5^th Sunday of Ordinary Time (B); 2-7-2021

Job 7:1-7.  Ps 147.  1 Cor 9:16-23.  Mk 1:29-39

Deacon Jim McFadden

            Pope Francis often describes the Church as a “field hospital” of wounded, broken, sinful people who are in need of healing.  While it is difficult to admit, all of us are spiritually sick who need a spiritual physician who can heal us.  That’s why we begin Holy Mass by reciting the Confiteor in which we acknowledge our sins and ask forgiveness.  If we don’t believe that we are sinners in need of healing, but that we think we’ve got our act together, that we’re under control, then we will resist our radical dependency upon God.  If we don’t think we’re spiritually sick, then we’re basically saying that we really don’t need Jesus, who said that “those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick do”  (Mk 2:17).

            This Sunday’s Gospel presents us Jesus, who heals the sick.  His day in Capernaum begins with the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law and ends with the scene of a crowd of townspeople who gathered outside the house where he was staying, to bring all the sick people, broken in spirit and body, came and he “healed many…and cast out demons” (1:34ab). 

            Illness—whether it be physical, psychological, or spiritual—was not part of the world that God intended when he created Adam and Eve in the Garden, where they enjoyed an abundance of life in which sin, illness, and death were not part of the world of Creation (cf. Genesis 1-2).  Illness was introduced after the Fall and is a sign  of Evil in the world.  Illness in general is a consequence of our sinful condition; it was introduced by us, not God.  Healing, on the other hand, shows that the Kingdom of God, perfectly personified by Jesus himself, is at hand and at work making us well.  Jesus came to overcome Evil at its very root and instances of healing are an anticipation of this triumph.  In Heaven there will be no more illness, suffering, and death.  And, how is Evil overcome?—through the Death and Resurrection of Jesus.

            The question is: do we want to be healed?  All of us have been deeply wounded by others.  When we experience this kind of hurt, we search for ways to deal with it, a way to protect the egoic self and be safe.  Franciscan priest Richard Rohr once said that “if you don’t transform your pain, you’ll transmit it.”  Today, we are witnessing the transmission of anger and resentment being played out in dramatic fashion, we have witnessed this syndrome in dramatic fashion on January 6, 2021.  When people believe that their privileged status is being threatened by the ‘other’, they will lash out even it means eroding our republican democratic values.  When we succumb to denial, conspiracy theories, hatred, aggression, or shame, these toxic feelings can overcome us like a demonic possession and they can be very difficult to disengage; consequently, we continue to be sick.

            Sometimes we deal with our spiritual sickness by hanging out with people who reinforce my bad habits.  “Tell me who you’re friends are, and I will tell you who you are” carries a lot of weight.  We tend to talk and act like those around us, which can be reinforced by internet “echo chambers” that promulgate the Big Lie, unfounced conspiracy theories, and assorted disinformation that warp our perception.  Our surroundings and environment can affect us profoundly.  When we only associate with those who just like us, who are stuck in their distorted worldly view that denigrate the pursuit of Truth and the dignity of human beings, then we open ourselves to the oppression that comes with rebellion and sin. 

            Jesus’ ministry took him into the heart of our misery and dysfunction.  Jesus doesn’t preach from a lofty lectern detached from the people.  As we see in today’s Gospel, he is in the midst of the crowd!  He’s right in the midst where people are hurting.  Remember, most of Jesus’ public ministry took place on the streets, among the people.  To preach the Good News, to heal physical and spiritual wounds, Jesus went to where the crowds were.  ‘Crowd’, I think, is a metaphor for humanity marked by suffering, anxiety, resentment, frustration, and helplessness.  Jesus placed himself right in the midst of all of that and brings his healing presence.  He did that then and he does that now. 

            People of God, while Jesus is a miracle worker, he’s not a magician.  If he is going to heal us,  if he’s going to heal our fragmented society, we have to cooperate—we have to let Jesus heal us!  We know what our wounds are,  which is why we’re experiencing such angst personally and collectively.   Sadly, we just don’t have one: our sinful habits are interconnected; so, we have  two, three, four…sometimes it feels like a Legion!  Human effort alone cannot break this Gordian Knot.  But, Jesus, the Divine Physician, he can heal those wounds.  But, for this to happen, we must open our hearts to Jesus—we must let him in and find a home in the inner most depth of our soul.  And, how do we do that?  We do what Jesus did.

            Before dawn the next day, Jesus “…left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed” (v. 35). Jesus prays.  In this way, he removed himself from a spectacular, triumphalist view of the  Messiah which distorts the meaning of his miracles and preaching.   Jesus returned to the Quiet to draw strength from his Father’s power and Love.  Jesus performed signs of wonders and preached the Good News not to draw attention to himself, but  to encourage a faith response on our part.  His miracles were always accompanied by teaching and preaching; and, his words, which are “of eternal Life,” are meant to enlightened us.   Taken together, Jesus’ signs and words arouse within us faith and transformation through the divine power of his Grace.  That is what is going to bring healing to ourselves and our country. 

            Brothers and sisters, we want to resist the temptation to withdraw into a spiritual cocoon to protect ourselves from the uncertainty and upheaval of our time and place.  To be sure, Jesus went into a secluded place to pray to his Father, but he came back to be with the people.  Jesus’ proclamation of the Kingdom of God finds its rightful place in the streets.  To be disciples of our Lord Jesus, we want to bring him and his Good News into our town.  Like the disciples, we want to find and join Jesus in prayer, then we bring him back into town.  And, what was Jesus’ answer?  “Let us go back on to the next towns, that I may preach there also” (v. 38). This was the journey of the Son of God and this will be our journey as well because we are his disciples.  As baptized Catholics, this is our journey because we’ve been anointed as priest, prophet, and king.  The street—that’s the place of the Good News, of the Gospel; the streets is where we live out our Mission. 

            So, let us allow Jesus to heal our wounds.  Let us name, renounce, and give it to him.  Let us ask him for the grace to healed and as forgiven sinners, let us bring the Gospel to our broken world.  If we genuinely ask, Jesus will do it because he is Immanuel—God among us—who loves us unconditionally.  May we allow him to enter our life—our heart, our soul—to bring his merciful salve to our brokenness, which empowers us to be “instruments of his Peace.” 

            Let Jesus heal us.  Amen.