5th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year B - A Miracle of Healing and “Healing River of the Spirit”
In our Gospel this weekend (Mark 1:29-39), Jesus enters the house where Simon’s mother-in-law ‘lay sick with a fever’. This miracle of mercy is intended for us as well. Jesus does three compassionate things in this Gospel account that we can count on for ourselves:
1) Jesus approached
Upon learning that Peter’s mother-in-law was ill, the Gospel goes out of its way to tell us that Jesus “approached” her. While this indicates that Jesus physically goes to the woman, it also means much more. It signifies that the whole of Jesus’ attention is focused on the sick person; that Jesus takes the initiative to draw close and to be united with the sick person; that the first act in the woman’s healing is the saving ‘Presence of Jesus Christ’ drawn near to her. St. Faustina says in her Diary: “God approaches a soul in a special way known only to himself and to the soul. Love presides in this union, and everything is achieved by love alone. Jesus gives himself to the soul in a gentle and sweet manner, and in his depths there is peace.” Our struggles, our sicknesses, our sorrows can be occasions in which we languish at the “distance” of God. But it may be those very trials that prompt the Lord to come close. Our needs, our difficulties predispose us to be open to the approach of Jesus.
2) Jesus grasped her hand
What Jesus does next is an action celebrated throughout the Psalms. The gesture of grasping another by the hand is a signal image in the Psalms for expressing the power and tender care of God for us. St. Leo the Great quotes Psalm 37, “Our steps are made firm by the lord, / when He delights in our way; / though we stumble, we shall not fall headlong, / for the Lord holds us by the hand,” and then comments, “God is continually … helping us to rise again from our falls and to press forward to the fullness of the resurrection, when our bodies too will be glorified with Christ Jesus our Lord.”
The “glory” of the sick woman is that she welcomes the hand of Jesus Christ extended to her in love. St. Augustine urges us, “The Lord leaned down and took you by the hand. With your strength alone you cannot rise. Hold tight to the hand of the One who reaches down to you.”
3) Jesus helped her up
Jesus not only helps the healed woman to her feet. In raising her up, he prefigures the resurrection to which she — and we — are called. Even now resurrection begins to take hold. So says St. Leo, “It is a fact: Our resurrection has already begun in Christ, and he longs to lead us into the fullness of life and healing.” From this moment on, the healed woman will always feel the loving hand-clasp of the come-to-me Jesus, and the hoisting up to hope that never ends.
In honour of this Gospel reading, we would like to share our latest video, "Healing River Of the Spirit", a beautiful song by Ruth Duck, and sung to the hymn tune BEACH SPRING, that reminds us that healing can be found in God's presence.
Video can be watched by clicking here or on the picture below:
