Gospel
Mk 1:29-39
On leaving the synagogue Jesus entered
the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John.Simon’s mother-in-law
lay sick with a fever. They immediately told him about her. He
approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up. Then the fever left
her and she waited on them.
When it was evening, after sunset,
they brought to him all who were ill or possessed by demons.The whole
town was gathered at the door. He cured many who were sick with various
diseases, and he drove out many demons, not permitting them to speak
because they knew him.
Rising very early before dawn, he
left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed. Simon and
those who were with him pursued him and on finding him said
“Everyone is looking for you.” He told them, “Let us go on to the
nearby villages that I may preach there also. For this purpose have I
come.” So he went into their synagogues, preaching and driving out
demons throughout the whole of Galilee.
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Job,
in the first
reading, speaks
accurately about the human
condition – in fact – about what many of
us experience: What do we experience in our daily lives? We experience:
illness, pain, suffering, weakness – in spite of modern advances – all
these
are part of our every day existence – and sometimes they are beyond our
control. We try this, that and the other and we don’t see any
improvement. In the
end, we seek Divine intervention through the prayer of
intercession.
Our
need for healing, our desire to overcome the evils of
life puts us at the feet of Jesus – so as to find Divine intervention,
as the
Gospel today relates: “the whole
town was gathered at the door. They brought to
[Jesus] all who were ill or possessed by demons." What did
Jesus do? He
“cured them.”
The
healing that Jesus did exhausted him spiritually. Later
on, in the Gospel, Mark gives an insight into the spiritual price Jesus
paid to
heal people. A woman who had been sick for 12 years pushed through a
crowd to
touch Jesus “If I can only touch him, I will be well." When she
did, she
was instantly healed. Mark says “At once, Jesus knew that power had
gone out of
him." Healing people drained Jesus of power.
In
a similar way, working with
people drains us of power. Think of your work place.
To
regain that power, that strength, we need to therefore do
what Jesus did. And what did he do? “Rising
very early before dawn, he left and
went off to a deserted place, to pray."
+
Jesus went off by himself to pray: especially before
making crucial decisions.
And He went to some “deserted place."
Before selecting the 12,
“He spent the whole night in prayer." (Lk
After feeding the crowd--the people wanted
to make him a king.
“He withdrew again to the mountain alone.” ( Jn
In the
Up on Mt. Tabor (Transfiguration)--He was
in prayer.
Today,
in the readings—after a hard days work, "they found him sooner than
he expected. On finding him they said: 'Everyone is looking for you.'"
Solitude: was needed by Jesus
So he could hear the Father/have the
mind/perspective of
God.
So he could be recharged/fueled to face
the world.
Solitude is needed by you and me as well.
We are living
in an
anti-silence era. The TV is always on, or the radio: I am not saying
you should switch off
your TV and your radios. Someone once said “I work well Fr. when I have
the radio or TV
on as a background." It is because we are anti-silence – we've become
empty--hollow. As you
all know, an empty vessel makes more noise.
There
is a principle which says
“You cannot give what you do
not have." If we entertain silence, we have that time for prayer--a
deep relationship
with God/Jesus, then we will give that to other people. If we entertain
that
anti-silence, it is that which we will give and nothing more. When are
we going to
hear the voice of God? We need to make a resolution today about this.
We need to ask ourselves: