Mtr Mary Trainor

Pass me not, O Gentle Savior…*

Dear friend,

The man with the withered hand caught Jesus’ eye. My guess is that he caught many peoples’ eye, but not in the same way.

If first century children were anything like children now, there’s little doubt he was subjected to pointing and snickering. Maybe the adults even shrunk from him, as though a withered hand were the mark of some shameful act.

Hear my humble cry…

In today’s Office Gospel from Mark (2:23-3:6) Jesus is once again in trouble with the Pharisees. They complain he’s allowed his disciples to pluck grain on the sabbath in violation of the commandment to keep the sabbath holy. He responds that the sabbath is made for humankind, not the other way around.

Then, within a synagogue, conflict continues. Jesus asks his challengers, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the sabbath, to save life or to kill?” His critics are silent, and Jesus is grieved by how hard their hearts are.

Jesus then restored a man’s withered hand, thus precipitating opponents to conspire against him.

While on others thou art calling…

My mother had three siblings, the youngest of whom was born with mild developmental delay. She was capable of so much more than her era allowed children like her to experience. But she did start elementary school, where she learned to read basic words and do basic math.

When the teasing got to be too much, her parents took her out of school. Many years later, I myself then an elementary student, asked what was her favorite hymn. Without hesitation she said, “Pass me not, O Gentle Savior.”

Do not pass me by.

I imagine the man with the withered hand felt “passed by” on many occasions. Avoided by many, mocked by others, left out of events that most enjoyed because maybe, the others thought, the withered hand was a sign of wrongdoing on his part. It would be no surprise to him  if the Lord passed him by, too.

Except Jesus did not.

Mtr Mary

*"Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior" is a 19th-century American hymn written by Fanny Crosby in 1868, set to music by William H. Diane in 1870