My wife and I once set up a kids' club for over 40 inner-city children each Monday night. They ran about screaming and shouting, thankful for a large hall to play in, especially during wet and cold winter nights. Beneath the hall, a small group of a dozen men, who had met in the basement for years, started to complain about the noise and wanted the kids to play elsewhere. We tried to explain about the church being a safe sanctuary for the children, but they didn't like the disturbance. Eventually, due to pressure from the elders, the club was ended. Instead of welcoming the kids, the congregational leaders stubbornly stuck to their traditional programs. A couple of years later, the church closed because it had no future generation of children in its midst.

Mark 3:1-2,5 – Another time [Jesus] went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. … He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. (NIV)

This was a similar situation in which Jesus was ticked off. In a sacred place where the community worshipped God, compassion was meant to be available to everyone, and the religious folks' lack of compassion made Jesus angry. The regular attenders closed their hearts and minds to what was needed because they only wanted their religious rules to be strictly heeded.

Nevertheless, Jesus broke the Pharisees' rules and customs of what was right, rather than pander to what was so obviously wrong to Him. Later, in the temple, Jesus became angry at dishonest moneychangers, but here, we have Jesus becoming angry because good people — good religious people — were doing nothing to help, and they justified their lack of action by hiding behind their sacred rules.

I often wonder what Jesus thinks about some of us in the church today. How many issues and problems could be solved in our communities, as well as all over this planet, if church people — Christ's followers — were to help those in need instead of hindering the outcast, the alien, the different, the poor, the hungry, the war-trapped, and the unloved? Sometimes, church people — even me — get angry when faced with other people's problems because it offends the moral or religious codes that we keep inside of ourselves. But instead of our getting angry, we should ask ourselves this honest question: Is Christ angry with us because we say or do nothing?

Point to ponder: Who needs my help today? What would Jesus do?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, following You leads us into difficult situations and causes us a great deal of discomfort. Challenge our indifferent ways and change us so that we may help those in need whom we encounter. In Your holy name, we humbly pray. Amen.