Luke 14:1-6 NRSVue
1On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the Sabbath, they were watching him closely. 2Just then, in front of him, there was a man who had edema. 3And Jesus asked the experts in the law and Pharisees, “Is it lawful to cure people on the Sabbath or not?” 4But they were silent. So Jesus took him and healed him and sent him away. 5Then he said to them, “If one of you has a child or an ox that has fallen into a well, will you not immediately pull it out on a Sabbath day?” 6And they could not reply to this.
“Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.”
Reflection on Luke 14:1-6
Inspiration from 2025-10-31 Daily Prayer
When Jesus put these direct questions to his accusers they were silent and would not answer because, in their hearts, they could glimpse their own hypocrisy and their lack of compassion for the sick. In our own lives, we can be tempted to brush under the carpet our unChristian attitudes to the poor, the deprived, the sick, migrants, etc. Jesus cures this sick man regardless of how it might antagonise the Pharisees further against him. We pray for the courage to be true to ourselves and to do the right thing regardless of other people’s opinions.
Further reflection
Can I visualise the setting where Jesus meets the man suffering from dropsy and cures him with a hostile audience of lawyers and Pharisees looking on?
What feelings and motivations are going on in the various characters? Why do the Pharisees react as they do? What does the man with dropsy make of it?
Meals often feature in Jesus' parables and in the key moments of his public life - Cana, Martha and Mary, the meeting with Magdalene, the last supper. He remains present to us in the sacred meal of the Eucharist. It is at meals, sitting, relaxed, with time to listen, that we are most alive to one another.
Yet meals are disappearing. Many families find that fast food, freezers and micro-waves, the presence of TV, the pull of other commitments, have almost put an end to family meals. In the USA 40% of meals are eaten in cars!
Have I a place for meals in my life?