On a certain sabbath Jesus went into the synagogue and taught, and there was a man there whose right hand was withered. 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. But he realized their intentions and said to the man with the withered hand, “Come up and stand before us.” And he rose and stood there. Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?” Looking around at them all, he then said to him, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so and his hand was restored. But they became enraged and discussed together what they might do to Jesus.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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In ancient Palestine, most men made a living through manual labor. For example, Joseph was a carpenter. Paul was a tent maker. Peter was a fisherman. Tradition states that the man in today’s Gospel was a stone mason.
Like many other professions, masonry required the use of both hands. Thus, this man’s withered hand not only prevented him from working; it was also symbolic of his fate without an income.
Dead.
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His injury also represented the withered hearts of the religious authorities, who were paralyzed by their harsh interpretation of the Law. While it was a good thing to heal this man’s hand, it was considered “work.”
And work was only permissible on six, not seven, days a week. The Sabbath was God’s appointed day of rest. This became what angered the Lord. People placed boundaries around the supreme law of charity.
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This Gospel scene poses a few points of reflection for us today.
Have our hearts become withered in any way? Do we ever place boundaries around charity? Do we miss opportunities to love, to forgive, to encounter Christ in our neighbor?
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On this Labor Day, we are also reminded of the inherent dignity of work. Just as the stone mason in today’s Gospel deserved to earn his daily bread, so do all who call America (or anywhere in this world) home.
As Pope Leo recently stated, “The most important way to help the disadvantaged is to assist them in finding a good job, so that they can lead a more dignified life by developing their abilities and contributing their fair share.”
May we never forget that a healthy economy is often built upon the backs of ordinary people like this stone mason – people who not only deserve the opportunity to work, but also to earn a livable wage.
May Christ, himself a carpenter by trade,, pray for us.
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Image credits: (1) Time.now (2) clsfchurch.ca (3) SMART Local 71
Jesus said to his disciples: “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that ‘every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church. If he refuses to listen even to the church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector. Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again, amen, I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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C.S. Lewis was one of the most creative Christian writers of the 20th century. In his book, The Great Divorce, he paints an imaginary picture of hell.
Lewis describes hell as a sprawling, dreary, perpetually rainy slum called “Grey Town,” where the sun never fully rises or sets and conflicts are never resolved.
Whenever neighbors disagree with each other, they abandon their homes and move further apart. As a result, the city is only inhabited on its outer edges, while the center resembles a vast, hollow wasteland, filled with vacant homes and empty streets.
That’s how hell gets so large, he says. People choose distance over reconciliation.
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While “Grey Town” is a figment of Lewis’ imagination, the spirit of it is surprisingly real.
Sadly, anyone who is living with an unresolved conflict in their heart, their home, their marriage, their family, their social circle, or their workplace can find themselves living, metaphorically speaking, on the edges of “Grey Town.”
It’s an unfortunate and mysterious truth, but we can share a roof – even a life together – and feel miles apart inside.
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Why are people often afraid of conflict?
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Sometimes it’s the fruit of our upbringing.
Children can be raised in homes where conflicts are never really resolved. Rather than speaking openly and honestly, both parents and siblings can resort to yelling, slammed doors, passive aggressiveness, manipulation, or worse, silence.
As if the slow passage of time can really heal our wounds.
But all it really does is cover them up, leaving them to fester deep inside our psyche.
As a result, we can become conditioned to believe that any form of conflict is a bad thing, making avoidance – or moving further apart – a much safer option.
What we really need are instructions on how to resolve conflicts in a healthy way, so that the end result does not resemble “Grey Town,” but healthier communication, mutual understanding, shared respect, and even stronger intimacy.
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In today’s Gospel, the Lord provides these instructions, which come on the heels of his own crucial conversation with Saint Peter.
After giving Peter the keys to the kingdom, Jesus rebukes him, calling him, “Satan” because Peter gets in his way, scoffing at the idea of a cross.
So, the Lord has a difficult conversation with Peter, not because he wants to retaliate or take his keys back.
No.
Jesus rebukes Peter because he loves him. Because he wants Peter to keep the keys. But Peter needs a right understanding of Jesus and what it means to be a shepherd.
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Notice Jesus places the burden on himself, that is the victim, the person who is wronged, not Peter the offender. Then he extends that invitation to us.
“If your brother sins against you,” he says, “go and tell him his fault between you and him alone.”
Take the initiative. Write the letter. Make the phone call. Have the sit-down lunch.
If the one-on-one conversation does not suffice, then bring a friend. Not for the sake of gossip, public embarrassment, or dragging another person’s reputation through the mud.
But for added perspective, balance, and third-party mediation, “so that every fact may be established.”
If that still does not work, then tell the wider community, the Church. It almost sounds like hyperbole, as if we are to air our grievances in public for all to hear. But we cannot overemphasize the value Jesus places on living in unity.
The alternative being living on the edges of “Grey Town.”
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Yet the Lord does acknowledge that this can happen.
When confronted with a grievance, some people might choose distance over reconciliation, giving them space to lick their wounds.
But the only thing worse than having that crucial conversation and giving a person the chance to repent is pretending like we don’t need one at all. Choosing to be silent is like ignoring a malignant tumor in the body.
Eventually, the tumor spreads, leaving a trail of destruction behind.
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If hell is like a sprawling, dreary, perpetually gray and rainy slum, where people are constantly moving further apart, then heaven is like one huge block party.
Its residents might be perfect.
But they weren’t always perfect here on earth.
Like us, they may have raised their voices, made a few mistakes, said a hurtful word or two. But they also learned how to kiss and make up, how to forgive and be forgiven, how to heal and be healed.
That’s the kind of stuff that causes angels to rejoice.
“For wherever two or three are gathered in my name,” Jesus says, “there I am in the midst of them.”
The scribes and Pharisees said to Jesus, “The disciples of John the Baptist fast often and offer prayers, and the disciples of the Pharisees do the same; but yours eat and drink.” Jesus answered them, “Can you make the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come, and when the bridegroom is taken away from them, then they will fast in those days.” And he also told them a parable. “No one tears a piece from a new cloak to patch an old one. Otherwise, he will tear the new and the piece from it will not match the old cloak. Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins, and it will be spilled, and the skins will be ruined. Rather, new wine must be poured into fresh wineskins. And no one who has been drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good.’”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Fermentation is the process that turns grape juice into wine.
During fermentation, gas is released, causing the wineskins to expand, which is why new, stretchy wineskins must be used. Old skins would rip and tear, spilling and ruining the wine.
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In today’s Gospel, Jesus likens the religious authorities and their legalistic beliefs to old wineskins – rigid, stiff, and unyielding.
As a result, he could not pour his teachings, his love, or his grace into their hearts. Much like new wine being poured into old wineskins, divine grace would’ve caused their hearts and laws to expand.
Or, better yet, explode.
Which is why the Lord needed to bring new disciples – fresh wineskins – into the fold.
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Anyone who tries following Jesus and living out his word feels this tension. The Lord stretches our hearts and minds, and tames our flesh, sometimes to an uncomfortable degree.
Are we not stretched in prayer? When we turn the other cheek? Seek to forgive? Carry our crosses? And give of our time, talent, and treasure until it hurts?
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May the Lord continue to transform our hearts into new wineskins, capable of being stretched, changed, and expanded by his grace.
So that we become ever more like him, who has loved us and given himself for us.
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Image credits: (1) Following Jesus, Facebook (2) Instagram (3) X.com
