Jesus Healed Many Who Were Sick
Introduction: May you
know the touching hand of GOD in your life, and may you be an instrument in the
Lord Jesus’ hand as He reaches out to others through you.
Life can be quite
challenging. We all have those days when we find it hard to get out of bed and face
another day. Financial concerns, health issues, relational problems, and various
other changes that we have to face make it difficult to get moving. How do you handle
it when you are burdened? What has helped you get through those trying times in
the past? Often it is someone who reaches out to you with a comforting, compassionate
hand and reminds you that GOD loves you and that GOD is ultimately in control. Spending
time with the Lord Jesus in prayer, even if we don’t feel any immediate relief,
can also strengthen us to deal with our problems.
The readings speak
both of the needy people’s cry for help and GOD answering them through the compassionate
ministry of other people. The passage of Job accurately describes the depression
Job was feeling. He was almost at the point of giving up. The psalm is an encouraging
word to those who are suffering and downtrodden. It is a hymn of praise to GOD Who
answers the prayer of those who call upon the LORD. In Saint Paul’s letter to the
Corinthians, he speaks about his mission to preach the Good News. In the Gospel,
Jesus is pictured as He cares for the sick, the injured, and those needing help.
We also have a glimpse of His source of strength in doing His ministry – His quiet
time of being in a relationship with His Abba Father.
First Reading: Job 7:1-4,6-7
My life is but a breath
Commentary: The
lovely and tragic Book of Job puts at its most acute the problem of sickness
and suffering: why should I suffer? Job has lost everything, wealth, family,
health. He sits on a rubbish heap, scratching his sores with a broken pot. In
this passage, he gives a painful picture of the sick person’s frustration, the
slow and pointless passage of time, the crazy, distorted imaginings. He feels
that God is oppressing him, but yet clings to God as his one hope of release.
Undeserved sickness and death is worrying for anyone who believes in a loving
God. On the natural plane sickness is a reminder that things are out of order
and could get worse. To the believer, it is a reminder that this brilliant,
complicated, sophisticated creation cannot continue developing forever, but
must return to God in God’s own good time. As Jeremiah explains, the pot cannot
complain to the potter, ‘Why did you make me like this?’ But couldn’t a loving
God have made something so that it never went wrong? Or is it the consequence
of our revolts against God that confidence in God has given way to fear and
mistrust?
Responsorial Psalm 147:1-6
Praise the Lord who heals the broken-hearted.
The psalm is an
encouraging word to those who are suffering and downtrodden. It is a hymn of praise
to GOD Who answers the prayer of those who call upon the LORD.
The psalm is a response
to Job’s depression and his sense of hopelessness. It is one of the Hallel (“Praise”)
psalms that urges praise of the LORD (Hallel Ya – or “Alleluia” means “Praise the
LORD”). One of the reasons to sing GOD’s praise is that GOD not only listens to
the cry of the “poor,” GOD more importantly answers their pleas and works mighty
miracles. The “poor” were called Anawim in Hebrew. Literally, the word means “those
who are bent over.” It was a term for not only those who were financially oppressed,
but also any who found life difficult (like Job) because of sickness, ailments,
bad relationships, and/or whatever. They were “bent over with their burdens” and
they were also “bent over” as they came before GOD in prayer. The Good News is that
GOD is on the side of those who are “bent over.” GOD responds to those who seek
GOD’s help.
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians
9:16-19,22-23
I should be punished if I did not preach the Gospel
Commentary: As we
work through this letter to the Christians of Corinth we find Paul’s reflection
on his own task. His teaching is firm enough. Under the compulsion of his
divine call he has no choice but to teach the truth. Yet in his desire to win
them for Christ, he is sensitive to the needs of all people. Here he has just
been giving a ruling on whether it is allowed to eat food that has been
dedicated to pagan gods. His first point is that, as such gods don’t exist,
dedication to them does not affect the food. But his most important point is
that you must not upset other people’s consciences. In other words, the
overriding principle is to be sensitive and caring towards the needs of
individuals. If we are anxious to do the right thing, we can often be quite
hard about acting ‘on principle’, trampling on the feelings of others without
regard for their own sincerely-held beliefs. For Paul the highest principle in
his treatment of people is always love.
Gospel: Mark 1:29-39
He cast out devils and cured many who were suffering from disease
Commentary: The
snippets gathered in the gospel reading give us a sample of Jesus’ activity at
Capernaum, the little fishing village on the edge of the Lake of Galilee:
healing and prayer. The first incident, the healing of the relative of his
friend and follower Simon Peter, reminds us that Jesus does respond if we pray
for the needs of our nearest and dearest. Then the summary of his evening
activity shows his concern to bring healing and wholeness. Just so any Christian
will desire to follow his example: we can harm or heal those around us in so
many ways. It does not need to be a miracle! A greeting, a look, a smile, a
touch can bring the peace of Christ to someone in desperate need of
reassurance – and no less can they harm and wound. But the third little
story, of Jesus going off to pray in the early morning, shows that the
well-spring of all his activity was his union with the God whom he called his
Father. We cannot say what Jesus’ prayer was, any more than I can say what your
prayer is, but the confident communication between Father and Son must have
been the source of his strength and compassion.
