Readings: Job 7:1-4, 6-7; 1 Cor. 9:16-19, 22-23; Mk. 1:29-39
He Took Our Infirmities and Bore Our Diseases
1. Last Sunday I reflected on the plan that Jesus had in the execution of his mission. The driving force of his success was his relationship with God through prayer. Healing people drained him of his power and so he had to get charged after every ministry of healing. This is how Mark recorded it. A woman who had been sick for 12 years pushed through a crowd to touch Jesus. When she did, she was instantly healed. “At once,” Jesus knew that power had gone out of him, turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?” (Mk. 5:30).
2. Today’s Gospel is a continuation of last Sunday’s. Here we see a typical day in the life of Jesus. He preached with authority in the Synagogue, cast out demons; left the Synagogue and went with his companions to Peter’s house and healed his mother-in-law; more sick people came to him and he healed them all. He barely had time to eat, for though Peter’s mother-in-law got up after her healing and served them, Jesus’ attention must have been on the sick people he had to heal. It is clear that the healing took place at night. “When it was evening, after sunset, they brought to him all who were ill or possessed by demons.” (Mk. 1:32). Since it was still Sabbath, it was not until sunset, when the neighbors could bring their sick to Jesus. Transporting them on the Sabbath would be an offense against the Sabbath. He must have been tired and hungry; and he could have spent the remaining part of the night and the following day sleeping. But no, not Jesus. “Rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed.” (Mk 1:35).
3. In the morning, his disciples found him at prayer, and told him “Everyone is looking for you.” His answer was: “Let us go on to the nearby villages that I may preach there also. For this purpose, have I come.” (Mk 1:37-38). Jesus saw a great urgency in fulfilling his mission. He wanted to reach as many people as possible and so he must be on the move. Not even fame or cheap popularity could slow him down. He had places to go and people to teach and heal. There was no time to waste on frivolities. No wonder Pope Paul VI wrote in his Apostolic Exhortation, ‘On Evangelizing in the Modern World’: “Evangelizing is in fact the grace and vocation proper to the Church, her deepest identity.” The Church must evangelize if we are to keep our identity as Christians.
4. Paul picked on this theme in the second reading: “If I preach the gospel, this is no reason for me to boast, for an obligation has been imposed on me, and woe to me if I do not preach it!” (1Cor. 9:16). Our Baptism imposed a duty and responsibility upon us to intentionally preach the gospel to everyone. In doing this, Paul reminds us to expect no reward but preach without compulsion. It is an obligation arising from the divine mandate: “Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” (Mt. 28:19-20). Christ assures us of his presence while we carry out our mission. We do not necessarily have to preach the gospel in Church alone, but we can be more effective preachers by our way of life. We may be the living gospel for people to read and see by the way we relate, by our speech, by our charity, by the power of our examples and for standing up for the truth and defending same at all cost. We need no appreciation for the doing what is right. It is always right to do the right.
5. In the first reading, Job is experiencing pains, sickness and deprivation through no fault of his, he had always done what was right. (Read the book of Job chapters 1 and 2). Job’s situation begs the question, why should good people suffer. In his pains Job reacted: “Is not man’s life on earth a drudgery? Are not his days those of a hireling? So, I have been assigned month of misery, and troubled nights have been told off for me. If in bed I say, “when shall I arise?” Then the night drags on; I am filled with restlessness until the dawn.” (Job 7:1, 3-4). Don’t we feel this way when confronted with the trials of life either, in ourselves or those around us? Sometimes when our parents are incapacitated, or when someone we love, a spouse, a child or a parent becomes ill or dies. It could be when we are hurt mentally, physically, or emotionally. Like a broken marriage, a broken heart, or when betrayed or disappointed by those we loved or are let down by family or friends. When this happens, we feel like saying with Job, “My days are swifter than a waver’s shuttle; they come to an end with hope. I shall not see happiness again.” (Job 7:6-7). And so how can we be missionary disciples, preachers of God’s word and love. We feel that we are so broken and therefore, we have nothing to offer ourselves or anyone. Yet in our brokenness, we must preach the gospel with our lives.
6. St Pope John Paul II showed the whole world how to endure sickness and death by the way he accepted his pains and identified same with that of Christ. He was effective in his brokenness and became the wounded healer, who healed us through his sickness and death. For it is the wound of our Lord that heals and gives us the power to preach his gospel. St. Bernard tells us, “Through the wounds of Jesus I can taste and see the goodness of the Lord. It is there in the wounds of Jesus, that we are truly secure; there we encounter the boundless love of his heart.” Christ taught us the greatest lesson on forgiveness as he was dying on the cross when he forgave the penitent thief and prayed for his murderers: “Father forgive them for they know not what they are doing.” (Lk. 23:24). Our pains and our brokenness should not prevent us from preaching the gospel but should make us effective ministers of God’s word. Because Jesus took our infirmities and bore our diseases and by his wounds, we have been healed. It is our life of prayer that will keep us united with Jesus who is our strength even in time of sickness and pain. May we not be afraid of sharing the love of Jesus with those we meet even in our brokenness. God bless you. Amen.
Rev. Augustine Etemma Inwang, MSP
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