Every time I read this particular Gospel, I find myself laughing because what we’re seeing is the Scribes and the Pharisees basically throwing a tantrum about something Jesus has done. Are they not going to learn?! Whenever Jesus does something good, these men revert back to being children who aren’t getting their way. They don’t get it! They don’t get who Jesus is. They’re missing the point and they will continue missing the point.

So often, the Scribes and the Pharisees put Jesus in this little box and, by doing that, because they do not recognize who Jesus is, that He is the Son of God, that He is God Himself. As a result, they end up putting God in a box. They think that God can only work in specific situations, in specific ways, and they miss the bigger picture.

For instance, in this Gospel, they are saying that Jesus did something on the Sabbath, that He broke the rules of the Sabbath. Let’s be clear. Jesus didn’t do anything! He spoke! That’s all He did; He didn’t touch the man; He didn’t do something physical – all He did was speak a word. He told the man with the withered hand to simply open his hand.

But this goes to a deeper issue with the Scribes and the Pharisees. They think that they have to follow every rule and regulation to a tee in order to get God to work in the world. So often, we do the same thing; we put God in a box. We think God is only going to act in our lives, only going to answer our prayers if we go to Mass every day, if we participate in the Sacrament of Reconciliation with regularity, if we pray that rosary or that novena. (Side note: don’t hear me incorrectly when I say that.)

We recognize that all of these things are good and, in some cases, we’re obligated to do them – we have to go to Mass, especially on Sundays, and we should be going to confession regularly. But if those are the only thing we are doing and if we believe that God is only going to work in our lives if we do those things, then we are putting God in a box. We are putting limitations on what He can do in our lives. And then, when He doesn’t act in a way that we think He should, we, like the Scribes and the Pharisees, throw a tantrum.

We have to stop putting God in a box; we are all guilty of that in some way. So today, let’s ask the Lord to reveal to us the ways we continue to put Him in a box. Let’s ask Him to allow us to be open to how He wants to surprise us, instead.

Image Source: Cardboard box by Christopher Bill. August 31, 2021. Used under the Unsplash license. Accessed September 9, 2024.