The Sabbath Controversy

January 21, 2026 Wednesday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time
Memorial of Saint Agnes, Virgin and Martyr
Daily Readings: 1 Samuel 17:32-33, 37, 40-51; Mark 3:1–6

Children of God: Both Jews and Catholics hold the Sabbath as sacred, but they understand and live it in different ways. In Jewish tradition, the Sabbath is a day set apart by strict observance, rooted in the commandment to rest as God rested after creation. Over time, this developed into detailed regulations meant to protect the holiness of the day, defining what could and could not be done, including limits on work, movement, and healing unless life was in immediate danger.

Catholics, on the other hand, see the Sabbath fulfilled and transformed in Christ and celebrated on Sunday, the day of the Resurrection. While rest and worship remain essential, the emphasis is placed on encountering God who gives life. Acts of mercy, charity, and healing are not seen as violations but as expressions of what sacred time is meant to restore. 

This difference becomes a point of tension. Jesus enters the synagogue on the sabbath and encounters a man with a withered hand. Jesus healed him, to the scandal of Pharisees, who then plotted to put Jesus into death.

What, then, are our inspirations for today as we listen to this dramatic encounter?

First, silence in the face of suffering can be a form of wrongdoing.

Jesus notices that the man’s condition is obvious, he needs help, yet the religious leaders are watching closely, not to learn or to help, but as fault-finders. Their concern is not the man’s pain but the possible violation of Jesus on the day of the sabbath. The suffering person becomes secondary to rule enforcement. 

Refusing, then, to do good when one has the power to help is already a choice against life. This confronts us today. There are moments when doing nothing feels safe, correct, or compliant. Yet the gospel reminds us that indifference can wound just as deeply as direct harm. Faith calls not only for right belief but for courageous action in the face of human need.

Second, anger can reveal love when it rises from compassion.

Jesus looks around at them with anger and is grieved at their hardness of heart. This anger is not destructive rage but a response to closed minds and hearts. It flows from love for the man who is suffering and sorrow over those who can no longer see mercy.

Jesus then tells the man to stretch out his hand, and it is restored (Mark 3:5). Healing happens publicly, making clear that God’s power is always on the side of life. The sabbath becomes the very day when restoration is revealed.

Ironically, after this act of healing, the opponents begin to plot against Jesus (Mark 3:6). They wanted to kill Him! The one who restores life becomes a threat to systems that value control over compassion. This warns us how easily religion can lose its soul when rules matter more than people.

Today we are invited to examine our own hearts. Do we use principles to protect life, or do we hide behind them to avoid responsibility?

Children of God: The sabbath, whether then or now, is meant to restore what is broken and to remind us that God delights in life made whole.