The seemingly devoted

Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And behold, there was a woman who had had a disabling spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not fully straighten herself. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your disability.” And he laid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and she glorified God. But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, “There are six days in which work ought to be done. Come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.” Then the Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger and lead it away to water it? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?” As he said these things, all his adversaries were put to shame, and all the people rejoiced at all the glorious things that were done by him. (Luke 13: 10-17)

The seemingly devout are scandalized because Jesus cares for the material and spiritual needs of the weakest even on the Sabbath. They accuse Jesus of going against a human precept. They are those who, on the Sabbath, care for their own livestock but not for a human person in need. This is why Jesus calls them hypocrites because their souls are focused more on devotional acts rather than on giving their hearts entirely to God and neighbour. Today, let's try to be attentive to the needs of those around us, especially family members, and help them with some real need.