a man whose right hand was withered

September 9, 2019 6:00 am

“On a certain sabbath Jesus went into the synagogue and taught, and there was a man there whose right hand was withered.” (LK 6: 6)

One of the Fathers of the Church (St. Bede) interpreted this “withered right hand” as a symbol of fallen mankind; “his hand is withered in sin because it stretched forth to eat the forbidden fruit in paradise. Jesus came to restore us to spiritual health.” Our marriages can also have some “withered hands”-communication, intimacy, respect or gentleness. These areas were not protected enough, were overused for wrong goals and finally we were “withered.” But Our Lord can restore us and our relationships. We need to bring Him to our wounds.

“My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord; I know them, and they follow me.” (Gospel Acclamation) 

Categorised in: Fr Jarosław Szymczak