Reading of the Word of God

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

This is the Gospel of the poor,
liberation for the imprisoned,
sight for the blind,
freedom for the oppressed.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Luke 14,1-6

Now it happened that on a Sabbath day he had gone to share a meal in the house of one of the leading Pharisees; and they watched him closely. Now there in front of him was a man with dropsy, and Jesus addressed the lawyers and Pharisees with the words, 'Is it against the law to cure someone on the Sabbath, or not?' But they remained silent, so he took the man and cured him and sent him away. Then he said to them, 'Which of you here, if his son falls into a well, or his ox, will not pull him out on a Sabbath day without any hesitation?' And to this they could find no answer.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

On a Saturday, Jesus is invited to a banquet at the home of one of the Pharisees. One could speak of a "magisterium of meals," a teaching that emanates from the set of meals that Jesus took with sinners, publicans, Pharisees, disciples, and the crowd. Jesus made the banquet shared by everyone the most expressive symbol of a new people that welcomes and lives the fullness of God's life. It was a provocative gesture, intentionally desired by Jesus. And in fact his meals - obviously as he transformed them - provoked an immediate reaction against him. This is what happened at the meal at the Pharisee's home. The evangelist notes from the beginning the hostility of those who were present. This is not the case for the man with dropsy who enters that house, goes directly to Jesus, and puts himself in front of him: he awaits healing. Dropsy, in ancient times, was particularly feared and in Judaism was considered a curse resulting from sins one had committed. As soon as Jesus sees this man in front of him, he asks the doctors of the Law and the Pharisees whether or not it is lawful to heal a sick person on a Saturday. The question is obviously rhetorical. And in any case he receives no answer from anyone: "But they were silent," notes the evangelist. Without delay, Jesus takes him by the hand and heals him from the disease. We could say that the poor cannot wait for disputes and debates. Love and compassion for the weak do not tolerate delays, as often unfortunately happens, and do not stop in the face of opposition. It is the third miracle, after those of the man with a withered hand and the curved woman, that Jesus performs on the Sabbath. For him, the Sabbath is truly a day of celebration, the day on which God's goodness and love for men and women, especially the weakest, are fully manifested.