A Busy First Day and Starting Anew

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus Christ?

Let's begin today's reflection by recalling that last Sunday's gospel was the beginning of a recollection of Jesus' first day of public ministry, his inauguration day, we might say! He more than went to the Temple, he taught there -- apparently with words of authority not known to the Jewish people in the temple -- and then showed quite clearly what his ministry would be -- healing and loving -- by confronting an evil spirit in a man with an unclean spirit and driving that demon from the man's life.

What was Jesus teaching? The answer is clear: He would not back away from anything blocking his mission to preach and teach the kingdom of God, a kingdom that would be accentuated by peace and love. He was teaching all who would know his life that there are demons in abundance but that his grace, his power, can bring defeat over those powers. What are those demons? For example, Some might hold grudges. Others might allow jealousy to have a strong hold of our hearts. Others might allow immoral or unethical ways of living and/or living dictate too much control of one's heart and mind. Indeed there are genuine demons about us in our world today. If you hear someone complain about another person's habits, you can be sure a "demon" is at work in either or both of the individuals.

Today's gospel is a continuation of that first day of Jesus public ministry. He departs the synagogue and the two brothers, Simon (Peter) and Andrew bring him to their home -- to visit Peter's ailing mother-in-law [obviously Peter's wife is portrayed in the artistic rendition of the event pictured above]. He did this to show the people the importance that healing would have in his ministry as a preacher. Of course the driving out of the demon of the possessed man and now curing the mother-in-law caused word of his unusual power to spread quickly. As soon as Jesus had a supper with Peter and the others, he was being sought by many outside Peter's home -- the ailing and those who knew there was a demon or two in their lives. The gospel testifies that the "whole town" gathered outside the house and that he cured them and drove many demons from their lives.

The events of this first day might well be for all of us a better understanding of what Jesus was like, how he spent his time. A contemporary reporter might ask, "And, Jesus, what was your first day in office like? What can we gather for ourselves from your actions this first day of ministry?" First and foremost, we might easily see that Jesus is teaching us what it means to be doing the will of God, knowing the will of God and then reaching out to others. It is nothing less than "the first and greatest commandment" -- love God and then your neighbor.

So, it was a busy day for Jesus, that first day. No doubt he was tired and the psychological pressures were present dealing with so many people and knowing that he was preaching something new to many people. Some might ask how he did this. The section of the gospel describing this first day ends with the beginning of the next day: "Rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed." There was the answer, the clue to his success. He went off to quiet and there spoke with his Father.

That's the message to us: if we want to follow Jesus, if we want to live like him, we need to do what he did. We might be busy, just as he was, but we have to set aside time to be with God. God is the power, God is the strength that is need to do the work of teaching, even if only by example, and healing, even if only by visiting the sick and lonely.

This is what it means to be a disciple: to live in the presence of God ... to be one who prays and who becomes an example to other by our lives and our care for others.