“And when he had passed from thence, he came into their synagogues. And behold there was a man who had a withered hand, and they asked him, saying: ‘Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days?’ That they might accuse him. But he said to them: ‘What man shall there be among you, that hath one sheep: and if the same fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not take hold on it and lift it up? How much better is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do a good deed on the sabbath days.’ Then he saith to the man: ‘Stretch forth thy hand;’ and he stretched it forth, and it was restored to health even as the other. And the Pharisees going out made a consultation against him, how they might destroy him.”
Jesus looks to bring merciful love into the synagogue, to animate Old Testament teaching and observance of the Law with love: “When Solomon had made an end of his prayer… the majesty of the Lord filled the house” (2 Paralipomenon 7:1); “The cloud covered the tabernacle of the testimony, and the glory of the Lord filled it” (Exodus 40:32). In return for His presence of love, they come to Him, not seeking wisdom and clarity, but seeking occasions to accuse Him: “Instead of making me a return of love, they detracted me: but I gave myself to prayer. And they repaid me evil for good: and hatred for my love” (Psalm 108:4-5). They bring a type of loaded question, a loaded situation, where if He does not heal the poor man, they might accuse Him of cruelty and forsaking the lowly and outcast: “For the Lord is high, and looketh on the low” (Psalm 137:6), but if He does heal, they might accuse Him of breaking the sabbath. The man with the withered hand reflects a sentence of self-condemnation in the Old Testament: “If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand be forgotten” (Psalm 136:5), with other translations saying, “let my right hand forget how to play” or even outright “let my right hand wither.” It shows that the works of one’s hands wither away when they are not animated by heavenly love, instead becoming chores that reduce one’s capability to serve with happiness: “A joyful mind maketh age flourishing: a sorrowful spirit drieth up the bones” (Proverbs 17:22), rather than being expressions of love: “And I have found that nothing is better than for a man to rejoice in his work, and that this is his portion” (Ecclesiastes 3:22); “He who soweth sparingly, shall also reap sparingly: and he who soweth in blessings, shall also reap blessings. Every one as he hath determined in his heart, not with sadness, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:6-7). Jesus then responds that if one would preserve his own temporal welfare by rescuing one of his animals despite the sabbath rest, how much better to preserve one’s spiritual welfare by doing an act of love towards another? For Christianity stands atop all other worldviews in tying one’s own good with the good of one’s neighbor, the measure of one’s success being the love that they share: “For with the same measure that you shall mete withal, it shall be measure to you again” (Luke 6:38); “Dearly beloved, concerning all things I make it my prayer that thou mayest proceed prosperously, and fare well as thy soul doth prosperously” (3 John 1:2). It is then a suitable retort, that those who would break the sabbath rest for the sake of their own good, then in turn prohibit others from doing what is truly good: “Do not withhold him from doing good, who is able: if thou art able, do good thyself also” (Proverbs 3:27), which is loving one another: “He that loveth his neighbour, hath fulfilled the law” (Romans 13:8), for doing the works of love, particularly the Mass, prayer, and sacred reading, on the sabbath keeps it holy, whereas doing what is evil or servile is to profane the sabbath. It could also be said that in seeing a struggling sheep, one is moved with compassion for the animal and helps it, but how much more is this necessary for another human being, to whom the virtue of charity extends, who is in the image of God, and your family member in love: “Let the love of the brotherhood abide in you” (Hebrews 13:1)? Now, it is the broken heart that is withered, curled in on itself that it may protect itself, whereas the loving words of Jesus allow it to open up again: “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, and strengthen me with a perfect spirit” (Psalm 50:14), that it may receive the merciful love of God: “Every best gift, and every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights” (James 1:17), and reach out with this same compassionate love to others: “Therefore I command thee to open thy hand to thy needy and poor brother, that liveth in the land” (Deuteronomy 15:11), this poverty being either material: “He that hath mercy on the poor, lendeth to the Lord: and he will repay him” (Proverbs 19:17), or spiritual, with many needing love: “He that hateth his brother, is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth; because the darkness hath blinded his eyes” (1 John 2:11); “The light shineth in darkness” (John 1:5); “You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14), and others needing wisdom and instruction: “Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall have their fill” (Matthew 5:6). Thus, “The poor you have always with you” (John 12:8), for poverty takes many forms. You flourish in good works by addressing the type of poverty you see most clearly, firstly by knowing how loved you are: “And behold a voice from heaven, saying: ‘This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17), and secondly by knowing yourself and how you personally can best address the needs of the Church and the world: “For if the will be forward, it is accepted according to that which a man hath, not according to that which he hath not” (2 Corinthians 8:12). Thus, in thinking on your own interests, your right hand withers: “In humility, let each esteem others better than themselves: each one not considering the things that are his own, but those that are other men’s” (Philippians 2:3-4), but in thinking on Jesus and His merciful love, your hand stretches out to Him, and by extension to others: “And this commandment we have from God, that he who loveth God, love also his brother” (1 John 4:21). The Pharisees, then, like clay in the sun, dry out and become brittle with hate: “But I shall harden his heart” (Exodus 7:3), which is the natural end of sin: “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), the death of love. The Pharisees “went out” from the love of God: “They have turned their backs to me, and not their faces: when I taught them early in the morning, and instructed them, and they would not hearken to receive instruction” (Jeremias 32:33), abandoning Him in their hearts, not knowing the voice of His love through His Word: “I have brought up children, and exalted them: but they have despised me. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel hath not know me, and my people hath not understood” (Isaias 1:2-3). Thus, they seek to destroy Jesus, not seeing the love or works of God through Him, instead treating Him as less than a man, each of which is deserving of love: “If God were your Father, you would indeed love me. For from God I proceeded, and came; for I came not of myself, but he sent me” (John 8:42).