Wednesday 21 January 2026
St Agnes
1 Samuel 17:32-33, 37, 40-51. Blessed be the Lord, my Rock! – Ps 143(144):1-2, 9-10. Mark 3:1-6.
Complexities of life
Jesus specialised in difficult questions. They had a paralysing effect on people with more rigid minds who were trying to catch him out on a legalism.
I once overheard two men talking as they came out of Sunday Mass: ‘I hate it when they thank you for coming to Mass, when they know we will go to hell if we don’t.’ For people at Stage 3 of Kohlberg’s stages of moral development, keeping rules is the way to feel safe. Vatican II tried to open minds and hearts to the complexities of human life and moral questions. Pope Francis used synodality to help us listen to and learn from each other and be open to the workings of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus kept showing people that love was preeminent. Healing a man’s withered hand was a response to human need that came before keeping the law. There are so many ways we can respond as Jesus did.
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