Should we judge or help?
Home Daily Meditation Luke 6,6-11

Luke 6,6-11

by Fr. Luis A. Zazano
Face Image 2021-09-05 at 17.56.21

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 6,6-11

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.

 

Should we judge or help?

1. The paralyzed right hand. As you know, the vast majority of us are right-handed. As our right hand is  our dominant hand, it allows us to do many things. The ‘paralyzed right hand’ can be symbolic of a spiritual paralysis that can take over us, leading us to do nothing in our lives. We may fall into a total dependence on others, no longer doing what we want or what we must, but instead doing what others want. We do not live our lives; we just live to make others happy. This can lead us to be completely paralyzed. Let’s not lose our freedom and our lives. We are called to come together and help one another, to fulfill the goal of our lives. We cannot absorb the lives of others. If today your life is paralyzed by someone else, ask God for the miracle of regaining your life to act and be yourself, to decide to grow and be independent. And if you are ‘paralyzing someone else’s hand,’ ask God to help you to let go of that person’s life and not absorb it; instead, try to help this person to be who they were always meant to be.

2. ‘He had him stand in the midst of everyone.’ Sometimes Jesus draws our attention to people in our midst, showing us that instead of helping them, we have judged them. God makes us see, in these people, that sometimes we are wrong. They have asked us for help, and instead of helping them, instead of helping those who are ‘paralyzed’ in their lives, we cling to what we believe to be right and dismiss them. Who did God put in front of you today? Did you help them, or did you judge them?

3. Doing good. Do not stop doing good. Don’t let evil take over you; be careful because sometimes we disguise evil by calling it a grudge, hatred, or saying, “let them pay for what they have done.” Let’s not do evil. Let’s do good. Every day we can do something good, we can smile at someone, we can pick up trash off the street, or we can help a person who doesn’t know how to do something. There are so many good things we can do in a day! I know that these audios are listened to by non-believers and people of other faiths. I’d like to invite you all to make life more beautiful. Life is lovely and beautiful, let’s help make it even more beautiful for the many who don’t yet know it is.

Remember, the beauty of heaven is our goal!

God bless you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

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