Luke 6:6-11
6 On another Sabbath, he entered the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was withered. 7 And the scribes and the Pharisees watched him, to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath, so that they might find a reason to accuse him.8 But he knew their thoughts, and he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come and stand here.” And he rose and stood there. 9 And Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?” 10 And after looking around at them all he said to him, “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored. 11 But they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.

Religion is often viewed with disdain these days. People can be open to spiritual matters, like belief in God or prayer, but mention the word religion and many immediately bristle. Often this is because people have had bad experiences with religious groups. Religion can be good and pure as James 1:27 says, but religion can often run off the rails. When this happens, it can harm others or cause them to dismiss religion altogether.

This account from Luke highlights two common problems with religion-gone-wrong. First, religious groups can idolize their own power. In verse seven it says that the scribes and Pharisees were waiting to accuse Jesus. If He healed on the sabbath, it would break their traditional law which prohibited work on the sabbath. The religious leaders saw Jesus’ growing body of followers as a threat to their power, and they saw this healing as an opportunity to trap Him and squelch His following. Second, religious groups often overemphasize religious ceremonies, practices, and traditions and forget what those ceremonies were meant to reinforce. This frequently tends toward legalism, which allows those who keep the traditions to be highly esteemed while those who don’t are criticized and rejected.

Religion-gone-wrong is toxic. It caused these leaders to be calloused and reject Jesus as the Son of God. Further, it caused these religious leaders to overlook the needs of the man with a withered hand. How did they view this miracle? They were not prepared to celebrate with Him, to rejoice that his hand was restored. Rather, they saw this as an opportunity to trap Jesus.

I once had a friend who had been hurt by a church. The church leaders were more concerned with their power and position than with helping others. As a result, she was hardened to Christianity. I shared a story like this one, but from the Gospel of John. When she learned how Jesus was critical of the religious leaders of His day while also caring for the poor and the sick, she exclaimed  “I like this Jesus!” To those wounded by religion-gone-wrong, seeing Jesus in action goes a long way to draw people back to Jesus and ignite their curiosity about Him.

And yet, this account also is a solemn warning that we don’t fall prey to the same tendencies as the religious leaders. During Lent, may God help us to love Him more than our own traditions. May He help us not get wrapped up in certain ideas of religiosity that miss the mark. And, may God help us to practice religion that glorifies Jesus and is quick to show mercy to those in need.