"Christ said, “I am the Truth”; he did not say “I am the custom."

“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” – St Paul

Gospel text: (LK 6:6-11)

On a certain Sabbath Jesus went into the synagogue and taught,

and there was a man there whose right hand was withered.

The scribes and the Pharisees watched him closely

to see if he would cure on the Sabbath

so that they might discover a reason to accuse him.

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.

But they became enraged

and discussed together what they might do to Jesus.

How quick are you to judge people? By what standards? Is it according to the law of love or your own personal interpretations of that law?

Jesus never set out to provoke his opponents. He simply did what needed to be done, and he did it in love. This is what he asks us to do as well. He wants us to become servants, just as he was. He wants us to lift people up and show them what true freedom looks like. Sometimes this may mean going against traditions or everyday expectations, but it never means breaking the commandments.