Overview:

The Memorial of St. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr

A Reflection for the Memorial of St. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr

“Stretch out your hand.”
He stretched it out and his hand was restored.

Find today’s readings here.

Facebook wants me to stretch. Or rather, its algorithm knows that it is important for an “elder millennial” woman like myself to do so, and it regularly sends me content to encourage this and other healthy habits. I am reminded I need to stand up and move around every so often to help counteract a day spent at a keyboard. I’ve read about the 7-minute workouts that will improve my balance. Although I am sometimes annoyed at their ubiquity, I admit the messaging makes sense: Stretching promotes flexibility, strength and growth, things that are helpful for physical health—but also, today’s Gospel reminds us, for the spiritual life.

To be clear, the healing of the man’s arm in today’s Gospel is a miraculous one, not an exercise-based one. But that image of a man being asked to stretch out his arm brings to mind more than a physical cure. The image asks us: What does it mean to reach toward Christ when we are in need of healing? How does Jesus call us to move beyond what we think is possible? How does responding to Jesus’ call to reach out help us to heal others, too?

The man responds to Jesus’ request within the context of a tense situation. Still, the man responds in faith. Institutional religion is often associated closely with rules, but Jesus’ willingness to heal a man on the Sabbath tells us that these rules are meant to serve people, not restrict them. The guardrails of faith may challenge us in ways that force us to stretch beyond what we are comfortable with. There can be pain in that process, but the result is that we become better equipped to live out the Gospel message in the world. 

Jesus’ call to the man to stretch out his hand reminds us that Jesus’ ministry often means we must reorient our lives. We must ask ourselves: What are we reaching for? To whose call do we respond? In reaching toward God, even when it seems difficult or uncomfortable, our lives testify to how Christ seeks to heal us, free us and stretch us in new ways. 

Kerry Weber joined the staff of America in October 2009. Her writing and multimedia work have since earned several awards from the Catholic Press Association, and in 2013 she reported from Rwanda as a recipient of Catholic Relief Services' Egan Journalism Fellowship. Kerry is the author of Mercy in the City: How to Feed the Hungry, Give Drink to the Thirsty, Visit the Imprisoned, and Keep Your Day Job (Loyola Press) and Keeping the Faith: Prayers for College Students (Twenty-Third Publications). A graduate of Providence College and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, she has previously worked as an editor for Catholic Digest, a local reporter, a diocesan television producer, and as a special-education teacher on the Navajo reservation in Arizona.