Reading
Mk 1:29-39
29 As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. 30 Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they immediately told Jesus about her. 31 So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them.
32 That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. 33 The whole town gathered at the door, 34 and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.
35 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. 36 Simon and his companions went to look for him, 37 and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!”
38 Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” 39 So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.
Meditation
That performed for Peter's mother-in-law is the first healing miracle of Jesus, who merely touching and lifting the woman by taking her hand underlines the difference between his way of acting and the magical gestures of the healers.
As soon as Peter's mother-in-law is freed from the fever, she begins to serve Jesus and his disciples. When the Lord heals our infirmities we discover in us a renewed spirit to put ourselves at the service (diakonía) of our brothers and sisters.
The crowds - "the whole city" - throng in front of the door of the house where Jesus is, after the sunset, or at the end of the Sabbath rest (v. 32). Jesus heals numerous sick people and frees several possessed. That these are real cases of diabolical possession is inferred from the fact that Jesus orders the demons to be silent (v. 34), which he would not have done in the case of an illness. Demonology is therefore a fully orthodox doctrine. While recognizing the truth that Jesus is the Christ, the demons reject it.
After having benefited the many people who came to him, Jesus felt the need for a break for his spirit (v. 35). Retreating in prayer is one of the characteristic moments in the life of Jesus. As there are no deserts near Capernaum, here the word eremos is to be understood simply as a solitary place. Jesus, true God, adored and glorified by angels since eternity, is also true man and as such he prays to the Father, dedicating the first fruits of the day to this commitment. His demanding ministry of preaching and healing does not prevent him from finding the right time and place for prayer. He prays as he taught us, not standing in the streets like the hypocrites (Mt 6:5), but in a secluded place, in secret.
In affirming the will to extend his ministry to the surrounding villages, Jesus uses the verb exerchomai which is perhaps to be referred in this passage of the Gospel of Mark not so much to leaving the house, but to coming to the Father as his messenger. The urgency to preach the good news and the need for an intense contemplative life are the diastolic and systolic movement of the Christian's heart, the inspiration and the exhalation of the soul, according to the model of him who has come from the Father and returns to the Father, after having gathered an abundant harvest.
Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, who have come to heal all kinds of diseases and to free us from the power of the evil one, grant us to contemplate your glory and to proclaim it with solicitude. Amen.
- Rev. Dr. Luca Vona
