Gospel Reflection for The 10th day of January in the year of Our Lord, 2024
Gospel
Mark 1:29-39
29 And immediately going out of the synagogue they came into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30 And Simon's wife's mother lay in a fit of a fever: and forthwith they tell him of her.
31 And coming to her, he lifted her up, taking her by the hand; and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto them. 32 And when it was evening, after sunset, they brought to him all that were ill and that were possessed with devils. 33 And all the city was gathered together at the door. 34 And he healed many that were troubled with divers diseases; and he cast out many devils, and he suffered them not to speak, because they knew him. 35 And rising very early, going out, he went into a desert place: and there he prayed.
36 And Simon, and they that were with him, followed after him. 37 And when they had found him, they said to him: All seek for thee. 38 And he saith to them: Let us go into the neighbouring towns and cities, that I may preach there also; for to this purpose am I come. 39 And he was preaching in their synagogues, and in all Galilee, and casting out devils.
Today, we continue read about our Lord casting out demons. But, the healing of the sick is also emphasized. Although I was raised Christian, my true conversion did not come about until the age of 19. A year earlier, my back had been injured at work. I was partially paralyzed and in constant, agonizing pain. It had gotten so bad that the narcotic pain medication rarely even dulled the pain enough to allow me to sleep. A stranger prayed for me. I was healed in an instant in ways that my doctors could not explain. Few things can lead a man to really believe in Jesus Christ, our Lord more profoundly than such an experience. I thank God for that horrible experience, because for me it has made all the difference.
It is important to consider that our first ancestors were not meant to experience injury, illness or death. God is the Creator whose work is perfectly organized and harmonious. Through our parent’s first sin, sickness and death entered the world. That sin was much like reaching into a clock and damaging one gear, or playing one note that does not harmonize with the others in a chord. Disharmony, disorder and degeneration were the results. Jesus, “the Son of Man”, God in human form came to undo what Adam and Eve did.
Our Lord is the Great Physician. He, alone, can heal the soul and all of physical creation. As the great herbalist and Doctor of the Church, Saint Hildegard von Bingen explained, He also intends elements of the physical world to be used for our healing and medicine should have a spiritual context. The ancient Jews wrote that Saint Raphael the Archangel taught Moses and his family about herbal medicine. Importantly though, Saint Hildegard also said that no medicine could cure a man if it was God’s will that he should not be healed. This is a hard teaching. Few things cause us more pain than our own ailments or the death of a loved one. Yet, God alone knows if it is better for us to suffer and pray than be healed, or if it is the right time for Him to call one of His children home.
One thing we know though, even if our prayers seem to go unanswered, our God loves us. Jesus, who is master over life and death, when told of the death of his friend wept. Why would God cry? Didn’t He know that Lazarus was eternally alive and freed from suffering? Surely, He did. But, Jesus wept. God loves us enough to suffer horrible torture and scorn, do you not think He will heal us if that is what is best? Trust in God, even… and especially, when it is so difficult it is barely humanly possible.
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Gospel passages are taken from the Douay Rheims Bible.