Homily: September 11, 2023, Monday of the twenty third week in Ordinary time.

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“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”. 

Today’s miracle healing took place in a synagogue on a Sabbath, the Lord’s holy day, in the Lord’s holy place. But when we follow this reading closely and try to visualize what the scribes and Pharisees were doing, we can really understand why Jesus considered them hypocrites.

We also wonder, why did the Pharisees go to their synagogues? What was the Sabbath to them?

The Sabbath is a day for prayer and thanksgiving to God for the week that passed, for rest and relaxation from a week of labor, a day to recall and recollect how God saved their forefathers from slavery and gave them hope of a Messiah. It is a day to fellowship with their fellow Jews to celebrate the blessings received, as one race, one people of God.

However, sadly, the scribes and Pharisees here weren't even truly hearing the message of love, compassion, and mercy from Jesus and they weren’t even seeing the truth of that message through the miraculous healing which only God can do.

They have gone to synagogue not to find God but to search for malice, not to pray but to plot evil, not to give thanks but to find fault in Jesus. They were so blinded by those sinful thoughts that they could not see any good in the event, nor God Himself right in their presence.

Are we also like that sometimes?

That we get so busy with achieving our selfish purposes or vain desires that we miss seeing the real good and are unmoved by godly encounters?

Do we sometimes get so caught up with our prideful self-righteousness that we have no room in our heart to accept and embrace others?

Mother Teresa said so wisely, “If you judge people, you have no time to love them.”

God does not make mistakes. Everything God made is good, everyone God created is beautiful. And if we are busy loving everyone, we will have no time to judge them.

Let us take care not to come to church to scrutinize and criticize, but to love and give thanks. God is love, and so are we. 

Amen.



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