Friday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time
Fall is at its peak in Dayton, Ohio this week. The trees and their splendid colors are on full display, often against a brilliant blue sky with the sun illuminating the varied leaves. It is for this that today’s Psalm (111) response, “How great are the works of the Lord!” resonates for me, especially this phrase in the second verse about God’s works being “exquisite in all their delights.” Exquisite indeed!
Today’s gospel reading from Luke (14:1-6) also tells of the Lord’s great works in Jesus’ healing of the man with dropsy. There’s more to the story, however, as we read that Jesus heals this man on the sabbath and at the home of one of the leading Pharisees where people were “observing him carefully.”
This healing on the sabbath is a parallel to the healing of the crippled woman that we read from Luke (13:10-17) on Monday of this week. Both incidents involve Jesus coming up against those who were more concerned about following the law and watching Jesus “carefully” to see what he would do, rather than concern for alleviating the suffering of the person.
Jesus cares. Luke shows us that God, through the person of Jesus, cares deeply for those who are suffering and is inviting others (including us!) to prioritize compassion and healing over rigid legalism. Later in this gospel passage we hear Jesus trying to reason with the Pharisees about his decision to heal on the sabbath, “Who among you, if your son or ox falls into a cistern, would not immediately pull him out on the sabbath day?” They don’t answer. How would you or I answer in this day and age? Do compassion and mercy win out over following the letter of the law?
I find in this both a challenge and further reason to join with the psalmist in proclaiming, “Great are the works of the Lord, exquisite in all their delights”! May God be praised.
~Eileen Miller