Wednesday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time
I’ve entitled this reflection “Our Life in Christ” because in today’s Gospel we receive three short accounts, three vignettes, each of which invite us to reflect on particular aspects of our life in Christ. I offer my ponderings; the Holy Spirit may lead you to entirely different revelations as you pray St Luke’s text. May each of us today, through the Word and by God’s grace, be drawn deeper into the love of God and be conformed more and more into the image of Christ.
In our first vignette we find Jesus at Simon Peter’s house, where Peter’s mother-in-law lies sick with a severe fever. Jesus “stood over her, rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up immediately and waited on them.” She got up immediately and waited on them. I’m always struck by her response. Immediately upon being healed from a severe illness she jumps up to serve. Is that simply what Jewish women did when they had guests in their home – provide hospitality no matter what else is going on or no matter how they’re feeling? Perhaps. But I’m always moved by the immediacy of her response to serve others. Given all that she’d been through, one could say she’d be justified in taking it easy for awhile. But no, this woman’s gut instinct, her natural inclination, her immediate response to the gift and grace of God was to serve others. Let us examine ourselves today. I might ask myself, how do I tend to respond to God’s goodness? What would it look like to allow gratitude to take over as a motivator for serving others?
In the second account, Jesus heals many people – those who were sick with various diseases and those who were demon-possessed. Throughout the Gospels, we see Jesus healing the multitudes. Certainly, there were infirm people who did not receive healing. For example, we know that in Jesus’ hometown he did not perform many miracles due to the peoples’ lack of faith (Matt. 13:58). One of the most difficult aspects of our Christian faith is coming to grips with human suffering. When it comes to diseases and other infirmities, we often struggle to understand why some people receive healing and others don’t (at least in this life). Certainly, sickness and suffering are not God’s plan. Those things come from the evil one and the brokenness of our humanity and our world. So why are some healed, and others aren’t? Recently, I heard a Catholic priest comment that God’s will for each of us is whatever profits us for salvation. Today, let us ponder that statement and in whatever situations we’re facing, let us surrender our will to God’s and accept and press into whatever profits us for salvation. Suffering can be extremely difficult to bear. But uniting our suffering with Christ’s and asking that it profit us for salvation can be transformative.
The sick and infirm in the second account were brought to Jesus at sunset. Our third vignette begins, “At daybreak, Jesus left and went to a deserted place.” We can infer that he ministered to people all night long! Imagine his exhaustion after pouring himself out for others and exerting so much spiritual and physical energy. In his wisdom, Jesus knew he needed a quiet place to rest, pray, and recharge his batteries and so he withdrew. I look around me these days and see so many chronically exhausted, spent, and overwhelmed people. The requirements of work, family, and other responsibilities can be all-consuming. These demands need not be crushing, however. Jesus did not allow the weight of his responsibilities to drag him down and destroy his health and relationships. Part of our life in Christ involves caring for ourselves and being intentional about our holistic health. Let us follow the example of Jesus and attend to our spiritual, physical, emotional, and mental needs. What do you need today in order to recharge your batteries? What is lacking in your prayer life? How might you better attend to your physical and mental health? Talk with the Lord about that today and allow him to take your hand and lead you to that “deserted place” where you can find healing and rest.
As we pray today’s Gospel and ponder its implications for each one of us, may we pray in confidence the psalm response, “I trust in the mercy of God forever.” Amen, alleluia!
Elizabeth Wells