11-Jan-17

Gospel MK 1:29-39
On leaving the synagogue
Jesus 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.
Reflection:

In yesterday's gospel we read how Jesus expelled the demon from the man in the synagogue; today's gospel continues the story.
On leaving the synagogue,
Jesus 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.
Jesus approached her, grasped her hand, and helped her up.
Then the fever left her and she waited on them.
Jesus, seeing with the "heart of the Father," instinctively moved to make Peter's mother-in-law well.
Peter's mother-in-law, being cured of her fever, also responds with her God-given parental instinct, arising from her sick bed to make her son and his guests comfortable.
After Jesus healed Peter's mother-in-law, the people of the town
"....brought to him all who were ill or possessed by demons. He cured many who were sick with various diseases, and he drove out many demons..."
The parental love of the Father that was alive in Jesus Christ lives within the heart of each of us who are made "in the image of God."
Jesus Christ's entire life was the manifestation of Our Father whose compassion for His children knows no bounds.
Today, our Father see all, including the one who suffers from the "spirits" of alcoholism or the teenager held captive by the "demon" of drugs or depression, as His sons and daughters.
May we, like Jesus, look upon those who suffer and are in need as members of our own family and act "with the heart of the Father."
"I came not to judge the world, but to save the world." John 12:47