Healing Rays of Righteousness

Read Mark 3:1-6

I believe this story can be appreciated and understood as being much more than simply another miracle event.  I believe Jesus saw in this particular situation, during his visit to the synagogue, an excellent teaching opportunity for his disciples, as well as challenging his religious critics.

In contrast to the man with leprosy who came to Jesus and “…begged him on his knees, ‘If you are willing, you can make me clean”(Mk. 1:40);  or blind Bartimaeus who shouted to Jesus as he walked by, “Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me” (Mk. 10:47);  this man, with his shriveled hand, was just there, in the synagogue, the place of worship.  He wasn’t there begging or shouting for healing.  He was there to learn of God and worship him.

This causes me to believe that the writer, Mark, would have us understand that Jesus saw and seized the opportunity not only to heal the man’s shriveled hand, but also to teach an important truth about the Christian lifestyle of appropriately caring for others, wherever they may be and on whatever day it may be.

The first level of teaching is very evident.  Jesus had the man to “stand up in front of everyone.”  It is “show and tell” time to discuss the question, when is it appropriate to respond to human need?  When is it the right time “to do good, … to save life?”  When is it “lawful” to serve others?

Jesus angrily looked around at his critics’ stubborn silence and responded with a dramatic teaching moment.  Deeply distressed, Jesus acted out the Kingdom lesson he wanted to teach.  He had the man stand up in front of everyone and stretch out his shriveled hand so that everyone could see it, then he miraculously and completely restored it.

The lesson we are to hear, is this;  – that God’s so amazing grace in loving us demands we respond in healing ways to human need whenever and wherever the need presents itself, – and that religion without love is a most ugly thing in the world.

Throughout his ministry on earth, Jesus taught and modeled this lifestyle of providing for the needs of others as a basic principle of daily Christian living, and the way of doing business.

The second level of teaching may not be as apparent, but I think it is also seen in this story.  The shriveled, withered hand was “completely restored” when the man obeyed Jesus’ command to “Stretch out your hand.”

Today we know that there is substantial non-biblical evidence from studies of human nature, that persons who keep their hands close to themselves, selfishly clutching their accumulated treasures and divinely endowed abilities and skills, soon experience a withering of their spirit and a shriveling of their lives in every way, spiritually, socially, and physically.  They soon become fearful, unhappy, handicapped and useless in society.

Furthermore, I believe these same studies would confirm the biblical story of complete healing and restoration happens whenever we obey Jesus’ command to:

• love one another as I have loved you.
• love your neighbor as yourself.
• be a servant in serving the needs of others.
• do good deeds to all, even your enemies.

The cure for a shriveled life remains the same today as in Jesus’ day, “Stretch out your hand” in helping others toward wholeness.  For when we do, we also find healing for ourselves.

The truth is that we don’t have to obey Jesus’ command to “Stretch out your hand.”  We don’t have to love our neighbor; we don’t have to share what God has given us; we don’t have to feed the hungry, care for the sick and feeble, and be a friend to the lonely and dying.  We don’t have to be kind, compassionate, and considerate of the needs of others.

We don’t have to do any of these things, but we get to do them as a privilege to love and serve God by responding to the needs of others.  Our love for God because of what he has done for us, transforms our life from selfish grabbing to generous giving, and our work from dutiful labor to joyous privilege.

My Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition has always included an ethos of service to people in need and suffering, of stretching out our hands in helping others.  And my prayer is that the life energy of every church and community would flow from that same healing fountain of Christian compassion and concern for others, in spite of the challenges and difficulties we may encounter in doing so.  Shalom!

“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – October 3, 2018