Stretch out your hand
(Mk 3:1-5)

Living with disability means a lot of pains. Physical handicap makes us feel painful, while soul-handicap causes more painful. The most painful situation is not to live with handicapped body and mind, but to live in unaware of spiritual handicap. Today's scripture reading focuses on Jesus healing a man with a shriveled man.

1. A man with a shriveled hand
When Jesus came to the synagogue, there was a man with a shriveled hand. That hand lost its ability to move and function properly because the muscles and nerves were paralyzed. However, there are people who are spiritually shriveled in the church. They are full of hatred caused by hurts from human relationships. They lost happiness and joy and are away from worshipping God, stopping serving and leaving churches. We should look back on our hands whether our hands are shriveled or not because our hands should be lifted to give glory to God, praying and worshipping God, helping others and stretching to forgive and reconcile with those who made us troubled.

2. A man with a negative view
In the synagogue were there people who had been spiritually shriveled. They were religious leaders such as Pharisees. As Jesus became more popular day by day, they felt threatened thinking what if they would have lost their power. Thus, they were eager to find some reasons to accuse Jesus. They had a negative view to find some faults from the others not looking at their faults or errors in their life. These days there are people like Pharisees with a negative view and try to accuse and criticize other people after finding some faults. We should always be in the grace of God to see our surroundings positively.

3. Jesus' hands to heal us
Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, "Stand up in front of everyone". He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. His hand like a dead tree was able to move because the muscles and nerves were completely cured. The hands of Jesus wet by his precious blood shed on the cross are hands of healing. Jesus hands still cure us. Therefore, we should stretch out our hands which are paralyzed by depression, wounds, diseases, poverty and stretch out our hands of repentance as well as forgiveness. When we hold Jesus' hands soaked with blood, we will experience miracle.