Gospel Reflection – January 21, 2026

January 21, 2026

“Stand up and come into the middle.” He places the man who is suffering right in the center of the liturgical celebration. What is more important: performing the ritual or relieving this man’s suffering? God rejoices when those who suffer—the forgotten ones, those who “don’t count”—are very present in the middle of our celebration.

Jesus wants that person with the withered hand to be able to live with full dignity, to feel healed and happy. He places people who have been vulnerable at the center of His heart and challenges us to do the same: to not leave anyone stranded in the ditches of loneliness, marginalization, isolation, or silence.

The Pharisees were incapable of rejoicing over the healed man’s well-being; it bothered them that Jesus was a “giver of life.” Here, they begin plotting how to eliminate the One who was becoming increasingly uncomfortable due to the gestures and words that accompanied His lifestyle.

Salvador León