Reflection on the Gospel of the Friday
|
Luke 14: 1-6 |
In today’ Gospel, the scribes and Pharisees tried to entrap Jesus with an invitation to a Sabbath dinner. Among the guests there was a man suffering from dropsy. The condition is a swelling due to an excess of fluid, now more commonly called edema. This disease was thought to be the result of sin, therefore making the man ritually impure. The man does not ask for healing but is healed by Jesus in the presence of leading Pharisees. The text does not explain how Jesus cures him. Jesus’ action does not start an argument, and the synagogue officials remain silent.
Once more Jesus is faced with the issue of healing on the Sabbath. Jesus not only healed the man on the Sabbath but touched him as well, both of which were transgressions of the Sabbath in the eyes of the Pharisees.
‘If one of you has a child or an ox that has fallen into a well, will you not immediately pull it out on a Sabbath day? The Sabbath was made for man not man for the Sabbath!
