9 Jesus left that place and went into their synagogue. 10 A man with a withered hand was there. Wanting to bring charges against Jesus, they asked, “Does the Law allow a person to heal on the Sabbath?”
11 Jesus replied, “Who among you has a sheep that falls into a pit on the Sabbath and will not take hold of it and pull it out? 12 How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! So the Law allows a person to do what is good on the Sabbath.” 13 Then Jesus said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he did and it was made healthy, just like the other one. 14 The Pharisees went out and met in order to find a way to destroy Jesus.
Reflection
If both are not possible, do you think it is better to do good or to follow the rules? It can be a very difficult question. Jesus tended to break a lot of rules while helping others. He touched “unclean” people, he ate with sinners, he welcomed children to come to him, he made space for women, he healed people, and he forgave people of things that were thought unforgivable and actually worthy of death in his time.
We can think about all of the stories of people who have broken laws to help others – those from the Underground Railroad who helped enslaved people, those who hid people from the Nazis, those who defied segregation laws, those who are currently assisting undocumented people or providing healthcare to women and trans people where certain treatments are unavailable because of the law…the list could go on and on.
In our scripture today, the Pharisees see a man in the synagogue with what is called “a withered hand.” We don’t know the man’s name or what happened to his hand, but the Pharisees use this man’s condition to try to bait Jesus into saying or doing something that they can have him arrested for.
Jesus seemed to love these traps, as he always saw them as a way to model for people, including the Pharisees, ways to use common sense and kindness to help others according to God’s will. He pointed out that if a sheep falls into a well (or really if it just falls over because it can’t get itself back up), the owner will take care of it because it is a living thing, and it is a valuable thing. Jesus points out that people are more valuable than sheep, so isn’t it right to help them, even if it is on the Sabbath? Would you risk waiting until the next day to save a sheep? No, that makes no sense economically or morally. Jesus saw a need with the man, and he healed him. It made no sense for him to wait until the next day when he could do something good on that day. Was it breaking the law?
Jesus reports that the law allows us to do good on the Sabbath and for us this translates to sometimes we need to break some rules to do good. I remember several times when I was on a team of professionals who did evaluations for kiddos to see if they qualified for services such as PT, OT, Speech Therapy, or Developmental Services. There was a specific score that they needed to qualify. Sometimes we really felt they would benefit from services, so we fudged their scores to make sure they got what they needed. Breaking the rules? Yes. Doing good? Also, yes.
by Janet Waryck
For Pondering and Prayer
We may never be faced with a situation where we could be arrested for doing good, but we may be faced with a situation where we lose credibility with a group, or we face rebuke. Jesus gave us the best example – we should help people if we can. We may need to make a tough decision about how far we want to go to help others in terms of the law, but in everything we need to pray, and God will direct us. Doing good seems like it should be a cut and dried decision, but it may not always be. What do you think?
Prayer: Jesus, thank you for showing us the way to help others, even if it goes against some general established rules. Give us wisdom and courage and help us to use the common sense and thoughtfulness that you have already given us. Be ever present in our lives. Amen.
