Hebrews 7:1-3, 15-17 / Mark 3:1-6
As disciples of Jesus, we are called to be in the world but not of the world. We are to bear witness to the love and truth of Jesus and not to assimilate the sinful and immoral practices of the world.
So the wheeling and dealing, and the scheming and stabbing practices of the world have no place in our lives and our work.
It also has no place in the sacred place of worship and prayer.
But as we heard in the gospel, when Jesus went into the synagogue on the Sabbath, there were some people who were watching Him to see if He would cure the man with the withered hand on the Sabbath and hence find something to use against Him.
Eventually they went out to plot against Him and discussed how to destroy Him.
What makes it all so shocking and disgusting is that all this was happening in the sacred place of prayer, right there in the synagogue, and from there the evil grew and multiplied.
As we come into the House of God to offer worship and praise and thanksgiving, let us cleanse ourselves of sin and all evil thoughts and that was what we did at the beginning of the Mass.
Let us also let the Word of God purify us with His love and truth as we come into union with His in Holy Communion.
And as we go off, let us keep Jesus in our hearts and bring the Good News of God's love to the world to heal the world of sin and evil.
Yes, we are called to be in the world, but let us always remember that we belong to Jesus.
In this wheeling and dealing, scheming and stabbing world, it is our mission to bring God's love and truth to counter it.