Readings: Job 7. 1-4, 6-7; Psalm 147. 1-6; I Cor 9.16-19, 22-23; Mark 1.29-39
1. Job’s complaint is balanced with the healing ministry of Jesus. For God heals the brokenhearted (Psalm 147.3a); Christ took away our infirmities and bore our diseases (Gospel Acclamation verse, Mt 8.17). Listen to both voices: the cry of the suffering and the Lord’s compassionate touch.
2. As Paul works to develop the Church in Corinth, he presents a model of evangelization. He listens to the people and focuses on their needs. He shares freely. “To the weak I have become weak… I have become all things to all, for the sake of the Gospel, so that I may have a share in it.”
3. The model of Jesus in his ministry. While the disciples are focused on the crowds seeking Jesus, he rises early and prays in a deserted place.
4. Who do you say that I am? The secret of Jesus’ identity. He silences the demons who know who he is. The crowds see a wonder-worker, the disciples only his growing popularity. But Jesus can only be seen through the lens of the cross and resurrection. Only then does faith become possible.
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