"Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil,
to save life rather than to destroy it?"
But they remained silent.
Looking around at them with anger
and grieved at their hardness of heart,
Jesus said to the man, "Stretch out your hand."
He stretched it out and his hand was restored.
The Pharisees went out and immediately took counsel
with the Herodians against him to put him to death. (Mk 3:4-6)
I come across a lot of hardened hearts. And more often than not, when i find myself in an inflexible situation, when i am aware of anger's rising, i notice my own heart hardened. Am i a Pharisee? In my daily life there are many rules by which i work, ride my bike, talk to friends and strangers. So many expectations built up over the years like sedimentation. It hardens. The rituals of daily life become ruts on the road i travel: working with the elderly, i notice how important these routines can be to one's mood, security and even sanity.
Am i a Pharisee? How do i answer Jesus' question? As a Christian i say 'do good' and 'save life' without a thought, but do i actually do this? Doing good should be spontaneous and natural. If one catches the Self double thinking a situation, doubting, justifying or what have you, then the natural spontaneity of goodness is crushed. 'Kill or be killed' say the Survivours. 'Survival of the fittest' say the Darwinists. There is no room for goodness. To live a full life, to live a life as a human being, we have to prevent our hearts from hardening as Jesus instructed every day of His life. A newborn, a child, a teacher who lived as he taught, a condemned man offering his life up to those who condemned him, each day doing good and saving lives. Am i up to the task?
My immediate answer, without listening to that hardened fearful expectation-enriched ego, is Yes!
Oremus:
I pray for awareness of any hardening of my heart, that i may let expectations and fears go and abandon my Self to the will of the Holy Ghost in the service of Goodness and Life. I pray for forgiveness for all the times i have acted as a Pharisee, when i have condemned someone through choosing evil and death. Amen.
Deo gratias.
to save life rather than to destroy it?"
But they remained silent.
Looking around at them with anger
and grieved at their hardness of heart,
Jesus said to the man, "Stretch out your hand."
He stretched it out and his hand was restored.
The Pharisees went out and immediately took counsel
with the Herodians against him to put him to death. (Mk 3:4-6)
I come across a lot of hardened hearts. And more often than not, when i find myself in an inflexible situation, when i am aware of anger's rising, i notice my own heart hardened. Am i a Pharisee? In my daily life there are many rules by which i work, ride my bike, talk to friends and strangers. So many expectations built up over the years like sedimentation. It hardens. The rituals of daily life become ruts on the road i travel: working with the elderly, i notice how important these routines can be to one's mood, security and even sanity.
Am i a Pharisee? How do i answer Jesus' question? As a Christian i say 'do good' and 'save life' without a thought, but do i actually do this? Doing good should be spontaneous and natural. If one catches the Self double thinking a situation, doubting, justifying or what have you, then the natural spontaneity of goodness is crushed. 'Kill or be killed' say the Survivours. 'Survival of the fittest' say the Darwinists. There is no room for goodness. To live a full life, to live a life as a human being, we have to prevent our hearts from hardening as Jesus instructed every day of His life. A newborn, a child, a teacher who lived as he taught, a condemned man offering his life up to those who condemned him, each day doing good and saving lives. Am i up to the task?
My immediate answer, without listening to that hardened fearful expectation-enriched ego, is Yes!
Oremus:
I pray for awareness of any hardening of my heart, that i may let expectations and fears go and abandon my Self to the will of the Holy Ghost in the service of Goodness and Life. I pray for forgiveness for all the times i have acted as a Pharisee, when i have condemned someone through choosing evil and death. Amen.
Deo gratias.
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