Another time Jesus went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. 2 Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. 3 Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Stand up in front of everyone.” 4 Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent. 5 He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. 6 Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.
St. Anthony the Great is one of the most important of the Desert Fathers and Mothers, early Christian monks and nuns who lived as hermits in the Egyptian wilderness. As the best known of these desert monastics, Anthony is often called the Father of All Monks. His biography by St. Athanasius had a tremendous influence on the growth of Western monasticism. Born to a wealthy family in Egypt around 251 AD, Anthony gave away his inheritance and went to live ascetically in the desert. He ate sparingly, refusing meat and wine. The fame of his holiness grew, and, although he isolated himself, a community of like-minded men grew up around him. At their request, he eventually agreed to lead and organize them into the first Christian monastic community. The temptations he is supposed to have experienced while living by himself in the desert became a major theme of Western art. Anthony died around the year 356 and was buried by the cell where he lived. The monastery of St. Anthony in Egypt, which still exists today, was founded by his followers.
This year the gospel that falls on his feast focuses on the tense relationship between Jesus and the Pharisees. Mark tells us that the latter are watching Jesus and searching for evidence they can use against him. Since healing usually involves some kind of work, such as making ointments or binding wounds, it was only allowed on the Sabbath if someone’s life was in danger. In this case, Jesus sees a man with a shriveled or withered hand (probably some type of paralysis) which is hardly a life-threatening condition. Since Mark does not tell us that the man asked for help, we must assume that Jesus took the initiative. Jesus, like his opponents, seems to want to get the question into the open., so he asks: ““Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?”” This goes to the very heart of why the Sabbath exists, and the scribes and Pharisees were not used to seeing the issue in these terms. They talked about what constituted work or about how life could go on while still keeping the Sabbath holy. But to leave aside legalistic questions and consider the Sabbath in such broad terms shifted the debate to greater, truly far-reaching grounds which they were unprepared for.
Verse 5 tells us that Jesus was angry, annoyed at people’s willingness to place man-made rules over the well-being of others. Instead of trying to avoid breaking rules, we should be looking for positive ways of keeping the Sabbath holy that will benefit others. So, if to do something good for someone else means setting aside a rule, then the rule must go. Thus, Jesus heals the man’s hand. This, of course, angers the Pharisees and scribes, who become more and more convinced that Jesus must be eliminated. Sadly, Christians are as guilty as the Pharisees of losing sight of the deeper meaning of religious observances by too carefully observing them. Even very religious people can do evil when they are faced with unexpected challenges to their concept of God and tradition. This is a continuing problem today and, indeed, in any age.
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