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Hardened Hearts


#DAYLIGHT – Daily #MenOfLight #GospelReflection
January 22, 2020
Wednesday, of the Second Week in Ordinary Time
Feast of St. Vincent, Deacon and Martyr
Gospel: Mk 3: 1 - 6
Sharer: Bro. Mike Lapid

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The Gospel

Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered hand. 2 They watched him to see whether he would cure him on the sabbath, so that they might accuse him. 3 And he said to the man who had the withered hand, “Come forward.” 4 Then he said to them, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the sabbath, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. 5 He looked around at them with anger; he was grieved at their hardness of heart and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. 6 The Pharisees went out and immediately conspired with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.

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Reflection

HARDENED HEARTS

In today’s reading, we see Jesus again in the synagogue on the day of the Sabbath.  This is not the first time he enters the synagogue. Already in Chapter 1, Mark reports that Jesus entered the synagogue and thereafter cured the sick and expelled demons. Religious authorities, however, would have been alarmed at the first instance they hear of Jesus’ work of healing the sick and expelling demons on the day of the Sabbath. The law of Moses strictly forbade anyone to do any kind of work on the Sabbath.
By the time Mark begins Chapter 3, we already sense the tension building up between Jesus and the religious authorities who watched him very closely. But what makes today’s reading quite explosive is the fact that Jesus cures a man with a withered hand, inside the synagogue, on a Sabbath, in full view of everyone, including the religious authorities. Jesus, as if in clear defiance and in complete disregard of the authorities, asked: “ Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath rather than do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?” For the religious leaders who witnessed everything, this was simply too much. Jesus violated the law and even gave a new interpretation of the law other than their own interpretation. This, for them, was simply unacceptable. From hereon, Mark seems to tell us that Jesus was a marked man. The religious authorities who remained silent all throughout this episode went out and conspired with the Herodians to put Jesus to death.
Amidst all these, Mark tells us what Jesus felt. He tells us that Jesus “grieved at their hardness of heart.” Hardness of heart is created by a stubborn mindset that refuses to accept anything outside of itself. A stubborn mindset has a fixed configuration that revolves around oneself, one’s self interest and agenda. Hardness of heart takes shape when one refuses to be transformed by goodness, kindness, love and compassion; and surprisingly, even by God himself. Nothing can ever change and transform hardness of heart; surprisingly not even by God’s miracles, as we see in today’s reading. The problem with people who have hardness of heart is that they are not even aware of it because they have been so used to living this way. They even think that what they do is good and even sacred, just like the religious authorities in our reading. The Pharisees who were plotting to kill Jesus were perhaps convinced that killing him was ultimately God’s will. This is perhaps why Jesus grieved over hardened hearts. A hardened heart literally plots the death of God, the death of everything that is good and perfect, the death of love, the death of hope. 
Today’s reading asks us to look deeply into our hearts and ask ourselves if a hardened heart is taking shape inside of us. This reading is asking us that if today we hear God’s voice, will we listen to him or will we harden up our hearts? The task of discerning our hearts can be a tricky one as the evil one can sometimes deceive us into believing that all is well and that we are doing just fine. Let us therefore, pray for the grace of being open to the Lord’s Spirit so he can shape our hearts and render them permeable to his promptings.

#hardenedhearts  #hearhisvoice

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Prayer

Jesus, you grieve over hardened hearts. You seem to be helpless when it comes to hearts that are closed and covered with a thick layer of one’s ego and selfishness. Pierce my heart Jesus when it refuses to open up to your love and grace. Render my heart permeable so it can be shaped by the promptings of your Spirit. Amen.

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Assignment

1.     In the bible, we see that God has always struggled with hardened hearts. Read Psalm 95 and listen to what God says about hardened hearts.
2.     To allow God to shape your heart, take a few minutes before going to bed to examine your conscience and recall the good things you might have missed doing during the day. 

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Quote

If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts. – Psalm 95




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