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Divine healing

Today in the Gospel we have Jesus healing a man with a withered hand. Jesus healed on the Sabbath. God heals wounds. In the Book of Exodus God says that “I am the Lord, your healer” — in Hebrew Yehovah Rapha. The name Raphael, the name of the Angel, means God heals. In the psalms we read that God binds up the broken hearted (Psalm 147:3).

In the New Testament, Jesus heals all kinds of diseases and sicknesses. In other words, God reverses the effects of sin. We know that death and sickness came into the world as a result of sin. Jesus shows by his healing that He reverses the effects of sin.

At the same time today we also have the Pharisees and scribes who are unable to see what God is doing and instead focus on whether Jesus is breaking the Sabbath by healing on the Sabbath. Due to spiritual blindness they are unable to see the good. We too will encounter people who are unable to see the good and instead focus on the negative always. However Jesus engages in patient dialogue with them, trying to show them what is right.

We should not be afraid when we encounter obstacles of such kinds from people who may be unable to see the good. Like Jesus we too who are baptized and sent are called to continue to do good, undeterred by the obstacles we may encounter. The Spirit of God is with us to give us strength to fulfil our own mission.

Whenever we grow tired, let us call to mind the faith, hope and love of the Blessed Virgin, who imitated Jesus until the end by doing good.

These reflections were shared during the homily for Monday of the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time, celebrated on 7 September 2026.

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