Reflection: Who do
you take your troubles to? Jesus' disciples freely brought their troubles to
him because they found him ready and able to deal with any difficulty,
affliction, or sickness that they encountered. When Simon brought Jesus to his
home, his mother-in-law was instantly healed because Jesus heard Simon's
prayer. Jerome, an early church bible scholar and translator (c. 347-420),
reflects on this passage:
"Can you
imagine Jesus standing before your bed and you continue sleeping? It is absurd
that you would remain in bed in his presence. Where is Jesus? He is already
here offering himself to us. 'In the middle,' he says, 'among you he stands,
whom you do not recognize' (Cf. John 1:26) 'The kingdom of God is in your
midst' (Mark 1:15). Faith beholds Jesus among us. If we are unable to seize his
hand, let us prostrate ourselves at his feet. If we are unable to reach his
head, let us wash his feet with our tears. Our repentance is the perfume of the
Savior. See how costly is the compassion of the Savior."
Do you allow
Jesus to be the Lord and healer in your personal life, family, and community?
Approach the Lord with expectant faith. God's healing power restores us not
only to health but to active service and care of others. There is no trouble he
does not want to help us with and there is no bondage he can't set us free
from. Do you take your troubles to him with expectant faith that he will help
you?
Lord Jesus
Christ, you have all the power to heal and to deliver from harm. There is no
trouble nor bondage you cannot overcome. Set me free to serve you joyfully and
to love and serve others generously. May nothing hinder me from giving myself
wholly to you and to your service.
Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: The habit of prayer, by Origen of Alexandria (185-254
AD)
"Jesus
prayed and did not pray in vain, since he received what he asked for in prayer
when he might have done so without prayer. If so, who among us would neglect to
pray? Mark says that 'in the morning, a great while before day, he rose and
went out to a lonely place, and there he prayed' (Mark 1:35). And Luke says, 'He
was praying in a certain place, and when he ceased, one of his disciples said
to him, "Lord, teach us to pray,"' (Luke 11:1) and elsewhere, 'And
all night he continued in prayer to God' (Luke 6:12). And John records his
prayer, saying, 'When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to
heaven and said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son
may glorify you"' (John 17:1). The same Evangelist writes that the Lord
said that he knew 'you hear me always' (John 11:42). All this shows that the
one who prays always is always heard." (excerpt from ON PRAYER 13.1)
LIFE-LINES
“Is not man’s
life on earth a drudgery?” —Job 7:1. Most people can relate to Job, for they have
endured tragedies, deaths in their families, sicknesses, pain, and suffering.
Even those who have so far had easier lives know that life can be, and almost
inevitably will be, hard. We all have the question of Job: “Is not man’s life
on earth a drudgery?” We feel as if we “have been assigned months of misery” (Jb 7:3). Our days and nights drag on ever so slowly (Jb 7:4), while at the same time, life passes all too
quickly (Jb 7:6-7).
We cannot
change the drudgery and slavery of our human condition. For example, St. Paul
tried for years to rise above our human condition; finally, he was forced to
cry out in desperation: “What a wretched man I am! Who can free me from this
body under the power of death?” (Rm 7:24) Unlike Job, Paul amazingly received an answer to
this previously unanswerable question. The answer was: “Jesus Christ our Lord”
(Rm 7:25).
Only Jesus can
make life worth living. He alone is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (Jn 14:6). He is “our only Master and Lord” (Jude 4). “There is no salvation in anyone else, for there
is no other name in the whole world given to men by which we are to be saved” (Acts 4:12). Today, surrender your life to Jesus.
Prayer: Jesus,
I believe You are reaching out Your hand to me (see Mk 1:31). By faith, I take Your hand. You are my Savior
and my only Hope. “Preaching the gospel is not the subject of a boast; I am
under compulsion and have no choice. I am ruined if I do not preach it! If I do
it willingly, I have my recompense; if unwillingly, I am nonetheless entrusted
with a charge.” —1 Cor 9:16-17. All praise to You, risen Lord of power and
might. All creation is filled with Your glory. Alleluia!
The personal action for today: What was one of the times when I was most “bent over”
and heavily burdened in my life? In the past few years? Was I able to turn to the
Lord Jesus and seek GOD’s help? How did I sense GOD’s healing hand upon me, lifting
me up and straightening me out? Did GOD use the ministry/service of another human
to help in the process? Have I ever been the human hand that GOD uses to reach out
and help another person who is “bent over” with the burdens of life? What was that
experience like for me being an instrument of GOD? What can I do this week to reach
out and help another person experience the healing touch of GOD?