Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Fr Dominic’s Homily

On this fifth Sunday in Ordinary time we continue into the gospel of Mark. As we learnt last Sunday Jesus is showing is authority not just in his teaching but in his command over demons who all know exactly who he is. And with Mark we hear that things happen immediately and quickly in respect to the ministry of Jesus. There is a dynamism and sense of urgency in relation to his mission. He is intent on bringing the Kingdom of Heaven wherever he goes.

We hear a little about the personal life of Simon Peter today when Jesus goes to visit his Mother in Law. This reminds us that Peter was married at some point. It is thought that his wife must have died early and so Peter was a widow and someone who had suffered before he became a disciple of Jesus. Otherwise his wife would have been welcoming Jesus and the others rather than his Mother in Law because hospitality was a deeply cultural aspect of family life at that time. Just as was honour and shame that we often hear about in the gospels.

Jesus lifts her up and as soon as he does this the fever leaves her. This enables her to resume her family role of welcoming that would have meant so much to her. And soon there were thousands of people crowding around the little family home of Peter. Not just the ill but those who had demons also. Jesus doesn’t allow the demons to speak because they know who he is. How do they know? Because they have met him before.

Remember that Jesus is part of the Trinity and has existed before time. It is only at a particular point in history that he became a human being and walked on the earth. But before that he has always existed. So he was there when the angels were created, when some fell and were banished from heaven and when they were judged by God the Father. He witnessed it and they saw him. So of course they know who he is but they are surprised to see him in the form of a man.

He tells them not to speak because it is not yet time for people to know who he really is because otherwise he would be crucified before his time and before he is able to sufficiently spread his message of the kingdom.

Before Jesus undertakes his ministry we hear that he goes to pray. He got up early and went off alone to pray. Or sometimes he stayed up late at night. In other words times when he could get away from the crowds and spend time with his Father.

“Everyone is searching for you,” the disciples said when they found him. This expresses the desire of every person. We all need God. He is the deepest desire of every human heart. We are searching for Christ, and he is searching for us.

Jesus gets up from his prayer and heads out to the next town to find more people. He wants to preach and teach in the temples of neighbouring towns also for that is why he came. He has a sense of urgency in relation to his mission.

Jesus heals many people we hear. Both physically and spiritually. He is the divine physician and seeks out those who are ill. It is often through illness and the death of a loved one that we reach out to Jesus. See how many Mass intentions are connected with this.

In the first reading today Job shows us how difficult life can be. We hear about the drudgery of everyday life. That it can be like slavery. We can work endlessly in a fruitless toil. What is the message? That in life regardless of our situation we are going to reach a point when we taste suffering and misery.

Maybe even times of utter despair with dark nights of the soul. And what is the answer to all this? The very person of Jesus Christ. He is not simply an exorcist but he also heals us in all ways that we need healing to bring a deep peace of mind body and soul. He comes to heal misery, sickness and death for ever.

In the psalm we hear that God heals the broken hearted and binds their wounds. He becomes a man so that he can raise us from the fever that holds us back in life. He gives our suffering an ultimate and eternal meaning when we can offer and unite our sufferings for the salvation of the world with him.

But first we must pray as Jesus did. What holds us back from prayer? We think our lives are too busy. Remember prayer isn’t a shirking of our responsibilities or a running away from our duties. But it is seeing our lives with the eyes of Christ. St Frances de Sales said that we should all pray for at least half an hour every day unless you are busy – in which case you need to double that!

St Augustine tells us that we should work as if everything depends on us and pray as if everything depends on God. Because it does. Prayer gives meaning to who we are and what we do. It helps us to distinguish between what is really important in life and what is utterly necessary. Because everything is important but sometimes we need to discern what overrides this. It gives answers to the difficult questions that we face in life and helps us the right direction.

In prayer we enable the seeds of faith that we have planted in others to germinate and flourish. We enable God to bless all that we do and see the very meaning of who we are and what we have been created for.