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But the leader of the synagogue, indignant that Jesus had cured on
the sabbath, said to the crowd in reply, “There are six days when
work should be done. Come on those days to be cured, not on the
sabbath day.” The Lord said to him in reply, “Hypocrites! Does not
each one of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his ass from the
manger and lead it out for watering?” Luke 13:14–15
Why would the leader of the synagogue be “indignant” that Jesus
cured a woman on the sabbath? She was crippled for eighteen years!
Imagine, especially, her family. They would have seen her many
years of suffering and shared them with her through years of
compassion. If they were present when Jesus healed her on the
sabbath, would they have immediately thought, “How dare Jesus do
this healing of our mother, wife or sister on the sabbath?” Of
course not! They would have rejoiced and been filled with awe,
gratitude, and even tears. This normal reaction that her family
would have had upon witnessing this miracle is the right response.
And, of course, the reaction of the leader of the synagogue was
deeply disordered.
Why would this leader of the synagogue do such a thing? Though he
and many other scribes, Sadducess, Pharisees and scholars of the
law struggled with envy and hypocrisy, others may sometimes react
similarly to this leader of the synagogue for other reasons. One
such reason is scrupulosity.
Scrupulosity is the tendency to see God and His holy will through
the lens of legalism. “Legalism” is not just being faithful to the
Law of God, because that is a good thing. Legalism is a
misinterpretation of God’s Law by which one tends to put more
emphasis upon themselves than upon God. A scrupulous person is
preoccupied with themself. They tend to be far more concerned with
sin than with God Himself. And though it’s vital to be concerned
with sin, when fear of sinning becomes a form of obsession, then
that obsession has the effect of clouding the pure will of God and
leaves a person heavily burdened and unable to joyfully live out
the authentic will of God.
Saint Thérèse of Lisieux was one saint who openly shared her
struggles with scrupulosity in her autobiography. Of this struggle,
which she referred to as “oversensitivity,” she said, “One would
have to pass through this martyrdom to understand it well, and for
me to express what I experienced for a year and a half would be
impossible.” However, she eventually experienced what she called a
“complete conversion” by which the heavy burden of oversensitivity
was lifted. Though this oversensitivity oppressed her in
various ways, one way it affected her was that she feared that even
some of her random thoughts were mortal sins and that she would be
condemned for them.
Though the leader of the synagogue was most likely not struggling
with “oversensitivity” in the same way as Saint Thérèse, he was
acting with an extreme scrupulosity which led him to be harshly
judgmental and condemning of our Lord for His good deed done to
this crippled woman.
Reflect, today, upon any tendency you may have with these heavy
burdens. Do you worry in an irrational way about sin? Do you ever
find yourself obsessing over decisions, worrying that you may make
the wrong one? Do you think about yourself far more than you think
about God and others? If so, you may also be carrying a similar
heavy burden that our Lord wants to lift. Serving God and His holy
will must become the deepest joy of our lives, not a heavy burden.
If you find your Christian walk more of a burden, then turn your
eyes away from yourself and look to the merciful God. Run to Him
with the utmost confidence of a child, as Saint Thérèse eventually
did, and allow yourself to love Him more authentically, freed of
scrupulous and self-imposed burdens.
My merciful Lord, You desire to free me from all that burdens
me. You desire that I turn to You with the confidence of a child.
Please do free me, dear Lord, from any way that I impose burdens
upon myself by my obsessions and irrational worries. May I always
understand Your infinite love for me and always walk freely and
joyfully in Your ways. Jesus, I trust in You.
Image: Museo Nacional de Arte, Public domain, via Wikimedia
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