WITHERED

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “Withered!”

I spotted that word in today’s gospel - early on Mark - Chapter 3: 1-6.

I would like to reflect upon healing: helping the healing process and blocking the healing process.

TODAY’S GOSPEL

In today’s gospel we have this moment when Jesus goes into a synagogue on the Sabbath and he sees a man with a shriveled up hand.

And the Pharisees whose minds had become shriveled up kept an eye on Jesus to see if Jesus would heal the man on the Sabbath. He was doing that sort of thing. Now if Jesus did it, they would be able to accuse him of breaking the Sabbath.

Jesus wanted to heal both the man with the shriveled hand and the Pharisees.

Jesus likes to heal people who are withered -- especially, people whom others want to remain withered.

Is it I Lord? Do I do that Lord?

CONVENT

Take for example, a young woman who enters the convent. She enters full of life and discovers that the convent is full of death.

In fact, it’s hell. Everyone is stuck in the past. It stifles her. She suggests change. She is cut down. She begins to wither up. She wants to leave. They want her to stay -- to stay and wither some more -- to become like them.

GEORGE WALD

One of my favorite lectures was given by the Harvard biologist, George Wald. In the talk he said that there have been religions that chose death. He calls them religions of death.

Christianity and Judaism are not.

He quotes the great text in Deuternomy, “Today I put before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Therefore choose life.”

JESUS

Jesus said that he was the life. He said that he was the way, the truth and the life. He said that he came that we might have life and have it to the full.

CONCLUSION: ME

Where am I?

This morning ask Jesus to heal you where you are dying, withered, where you feel like a withered rejected branch, on the vine. Ask Jesus, the Vinedresser, to prune you, to cut you, where you need to be healed.

This morning, also ask, where am I killing others, draining them, dragging them, suffocating them, hindering them from deeper living.

This morning ask, where and whom, I don’t want healed and why.

In AA one hears stories about people who keep on enabling another to be an alcoholic. There are also stories - better stories - about withered people being healed.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

PAINTING ON TOP: Crow on a Withered Branch by  Kawanabe Kyosa.