“Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?” (Mark 3:4)

We have today another Sabbath controversy. Here we see Jesus on the offensive: “Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?”  We know the answer to Jesus question—of course it is lawful!  Serving, healing, saving, compassionate works, and mercy are always lawful and always the right thing to do!  The adversaries did not answer the question. They knew the answer but they had ill-will and hardness of heart.  The man with the withered hand represents all of us. What the Pharisees miss is that the great day of healing is the Sabbath/Lord's Day/Sunday and the Healer is still the same: Jesus Christ healing His ailing sisters and brothers through His word and through the Eucharist.  How about in these days?  Is it good to increase the minimum wage or is unlawful to so?  Is it good to give some relief to illegal immigrants or it unlawful to do so?  Is it good to end the death penalty or does Jesus call us to end another’s life?  Is it good to grant equality to all races, genders, sexual orientations, nationalities, or should it be unlawful to do so?  Is it good to love and protect your neighbor by wearing a mask and getting a vaccine or are we not our brother’s keeper?  All of these examples save life rather than destroy it, my sisters and brothers in Christ, do we see these in the same light as Jesus does?  Amen!