Of Withered Hands and Withered Hearts

As we continue to read from the Gospel of St. Mark, we need to pay attention to how he portrays the growing opposition to his message and his ministry.  When he forgives the sins of a paralytic, the scribes did not voice their opposition.  They simply wondered in their minds how Jesus could “forgive sins.”  When they see Jesus eating with sinners and tax collectors, they voice their opposition among themselves.  When the disciples of Jesus pluck some grain from the fields, they confront Jesus with their objections.

Today we hear how Jesus cures a man with a withered hand.  Again the scribes object.  This time, however, they leave the synagogue and begin to plot with the Herodians, their avowed enemies.  So great their opposition, they are willing to enter into league with those whom they consider sinners to thwart Jesus’ message and ministry.

There can only be one reason for this kind of opposition.  Jesus is a threat to their own position of power and honor among the people.  They are jealous and envious.  Their jealousy and envy turn into hatred of Jesus.  Rather than pay attention to the lessons of mercy and compassion which Jesus is preaching, all they can think of is what they might lose if Jesus succeeds.

Jealousy and envy are born out of a kind of thinking that tells us that there is only so much love, so much honor to go around.  If Jesus gets some of that love and honor from the people, there is less for them.  They fail to recognize that there is no quantifying love and honor and respect.  They are not commodities that can be bought and sold.  They are gifts freely given one to the other. 

The incident in today’s Gospel is about a man with a withered hand.  However, it is also about people who possess withered hearts.  The Gospel challenges us today to ask whether our hearts are dried up and withered or whether we, like Jesus, have hearts full of love and compassion for the people whose paths we cross each day.