Friday in the Thirtieth Week of Ordinary Time

What is dropsy, anyway?  I read that it’s a build-up of fluid in the body’s tissue, most commonly in the legs and arms.  Today it’s more properly called edema, which isn’t too serious unless it surrounds the heart.  Here’s what’s remarkable about Jesus healing the man with dropsy. Even though it happens at a Sabbath meal, and the illness is a minor one, Jesus cures the man anyway, knowing that the Pharisees were watching to catch him.  The man didn’t ask to be healed, but Jesus defends his action by comparing it with saving a child who has fallen into a well on the Sabbath. 

Aren’t we all God’s children, who loves us dearly, and will do anything to save us?  Note that this healing takes place at a Sabbath meal, the most solemn meal of the Jewish week.  It’s a foreshadowing of our most solemn meal, the Eucharist, in which Jesus gives us total forgiveness for our less serious sins. Because the Eucharist is not only a sacred meal.  It’s also a spiritual bath washing away these sins by the water that flows from Christ’s side on the Cross. It’s so nice to come away completely cleansed by Jesus from all the dirt and grime of our daily sins every time we celebrate this healing sacrifice.