Daily Reflection – 1/15/2020
Sacred Scripture
On leaving the synagogue he entered the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John. Simon’s mother-in-law lay sick with a fever. They immediately told him about her. He approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up. Then the fever left her and she waited on them. When it was evening, after sunset, they brought to him all who were ill or possessed by demons. The whole town was gathered at the door. He cured many who were sick with various diseases, and he drove out many demons, not permitting them to speak because they knew him. Rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed. Simon and those who were with him pursued him and on finding him said, “Everyone is looking for you.” He told them, “Let us go on to the nearby villages that I may preach there also. For this purpose, have I come.” So he went into their synagogues, preaching and driving out demons throughout the whole of Galilee. (Mark 1:29-39)
Reflection
Jesus could not have been busier in one day than the day presented in Mark’s Gospel . . . a service and a teaching in the synagogue, a conflict with devils, supper with Peter’s family and the cure of his mother in law, followed by more care for the sick and the tormented in the cool of the evening.
At dawn, he does not begin his day without taking the time to pray. Jesus knew that his authority came from God His Father and His willingness to submit himself in sacrificial love for us. What does that moment in today’s Gospel tell us?
The first is the most obvious. We need to build our days around prayer – not build prayer around our days ! If we wait to have time to pray, it won’t happen. Punctuating the day with prayer – at rising, at lunch and at retiring – and any other time in between –helps us to stay at peace despite the world wind of activity. It helps us to keep our “eyes on Jesus!”
The second lies in the fact that Jesus did not return to the village he left the night before. In so doing, he left many who wanted his teaching and his healing.
No doubt there are times in our lives when we have felt like the one who came to Jesus and left unhealed. Certainly, we have prayed for ourselves or another who was in pain, in danger or facing difficulties, and our prayers seemed to fall on deaf ears. Maybe we felt as if He chose to walk away.
Yet, we know that Jesus does not turn His back on us. We know that He, along with the father and the Holy Spirit, surround and encompass us with their divine love. With faith, we can trust that each time that we encounter Our Lord, whether we feel healed or not, we are changed. It may be that we are strengthened to face difficulties ahead. It may be that God has made Himself seem distant so we rely on our faith to find our hope in Him. Whatever the case may be, when we trust in God, we receive what is best for us in that moment, and we can only find peace when we believe this to be true.
Our intellect may be restless for Him but our hearts remind us that He is always there,
Prayer of The Day
“Lord Jesus Christ, you have all power to heal and to deliver. 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 Note
When we pray, may we meet the Lord with true faith, knowing He will take away our pain, our sickness and our brokenness if that is His holy will, always trusting that whatever He offers us, it is for our good in this life and the next. The evil one tempts us to believe that the Lord turns His back on us. Our peace and joy come from knowing that He surrounds us with His divine love, speaks His eternal word to our hearts, and always hears our prayers.
