The gospel is so beautiful today. There isn’t any other way to put it. Jesus’s love for his people shines through the words. You can almost feel his gentleness, care and concern for those who were ill or suffering in any way. The gospel said, “he laid his hands on each of them and cured them.” His hands were surely gentle, loving, and healing.
That is the beautiful thing about Jesus’s healing in today’s gospel. He touched people. He physically touched them. This is such a basic human need. Human beings need to be touched. There is no human being who is excluded from this need. It is so often neglected because people fear the intimate act of touching another person, especially someone they do not know very well.
Jesus had no such qualms about touching people, physically, mentally and spiritually. Sometimes a simple touch, a hug, or a handshake, can change someone’s life. It really can. You may never realize just how much they needed that human contact, but it can change their whole outlook on life, relationships, friendships and what a genuine Christian is really like sometimes.
Newborn babies will not gain weight, grow, and thrive without the human touch. It is one of the very basic elements needed for life itself. Human beings grow cold, distant, antisocial, and suffer more severe forms of depression and other mental illnesses, because they are lacking physical contact with other human beings.
The gospel today says that when Jesus touched some of the people, demons came out of them. It was because of the love that was transmitted to them, when Jesus laid his hands on the person. Human beings sometimes live in great darkness, because of how they were raised, or the circumstances of their lives. Perhaps they were beaten, or physically or sexually abused as a child, or even as an adult. Modern people are like this too, and you do not know what their history is, or the current circumstances of their lives from the outside looking in. The darkness in their soul may be all they have ever known, during their lives. Perhaps they have never known love from their parents, or even an abusive spouse, like many Catholics who were fortunate to have been raised by good, loving parents or married a kind person.
Many people have come to know that God exists, because of simple, personal acts of love, especially the human touch. A smile, a hug, a handshake, some unexpected help, or a visit when they are sick can really make a difference in their lives. Just someone that cares that they are sick, like Simon’s mother in law in today’s gospel, can mean all the difference in a person’s day and it can affect their life for a long time afterwards. This applies to something pretty minor, like a cold or the flu, all the way to cancer, and those who live with chronic pain.
Sometimes you have to look through the negativity, the bitterness, a person’s lifestyle, or major character flaws, and just love the person. To do this, is to be like Christ. Jesus simply loved people, even though he was part divine and may have known a great deal about them, including their sins, when he encountered them.
In the first reading for Mass today, Saint Paul is a little aggravated because the new Christians were jealous of each other and claiming to be a follower of Paul’s, or a follower of Apollos. Before we become too judgmental of these men though, we should realize that they probably looked up to Paul and Apollos because of the holiness they sensed in these men. They sensed the presence of the Holy Spirit in both of them, and so, in a misdirected way, they were still seeking God. They were just immaturely drawn to a human being, instead of God Himself. This is what Saint Paul meant when he said that he fed them milk, not solid food, because they were not able to take it in, and still wasn’t able to because they were still of the flesh.
So, what do you think? Is this still a problem with Catholics in modern times? If you don’t think so, then you might take another look at your own parish. After a priest is transferred, has there ever been parishioners leave too, because they couldn’t relate to the new pastor as well? In large cities, it is sometimes common for Catholics to gravitate to other parishes, even if it is a long distance away, because they relate to another priest’s homilies better than their own.
Is the homily more important than the Eucharist though? Do we go to Mass in order to get something out of it? Or do we go to Mass in order to give glory, honor and praise to God the Father, and to our Lord Jesus Christ? We are supposed to go to church in order to worship God, and receive Jesus in communion, not to base our entire relationship with the Lord on the Sunday Mass, or the priest who presides at Mass.
Our spiritual efforts should take place during the week, so that we feel the Father’s love for us, and Christ’s companionship long before we ever show up for Mass on Sunday. Without regular, quality time spent in daily prayer, especially weekly prayer before the tabernacle or at adoration, reading sacred scripture and other good spiritual books, going to confession every month, and performing acts of charity and service to others, our spiritual life will feel empty.
The Sunday Mass will literally come alive in a whole new way, if you put some effort into your spiritual life during the week. It will become very meaningful, and your faith and experience at Mass will never be the same again.
In the gospel today, Jesus left at daybreak to go to a deserted place. He did this periodically throughout the gospels. If Jesus did this, then we need to do so as well. Even if you have to work and have lots of chores or small children at home, the world will not fall apart if you go to adoration or pray before the tabernacle once a week. The garage, a janitor’s closet, the shower, your commute to and from work, or the parking lot on your lunch hour can become a deserted place to pray for 15 minutes or so, if you just can’t get away.
Sometimes though, it is worth planning to get away for a few days to go on a retreat, or just go off by yourself for a little while, to focus on your prayer and sacramental life. Even if you have to eat rice, or beans, or bread and water to be able to afford to do this, it is well worth the sacrifice. We spend a lot of time, money and effort on many things that are of much less value, than our relationship with the Lord Jesus.
Daily Mass Readings:
1 Corinthians 3: 1-9 / Psalm 33 / Luke 4: 38-44
