Jesus heals a man with dropsy on the Sabbath. The setting is tense-He's being watched, tested. Yet He does not hesitate. Taking the occasion to teach those in attendance, He asks, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" And then, without hesitation, He heals. For Jesus, the law is never an excuse to delay love. Mercy is always timely. Compassion is never out of season.
This moment is not a rejection of the law-it's a revelation of its true purpose: to protect life, to uphold dignity, to reflect the heart of God. Jesus does not abolish the law; He fulfils it by restoring its soul – to protect and nurture life.
St Paul, in Romans, speaks with anguish for his people- those who carry the law, the covenants, the promises. His sorrow is not because they are wrong, but because they have missed the heart behind it all. The law was meant to lead to Christ, not to replace Him. It was meant to prepare the soil, not become the fence to confine them into an elite group.
Jesus' healing deed invites us to live not by rigid rule, but by radiant love. To see the law not as a boundary, but as a bridge. To let mercy interrupt our schedules, our systems, our certainties. For in every healing, every act of compassion, every life nurtured-Christ is present. And the Sabbath is fulfilled.
Lord, give us courage to practice acts of nurturing of life and respect human dignity.