***
Gospel: Mark 3:1-6
Jesus entered the synagogue.
There was a man there who had a withered hand.
They watched Jesus closely
to see if he would cure him on the sabbath
so that they might accuse him.
He said to the man with the withered hand,
“Come up here before us.”
Then he said to the Pharisees,
“Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil,
to save life rather than to destroy it?”
But they remained silent.
Looking around at them with anger
and grieved at their hardness of heart,
Jesus said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.”
He stretched it out and his hand was restored.
The Pharisees went out and immediately took counsel
with the Herodians against him to put him to death.
The Gospel of the Lord.
***
***
I’m sure we’ve all met someone who’s said, “I’m spiritual, but not religious.”
***
It’s become quite the popular approach to faith. “Away with all of the rules and boundaries of religion,” they say. “Do good and good will come to you.”
Much like karma. You get what you give.
But such an approach ignores the truth of divine justice. God becomes more like a hippie than a judge.
***
In the Gospel, we find the opposite approach.
The scribes and the Pharisees are religious, but not spiritual.
They treat religion in a very rigid sense – God gives us rules to be followed. If you follow them, then you can earn your salvation. You cannot work on the Sabbath, for example, even if you perform an act of mercy like Jesus did.
To them, God is strictly a judge. You get what you deserve.
Such an approach leaves no room for mercy.
***
Catholics take the middle of the road; we’re both spiritual and religious.
God is merciful, but he’s also our judge.
The one criterion by which we’ll be judged, Jesus says, is love. This is why the final question Jesus asks Peter after his resurrection is:
“Peter, do you love me?”
It’s the same question the Lord asks us today. “Do you love me?” And by extension, “Do you love your neighbor?”
***
May all of our words and actions today answer that question with a resounding, YES!
***
