08/02/2009 - 5th. Sunday in Ordinary
Time - B
1st. Reading Job 7,1-4.6-7 Psalm 146 2nd. Reading 1 Cor 9,16-19.22-23
Gospel Mk 1,29-39
St. Luke tells us that the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray
because even John the Baptist has taught his disciples to do so. Who knows the
true motive? Were they perhaps jealous? Did they want to distinguish themselves
from the disciples of other rabbis in the way to pray? In such a case they could
have adopted a prayer as a sign by which they would have distinguish themselves
from other religious groups. Later on, Jesus will tell them which is the sign
that was to distinguish them as his disciples, that of loving one another as
he has loved them. Their prayer is to be like his, their relationship with God
is to be lived intensely as he has lived it. If Jesus teaches how to pray, he
does it not so much that his disciples pride in being different than other,
but because they learn to be really different in giving trust and obedience
to one another, to share that love that reflects the light of the face of the
Father. To learn how to pray! The disciples of Jesus were Jews, and they were
praying every day. They have already learnt how to pray in the family, and their
prayer was true: they use to pray the Psalms and the prayers in their Bible.
Even so they understand that they needed to learn how to pray, they understand
that they were not yet able to have that relationship with God that Jesus was
showing them. Jesus answers their request with an unusual way. "When you
pray, say": it seems that he wanted to teach them the words to use in prayer,
the words to present to the Father so that their prayer is acceptable. But we
know that Jesus, being so true to himself, tells us to say the words that express
our inner self, that express our lives. He makes sure that our lives grow to
maturity in our personal relationship with God!
When Jesus came into the world as if there were an infinite list of trouble
waiting for him! He is carried to the sick, those sick persons that could have
gone to him. Men and women, sick and healthy, all are waiting for his coming,
for his presence, for his word, for his touch. Among them there are those who
are possessed: who knows what it means? These are those in whom the Holy Spirit
is not present with his fruit and gifts: on the contrary, in them there is impatience,
impurity, pride, complaint, the fear of the future or the fear of the past,
scared from God and men, vanity, false humility or suspicion, and other evil
spirits who produced anxiety and pain for themselves and others. They are all
signs of demoniac presence that wants to disturb and destroy the human person
and stops them from manifesting that they are created upon God's likeness and
image. Job, with his word, gives us an idea of how much suffering reigns in
the world: "I was stricken by months of illusion and restless nights"
and "my days run out quickly, without a ray of hope". The persons
who suffer from these evil spirits, in them or against them, or in others around
them, wait for a savior, a redeemer. God has sent him! Jesus leaves that synagogue
from which he has exorcised a man from a rebellious and violent spirit, able
to recognize the holiness of Jesus, but not to accept and love him. His disciples
trust him and accompany him to the mother in law of Simon, who had temperature,
and so was not able to serve him. Jesus, not being afraid to touch an unclean
person, touches her. His hand is healthy, and heals the uncleanness, the sickness.
The woman does not feel "healed", but was able to serve! The healing
of man is this capacity to be at the service especially of God. Hence "the
entire city run to him" brings to Jesus all their sufferings: he does not
let down anyone.
Did Jesus come only to heal sicknesses? During the night he goes to pray: here
he comes to know that beyond the need of freedom from sickness and impure spirits,
people need necessitates something else. Men have no hope because they don't
know yet that the Kingdom of God is inaugurated, they don't know that he, Jesus,
is the King of the long awaited Kingdom. It is necessary that he, Jesus, make
himself known so that all come to know the King of the Kingdom, can follow him
and learn to love. Those who get healed from sickness and evil spirits are to
learn to love and be his disciples.
This was understood by st. Paul after he encountered the risen Lord. Today the
apostle tell us with a strong voice of his will to proclaim the Gospel, that
is, the news that the Kingdom is inaugurated, that the King is present, that
we can serve him. For st. Paul preaching the Gospel is his life, is important
as his own breath. He makes out of it the purpose of his existence, and he lives
it with gratitude, as the reward for the struggle that he comes across in spreading
the Good News to all and in every place!
Let's make out of the Gospel the purpose of our lives! There would be no space
for the emotional complain of Job, discouragement and sadness. When we proclaim
the Gospel, the Gospel makes us witness of the risen Lord, witnesses of his
presence today, carriers of his victory over death!
"I do all for the Gospel, to participate in it myself"! I, before
everybody, will be joyfull!