Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“He looked around at them with anger; he was grieved at their hardness of heart and said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He stretched it out, and his hand was restored.”
NL Daily Devotion for Wednesday, January 17, 2024
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
On the surface, this interaction seems preposterous. Is it really “work” for Jesus to heal someone? Is this man’s well-being really less important than adherence to a religious observance? Would people have just stood around ignoring someone’s need in order to appear to be following the rules?
But how preposterous is it, really? Don’t people do just this sort of thing all the time? How often do we get annoyed when a kid is being crabby during worship? Why do we find ourselves mildly irritated with that visitor who has no idea how to navigate the communion line? Or with those visitors who’ve sat in our seats? Silly examples, of course, but might we look at them a little more critically and ask ourselves whether we aren’t a bit Pharisee in our desire for our own comfort in our religious observances?
The fact is that people who are struggling make other people uncomfortable; people who don’t exactly follow an accepted script make other people uncomfortable. Jesus made and continues to make people uncomfortable, by crossing boundaries, ignoring norms, and standing with those who suffer.
When have I thought or acted like the people in the synagogue who wanted to accuse Jesus?
