Readings: Job 7:1-4,6-7; Psa 146:1-6; 1 Cor 9:16-19,22-23; Mk 1:29-39
Theme: WHAT DO YOU SERVE?
Dearest friends, today we celebrate the 5th Sunday in Ordinary time of the year and the readings challenge us to be true servers of the word of God.
a. “And he lifted her up…and she served them” (Mk 1:31)
Last Sunday, we saw Jesus teaching in the synagogue, a teaching that left the people with amazement, not just only that he taught them with authority unlike their scribes (Mk 1:22), but that even the unclean spirits obey him (Mk 1:27). Today, we see Jesus who now leaves the synagogue and enters the house of Simon and Andrew. We will later discover that whenever Jesus enters a personal house of someone it is for him to rest a while, moving away from the crowd, and for him to be served. Hence, entering Simon’s house, we would say that Jesus went in to sit at table with his disciples. But unfortunately, the person to attend to them, that is, Simon’s mother-in-law, was down with fever. The people interceded for her, and Jesus answered their prayers. But the most important thing to note is that once she was healed of her illness, she began to serve them (v.31). Christ restored her to wellness, and she saw her new life and strength as that which must be dedicated to service.
b. “Simon and His Companion Hunted Him Down” (Mk 1:36)
The narrative shows that Jesus and those with him slept at Simon’s house. As those with him were still sleeping, while it was still very early, Jesus got up and went to a lonely place for his communion with his Father. Is this not a challenge for us? How do we begin our day? What comes first when we wake up every day? Before going out in public to meet people, do we first go by ourselves to a lonely place to speak with God and plan our day before him?
When his disciples woke up and they could not find him they became afraid of having lost him. It is interesting the verb which is used to describe the disciples’ search for Jesus. KJV said “Simon and those who were with Him searched for Him.” (Mk. 1:36). But the verb there
is more than ‘to search’. The Greek verb used is καταδιώκω (katadioko). This is the only instance this verb is used in the whole of New Testament. The verb is not just ‘to search’ but a vehement and violent search that intends never to rest until the person gets what he is looking for. It is a search that is rigorous and has ‘grasping’ as the only motive. It is more of ‘to hunt
someone down’ (Latin Vulgate uses ‘persecutus’, that is, to hunt someone for a reason. See also NAS and NRS translation). Hence, the disciples went in a fierce and determined search for Jesus when they noticed he was no longer with them. We are to ask ourselves:
a. Is Jesus still with us?
b. Do we still feel his presence?
c. Do we feel ok going about our business without knowing where Jesus is in our lives?
c. Everybody is searching for you” (Mk 1:37)
When the disciples found Jesus, instead of saying “we have been looking for you” they said “the whole people are looking for you”. I want us to take note of two important emphases in this sentence. The first one is the subject (πάντες, pantes, which means all). This word has an all-inclusiveness in it. That is to say, not only we who found you, but everybody else also, is looking for you. The second emphasis is the verb, ζητοῦσίν (zetousin, they are searching for) which is in the present tense and has the aspect of present continuous. That is to say, it is a continuous action in the present. It is not that “everybody was looking for you” nor “everybody looked for you”. Rather, even as they were speaking, the search has not stopped.
My dear friends, all of us are continuously looking for Jesus. The problem is that we might be looking for him without even knowing that he is the one we are looking for. Everyone of us desires to be happy and pursues happiness. But what is happiness if not life in Christ, life with Christ, and life for Christ. St. Augustine of Hippo for years struggled to find this happiness (Christ). He indulged in many things: drinks and drugs, immoral and nonsense acts. He was continuously pursuing satisfaction in vain things until he found him whom his soul longs for.
Yes…everyone is indeed looking for Jesus. But the question is where are they searching for him? Where has this search, which sometimes are not obvious to us, have led many of our young people? It is one thing to be looking for something or someone, and then it is another thing to follow the right direction in finding the person or the thing. In our restlessness, it is Jesus whom we are looking for. But the Gospel of today gives us a hope: Jesus is not very far from us; he is not in the crowd; he is not in the quick money platform. Jesus is in the quietude with the Father. If we move a bit outside ourselves, outside the place of merriment, outside the world of confusion, we will find him.
Another question is, “why is everybody looking for Jesus?” The disciples told Jesus that everybody is looking for him, but they did not tell him why. Were they looking for him because of the miracles which Jesus was doing or because of his wonderful and authoritative way of presenting the word of God to them? Why are you actually looking for Jesus? Is it because of the miracle you seek, or because you earnestly want to be with him (Jn 1:39)? Then in which direction are you looking for Jesus? Who or what is guiding you in your search of him?
D. “Let us cross over to the other side that I may also preach the Goodnews there.”
Jesus was ready to leave the people who have encountered him and now are looking for him because there are many others who have not even heard of him. He was not after the fame he has gained through his words and works; he was rather after many others who were yet to receive the true gospel message.
Dear friends, Jesus challenges us today not to close ourselves up in that place of our comfortability and forget that outside that zone lie many people who are looking for help. In the second reading, St. Paul boasts of his allowing himself to be found wherever the preaching of the Goodnews demands. In his desire to see that everyone receives Christ, he is ready to give up whom he was, the stage he has attained in life etc and enter into the world of his
audience.
Our life as Christians is a life of service, service to the word of God, service to Christ who lives in everyone. Simon’s mother in-law got her life back and gave it back to service. Jesus was going around serving people with the true teaching and freedom from unclean spirits and ailments.
As Job said in the first reading, man’s life should be nothing but a service. But the question is: who are you serving? What do you serve?
Fr. Nnamah Henry Chukwuezugo
Catholic Diocese of Aguleri