Page:Meditations For Every Day In The Year.djvu/444

 have produced  the  miraculous  effect  without  making  the man stretch  out  his  hand,  but  He  wished  to  teach  us, that every  spiritual  effect  is  generally  produced  with  the concurrence of  His  creatures. "Turn to  Me,  saith  the Lord  of  hosts,  and  I  will  turn  to  you." (Zach. i.  3.)  Extend, therefore,  your  right  hand  to  good  works,  to  the assistance of  your  brethren,  and  to  your  God  in  prayer, and you  will  without  doubt  obtain  perfect  spiritual  health. " Whatever  thy  hand  is  able  to  do,"  says  the  Wise  Man, "do it  earnestly." (Eccles. ix.  10.)

III. The Scribes  and  Pharisees,  always  ready  to  find fault with  Christ,  instead  of  taking  advantage  of  His miracles for  their  own  salvation,  make  use  of  every  one of His  actions  as  a  motive  to  destroy  Him. "But He that  dwelleth  in  the  heavens,  shall  laugh  at  them." (Ps. ii. 4.)  Christ,  however,  although  He  might  have  annihilated them  in  a  moment,  chose  to  bear  with  their  insolent audacity,  in  order  to  teach  His  followers  to  be  like Himself, "meek  and  humble  of  heart." (Matt. xi.  12.)

I. Christ  being  again  in  the  synagogue  according  to His  custom,  "behold,  there  was  a  woman,  who  had  a spirit  of  infirmity  eighteen  years,  and  she  was  bent  down, and  could  not  look  upward  at  all." (Luke xiii.  11.) This infirmity  was  caused  in  her  by  the  devil,  as  Christ Himself tells  us,  either  in  punishment  of  her  sins,  as  was the case  with  Giezi  the  leper,  or  by  God's  permission  to try  her  virtue,  as  was  the  case  with  holy  Job. In a  mystical sense,  our  infernal  enemy  induces  all  those  to  labor