There is something very striking in today’s Gospel. The Pharisees saw a Sabbath problem. Jesus saw a suffering person. They were asking, “Is this allowed?” Jesus was asking, “How can I help?”
I remember one time when I was already busy with many things I needed to finish. Then someone approached me simply because he needed someone to talk to. My first thought was, “I really don’t have time for this right now.” But I stayed and listened for a while. Later, I realized that what seemed like an interruption to my schedule was actually the most important thing I did that day.
And perhaps we have all experienced something similar. Sometimes the person who interrupts our plans may be the person God is asking us to love at that moment. That is the one lesson Jesus wants us to bring home today: When love has the opportunity to do good, love should not wait.
Sometimes we are very good at finding reasons not to help.
“I am busy.”
“Someone else can do it.”
“That person created his own problem.”
“I have already helped enough.”
“Dili man na akong responsibilidad.”
Sometimes we even use rules, procedures, or religion itself as an excuse. But Jesus reminds us that behind every problem is often a person. Behind every statistic is a family. Behind every mistake is a human being who may be struggling. Behind every cry for help is someone hoping that somebody will notice.
This is especially important today because we can become accustomed to suffering. We scroll through our phones and see poverty, disaster, violence, corruption, loneliness—and after a while, nothing moves us anymore.
The real danger is not simply the hardness we see around us, but the hardness that can slowly grow within us.
Jesus refused to allow that to happen. He saw the suffering man, reached out, healed him, and sent him on his way.
Perhaps today we do not have the power to perform miracles. But we can still heal in small ways.
We can visit someone who is lonely.
We can listen to someone carrying a heavy burden.
We can share with a family struggling to eat.
We can forgive someone we have avoided.
We can defend someone being treated unjustly.
And when we have the chance to do good, let us not keep saying, “Someday.” Because sometimes the holiest word is not someday. It is today.
My dear friends, when someone is suffering before us, may we not simply see an interruption, a problem, or an inconvenience. May we see a person. And may we remember: When love has the opportunity to heal, help, forgive, or serve, love does not wait.