Throughout the Gospel stories of Jesus’s life, it’s a good thing if we can see within the stories a pattern that connects to our lives.
For example, in today’s Gospel, Jesus has attended Church and is leaving Church. He’s leaving the synagogue. And that’s what we’ll do today, unless I give a 3-hour homily.
Then, he ends up visiting on the Sabbath, in this case some friends who happen to be his Apostles. Sunday, more than any other day, is the most prominent day of visiting, or being visited. Once he arrives for his Sabbath visit, Simon’s mother-in-law is healed of her illness. Every healing we experience is the touch of God. If we don’t heal, for one day we won’t, we enter into the joy of eternal life. Either way, it’s covered.
After being healed, Simon’s mother-in-law serves her Lord. That’s one of the big patterns that speaks to our lives, I hope. That we proceed each day with the intention of serving the Lord by serving others in the different capacities that are most important to us.
Then, we see the entire town coming out to be healed by Jesus. It’s like the egg of heaven is cracked open. The only other person they flocked to like this was John the Baptist at the Jordan River. But Jesus gives them something even greater than John. In healing them, in anointing them, he makes them whole; spirit, soul, and body. His forgiveness far surpasses what John could offer them, which is why John said, “He must increase, I must decrease.” A beautiful Scriptural verse for our lives.
When Christ increases, entire towns, villages, and populations are healed. Turning to Christ brings healing, and there is no number too large for him. He will heal, if they wish, all the Eagles fans tonight after they lose to the Patriots in the Super Bowl. What’s at the heart of this movement for our lives in today’s world is that our Lord, when we trust in him and turn to him as a population, as a people, as a world, he will settle things down and bring peace out of chaos. And he can do it on a large scale.
Refusing to come to him as a nation, or a city, or a Church; by refusing to walk to his front door with the humble admission we need his guidance and assistance in great matters and small, then the violence of Original Sin will eat away at us.
After Jesus does his usual standup job and cures the entire town, putting all the local hospitals out of business for a while, his next movement is early the next morning before dawn sets in. The sun isn’t even up yet, and he’s heading out to pray. To be alone; to be in silence, which is the volume for best hearing God’s voice.
What’s missing from this story, I bet, is that Jesus did this very same thing the day before, and the day before that… He prayed early in the morning before entering the synagogue, healing a mother-in-law, then a village. I have no doubt that Jesus prayed early in the morning, every day. His first movement was not for a cup of Joe; it was for his prayer book. Everyday from the time he could speak as a child, to the day he stood before Pilate and was forced to carry a Cross, he prayed. I can’t prove to you Jesus prayed every morning. But you know how you just know something…?
Prayer is essential to our lives, every day. Not a day should go by for the rest of our lives that we don’t take the time to pray. If we’re too busy to do so, then we’re too attached to a passing world.
Then this incredibly beautiful movement takes place in the Gospel story with the words of Simon: “Everyone is looking for you.” This “coming to the Lord” differs from the earlier part of this Gospel story. Then, it was to be healed of infirmities. But this “coming to Jesus” isn’t concerned with physical healing, and being made whole, as nice as that is.
Simon’s “Everybody is looking for you” is a search for the full meaning and purpose of life itself. This goes way beyond what happened in the house of Peter’s mother-in-law. This searching, as he’s in prayer, is a search for our way to eternal life. They’re searching for mercy, and they find him. What a powerful pattern for our lives. It’s a search for mercy, which we will all need on the Day of Judgment. It’s a search for Divine love, and that God has defined what love means, and not us on our own.
This search of Simon, is a search for the resurrection. He will come to know that later, as will we. And take note of what happens in the story; they find him. Jesus could have hid from them like Adam hid in the Garden of Eden after his shameful choice. But Christ has nothing to be ashamed of. He’s always available, especially in the Eucharist.
This movement for us in this part of the Gospel translates into never giving up the search for God, and persevering until we know we have found him. We’ll know it when we do.
The final movement in the Gospel is moving on to nearby villages to preach there also. Jesus does not leave anyone out of his message of repentance and salvation. As the Son of God, his message encompasses the entire world. Every human person, ever. From those who die in the womb to those who die outside the womb.
We imitate this movement by being Christ to others. No need to complicate it. Be Christ to others. That fulfills the law of God and the last movement in this short Gospel story. There’s so much movement to pattern our lives after in this Gospel. The same way Tom Brady is going to move that offense tonight.