Today's Gospel reading describes a conflict Jesus had with the scribes and Pharisees. By healing the man with the withered hand on Sabbath, Jesus set Sabbath and religion free from the clutches of legalism. Excessive preoccupation with the letter of the law is dangerous.

Obedience to God's will is our main concern. If we refrain from doing good to the needy is tantamount to destroying life and failure to live a Christian way of life.

We are invited to examine our way of life in terms of reaching out to the needy ones around us; even in our religious practices. What is the basis of our responses to situations which call for our attention?

The first reading was about some members of the community in Corinth who misunderstood the meaning of their baptism, which was taken as a licence to justify immoral behaviour. In this instance, the man was immoral in marrying his stepmother (1 Cor 5: 1).

The community was asked to exclude him temporarily. This is how serious Paul was with this behaviour. He compared such with the old yeast which symbolises evil and wickedness.

If we are faced with such a situation in our community, how should we respond?