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Gospel: Mark 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.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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What does a normal day look like for you?
Perhaps you spend time in traffic, at the office, responding to emails, at your children’s sporting events, or by day’s end, sharing a meal with family.
Today’s Gospel provides us with something similar: a full day in the life of Jesus.
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After calling his first disciples, Jesus begins his day teaching in the synagogue, where he drives out an unclean spirit. Then he heads to Simon Peter’s home, where he heals Simon’s mother-in-law.
By sunset, word has spread about this miracle worker, so neighbors bring loved ones who are sick and lame, placing them at the feet of Jesus, who heals them. Early the next morning, he goes off by himself to pray.
Although our schedule may sound quite different from the Lord’s, there are a few things we can learn from him – and apply to our daily lives.
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First, Jesus blesses our domestic lives; to him, homes – and by extension, families – are sacred. John Paul II later labeled our homes, “a domestic church.” What happens within it is holy.
In fact, more than 90% of Christ’s life on earth is spent with families inside people’s homes, where he heals, prays, dines, and teaches.
His first 30 years were spent quietly at home with Mary. Then, when initiating his public ministry, the Lord turned water into wine at a newlywed’s home in Cana.
Afterwards, Jesus brings a twelve-year-old girl back to life at her home; he cures a paralytic inside a neighbor’s home; he heals Simon Peter’s mother-in-law at his home.
Then he concludes his public ministry the way it all began – inside a person’s home, breaking bread with his Apostles at the Last Supper.
Home is where the heart is. It’s where we laugh, cry, rest, dream, eat, sleep – and often enough, encounter the Lord in the face of our loved ones.
The home is sacred ground.
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In this full day with Jesus, we also find one of his top priorities: healing people. In fact, 13 out of 18 miracles that Jesus performs in Mark’s Gospel are miracles of healing.
Fortunately, the Church has retained this divine power.
In my own priestly ministry, I’ve seen blindness removed; cancer, brain damage, and double pneumonia disappear.
It can be hard to hear about – even to witness these miracles firsthand – without also wanting a miracle of our own. How many of us hear about stories like this and wonder, “Why not me?”
Perhaps it’s better for us to ask, “Did the Lord perform any other type of miracle? Anything less dramatic?”
Did Jesus ever sit at the bedside of a feverish person and simply hold their hand? Did he approach a blind beggar, stop, sit, and listen to their story? Did he weep with families who lost a loved one without bringing that person back to life?
Did the Lord do such “ordinary” things?
I imagine so. And so should we.
We can all hold the hand of a loved one who’s sick at home; listen to one another’s stories; weep with those who weep; pray over a person who’s suffering.
Such face-to-face encounters, when motivated by love, are in themselves a type of healing. As Mother Teresa once said, “If you want to change the world, then go home and love your family.”
Pray. Listen. Encounter. Embrace. Heal.
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Before the sun rises the next morning, the Lord goes off to pray, which he does frequently in the Gospels.
For example, after his baptism, Jesus prays. Before choosing his Apostles, he prays. After healing people, he prays. Before walking on water, he prays. Before – and even during – his crucifixion, he prays.
The Lord sets an example for all of us – if we want God to guide and bless our journeys, then we should set aside a few moments each day to pray. As the prophet Samuel once said, “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.”
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So, what does a full day in the life of Jesus reveal?
That our homes and families are sacred, a “domestic church.”
That each of us can be an agent of healing, even if in ordinary ways.
And that every disciple is called to pray.
As the Lord says, “As I have done, you also should do.”
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Image credits: (1) The Raising Supaman Project, Hourglass.jpg (2) (3) CL Murphy Creative, Etsy