to resemble the Son of God, he remains a priest forever.
It is even more obvious if another priest is raised up
after the likeness of Melchizedek, who has become so,
not by a law expressed in a commandment concerning physical descent
but by the power of a life that cannot be destroyed.
For it is testified:
You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
Responsorial Psalm
R.
(4b) You are a priest for ever,
in the line of Melchizedek.
The LORD said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand
till I make your enemies your footstool.”
R. You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.
The scepter of your power the LORD will stretch forth from Zion:
“Rule in the midst of your enemies.”
R. You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.
“Yours is princely power in the day of your birth, in holy splendor;
before the daystar, like the dew, I have begotten you.”
R. You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.
The LORD has sworn, and he will not repent:
“You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.”
R. You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Jesus preached the
Gospel of the Kingdom
and cured every
disease among the people.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
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.
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The Evil of Ignoring Others' Needs
In today's Gospel story, Jesus walks into a synagogue that's full of men who are anticipating a lively discussion on the day's scriptures. One of them, a man with a withered hand, sees Jesus and realizes that he's the miracle worker he's heard so much about. But today is the Sabbath, and according to the rules, no one can do any work of any sort. He doesn't dare ask Jesus for a healing -- especially in front of the legalistic Pharisees.
Do you ever stop short of asking for something that's good and right because you think you're not supposed to?
Jesus has noticed the man who needs a healing. He has also noted that the Pharisees are practically drooling for an opportunity to condemn him. Perhaps if they weren't making such a big deal of it, he might wait until later for a more private moment to heal the poor fellow who's sitting nervously but quietly in the crowd.
Have you felt the condescending attitude of someone who's looking to find fault with you? Did you wish an advocate would come to your aid and defend you?
Jesus realizes that this is a good opportunity for a teaching. The Pharisees aren't open to learning, but there are plenty of others here who are. Jesus faces a decision: He could either let the Pharisees teach by their attitude that it's okay to ignore the needs of people who are hurting, or he could teach by his actions that moral law is higher than religious law, and that caring for someone is morally right and that ignoring a need is morally wrong.
Did you ever witness an attitude in religious circles that was hurtful? Did you wish you had the courage to speak up against it?
Jesus calls to the man: "Stand up here in front!" No one's going to miss this. The room quiets. Jesus has everyone's attention. The Pharisees move in closer, their eyebrows raised authoritatively. Jesus turns to them and says, "Is it lawful to do a good deed on the Sabbath -- or an evil one? To preserve life -- or to destroy it?"
We know that anything that destroys life is evil (war, pollution, abortion, smoking, driving while intoxicated, and everything else that endangers life). But less obvious is the evil of inaction. God's law -- the Law of Love -- requires us to take action when we recognize the needs of others and we have the ability to do something about it. Helping others is an act of preserving life; ignoring a person's suffering is destructive and evil.
What are you doing that contributes to the preservation and improvement of life? Will you dare to care like Jesus?
Today's Prayer
Lord, Do not let my prejudices prevent me from doing good to others. May my mind and my heart always be alert to serve. Amen.
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God Bless You.....
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