Twenty-Third Monday of Ordinary Time

But he realized their intentions and said to the man with the withered hand, “Come up and stand before us.” And he rose and stood there. Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?” Looking around at them all, he then said to him, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so and his hand was restored.

Jesus is not afraid of what others might think of him. His only concerns are to do what is right and give an example of love for others to follow. We must also put aside our own worries about what others might think when we try to do what is right. We cannot allow others to convince us that being merciful or loving is evil. We are called by God to save lives, not destroy them or sit idly by while others do harm to God’s children. There is only one response to others who are in need and that is to serve them as best as we can. We should never come up with excuses or reasons why doing the right thing is wrong. Instead, we must stand our ground and offer hope to those in most need of it by accepting their outstretched hand.

Do we allow others to keep us from doing the right thing? Are we saving lives or destroying them? Do we offer others the help they need in order to be restored, physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually?

O Lord, may we always seek to save lives and never to destroy them.

Amen.