God shows His compassion and love in various ways

Col. 1:24-2:3, Lk. 6:6-11. In today's first reading, Paul shares with the faithful of Colossae how hard he had worked in advancing the message of hope to those who in ages past were never allowed to hear the Good News. Through the ministry, work, death and resurrection of Jesus, the Gentiles now have the opportunity to share in the mystery of God and the divine life. Paul rejoices that he is able to labour in the fields of Jesus, even in the suffering which it entails. Jesus remains a hopeful presence in our sufferings and pains. He is often portrayed as giving hope to those who are desperately in need of healing. In today's Gospel, His arrival in the Synagogue gave hope to the man with the withered hand, in spite of the hostile comments of others.

Through His action, Jesus teaches us that the love of God is not stopped on the Sabbath. The true purpose and intention of the Law of the Sabbath was to remind the people of God to spend more time in their relationship with God. Hence, the Lord instituted the Sabbath and its laws to help the faithful to redirect their attention and their focus on the Lord, away from the usual busy schedules and activities of their worldly lives. Yet, this does not mean that the Lord wanted to exclude all of them from doing what they should and could be doing on that day, in doing good things and in showing their faith in the Lord. On the contrary, if one were to purposely ignore the plight of others and the needy during the day of the Sabbath, then they would have committed the sin of omission, in failing to do what they could do, when they were in the right place and opportunity to do so, to show God’s love and compassion to our fellow men. Jesus lives invisibly among us and His presence is the foretaste of eternal life. Right here and now He inspires us to expect a fuller life with Him in eternity. This hope says Paul, will not be disappointed. As believers in Him, we are called to always be people of hope.

May the Lord be with us as we take up our daily tasks and help us to experience the peace and relaxation that God intends for us after work! Amen!! Good morning, have a productive week!!!