Wednesday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
Have you ever held a conversation with another person in your mind? Maybe it was rehearsing something that needed said or simply making a mental note of a thought that needed to be shared with a spouse, a child or even a friend. In my mind, the practiced conversations or mental notes are as if I had the actual conversation. This however turns out to be unhelpful when I realize that the words haven’t been spoken out loud and the other person is left in the dark.
While externalizing our thoughts to our family and friends is necessary, today’s readings had me considering whether we need to do so with God. Certainly God knows our hearts and can read our minds. God does not need us to verbalize our prayers. Still, there may be some intrinsic value in praying out loud. For C.S. Lewis, the purpose of prayer was not so much to change God but to change the person or situation around the one offering the prayer. That said praying out loud brings our prayer to a new level of awareness as more senses are engaged.
In today’s gospel, people brought to Jesus’ awareness the fact that Peter’s mother -in-law was ill. Jesus then helped her up and her fever left her. This miracle and how the people invited Jesus into the situation had me wondering: Do I make Jesus aware of my needs or do I expect him to read my mind? For many of us, asking for help can be a difficult task; it may even seem a sign of weakness.
Although easier said than done, weakness ought to be our last worry. After all, this is the same Jesus whose incarnation we have been celebrating for the last few weeks. This point is driven home today in the reading from Hebrews. Jesus subjected himself to the slavery of life so as to destroy the power of death for us.
Jesus became one of us and was subjected to human suffering in order to be one with us. It is also a clear sign that the Lord remembers his covenant forever. All that remains for us is to remember that Jesus suffered, died and rose for us. Into what area of our life might we invite the Lord? How might the Lord’s healing touch help us up so that we might be better servants? God loves us no matter what and we need never feel we are beyond invoking his name and asking for help.
-Michael Montgomery