In today’s gospel, Mark describes how the Pharisees scrutinize what Jesus says and does on the Sabbath. They seem to want to catch him in breaking a rule or making a fool of himself. But then we can’t really blame the Pharisees for what we often do to each other! Throughout his life, Jesus’ focus and intent are always on giving, enriching, and protecting life. In his letter to the Hebrews, Paul reiterates that the power of the priest is “by the power of a life that cannot be destroyed.” How fitting these Scriptural readings are for today as we commemorate the right to life.
It seems that what puzzles the Pharisees is that Jesus is not their image of what the Messiah should be. Jesus does not crusade against people. Rather, he catches the good intentions in people and draws out their benevolence toward each other. Yes, we hurt others. We hurt ourselves. Yet, in all of the gospel, we witness Jesus doing nothing else but healing people’s physical illnesses, their jaded perceptions of people different from them, their personal sins. Yes, Jesus is a healer in many ways! What he is trying to show the Pharisees and us is to focus on reverence for life in many ways—a healthy self-love that we immerse in our Creator, a selfless love that understands others’ frailties because we understand our own, a creative love that emerges out of our own weakness to uplift those hurting emotionally, physically, and spiritually.
Everyone has a right to life. Wars in words and in actions only destroy. I hope that watching news of continuing bloodshed on our streets and in other countries sensitizes us to violence, as well as, evaluate our own actions and reactions to people, whether family or stranger.
Everyone has a right to life. Undoubtedly, we do not have withered hands. But, what is withered in our lives that needs to be enlivened? Let’s spend some time today looking within ourselves, not in a depressing negative way, but with the hope that we can create a peaceful existence with those who have a different mindset or culture. How do we respond to Jesus’s question today, “Is it better to save life rather than to destroy it?”