20180204
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF MIRACLES AND HEALING IN
OUR LIVES
04 FEBRUARY, 2018, Sunday, 5th Week, Ordinary Time
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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Job 7:1-4,6-7 ©
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Job began to speak:
Is not man’s life on earth nothing more than pressed service,
his time no better than hired drudgery?
Like the slave, sighing for the shade,
or the workman with no thought but his wages,
months of delusion I have assigned to me,
nothing for my own but nights of grief.
Lying in bed I wonder, ‘When will it be day?’
Risen I think, ‘How slowly evening comes!’
Restlessly I fret till twilight falls.
Swifter than a weaver’s shuttle my days have passed,
and vanished, leaving no hope behind.
Remember that my life is but a breath,
and that my eyes will never again see joy.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 146(147):1-6
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Second reading
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1 Corinthians 9:16-19,22-23 ©
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I do not boast of preaching the gospel, since it is a duty which
has been laid on me; I should be punished if I did not preach it! If I had
chosen this work myself, I might have been paid for it, but as I have not, it
is a responsibility which has been put into my hands. Do you know what my
reward is? It is this: in my preaching, to be able to offer the Good News free,
and not insist on the rights which the gospel gives me.
So though I
am not a slave of any man I have made myself the slave of everyone so as to win
as many as I could. For the weak I made myself weak. I made myself all things
to all men in order to save some at any cost; and I still do this, for the sake
of the gospel, to have a share in its blessings.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Jn8:12
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Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the light of the world, says the Lord;
anyone who follows me will have the light of life.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Mt8:17
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Alleluia, alleluia!
He took our sicknesses away,
and carried our diseases for us.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Mark 1:29-39 ©
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On leaving the synagogue, Jesus went with James and John straight
to the house of Simon and Andrew. Now Simon’s mother-in-law had gone to bed
with fever, and they told him about her straightaway. He went to her, took her
by the hand and helped her up. And the fever left her and she began to wait on
them.
That
evening, after sunset, they brought to him all who were sick and those who were
possessed by devils. The whole town came crowding round the door, and he cured
many who were suffering from diseases of one kind or another; he also cast out
many devils, but he would not allow them to speak, because they knew who he
was.
In the
morning, long before dawn, he got up and left the house, and went off to a
lonely place and prayed there. Simon and his companions set out in search of
him, and when they found him they said, ‘Everybody is looking for you.’ He
answered, ‘Let us go elsewhere, to the neighbouring country towns, so that I
can preach there too, because that is why I came.’ And he went all through
Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out devils.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF MIRACLES AND HEALING IN OUR LIVES
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [JOB 7:1-4, 6-7; 1 COR 9:16-19, 22-23; MK 1:29-39 ]
We are all sick in various
ways. Some are sicker than others. Some are sick physically,
others emotionally and others still, psychologically. But we are all sick
spiritually; some even under serious bondage of the devil, as we read in
today’s gospel. In fact, emotional and psychological sufferings are even
more intense than physical suffering because they have to do with the mind and
heart which cannot be easily relieved by medicine alone.
Such was the
case of Job
who was afflicted with all kinds of sicknesses. He was so miserable he
started to wonder about the meaning of life. Quite often, physical
suffering can cause us to lose our morale, meaning and self-esteem in
life. We must recognize the anguish of suffering. We must never
discount the intensity of people’s pain. How we suffer is also dependent
on the pain threshold of each person. That is why we must not dismiss the
sufferings of people without showing compassion and empathy, especially those
of us who are not suffering physically, emotionally or psychologically.
In one way or
another, we are seeking for healing and deliverance from our pain and
misery. So asking to be relieved of our suffering and pain is a very
human thing to do. God will not refuse us that request, as the psalmist
tells us. He is full of mercy and compassion.
Having stated
this fact of sickness and healing, it is important that we view
healing, especially physical healing, in perspective. We must
not seek to be freed from our physical illnesses at all costs. There are some
who seek to be healed by all means, regardless of the consequences. If
Christ does not heal them, they go and approach other deities. But even
these cannot always heal them. So they move from one deity to another,
and eventually die anyway!
The meaning
of life is more than having our bodies healed. Suffering is part and
parcel of human life. Even Christ had to suffer, and the late Holy Father
St John Paul II suffered tremendously in his last days! God did not take
away his physical handicaps even though the whole Church prayed for him.
It is clear in the gospel that Jesus did not heal everyone who was sick.
Yes, He healed many, but not all. In fact, realizing that many were
simply coming to Him for physical healing and treating Him as a miracle worker
or a healer, He withdrew to the mountain to hide and pray.
It is
important that we understand healing miracles in a wider context.
The truth is that Jesus’ mission was not simply to offer physical and material
comfort to His people. All these things, health and wealth, are transitory
in life. That is why all the more, suffering and illnesses must be seen
beyond this earthly life to that of eternal life. Because everything in
this life is passing, we must therefore seek a life that will last forever,
which is a life with God and in God, which begins in this world and realised
fully in the next. This explains why the Church forbids us to reduce the
Mass to a healing mass, or the Sacrament of the Sick simply to physical
healing. The truth is that the Church is concerned that we are healed not
only physically but spiritually as well. It is an integral and holistic
healing; one that will bring about salvation not only of the body but the soul,
not only for this life but for life everlasting.
The purpose of Jesus’
mission is therefore not simply to prolong our life on earth but to
prepare us for eternal life. Hence when Simon and his companions
found Him and said, “Everybody is looking for you.” Jesus answered, “Let
us go elsewhere, to the neighbouring country towns, so that I can preach there
too, because that is why I came.” This is not to deny the importance of
miracles, especially healing miracles, because this is the way many people come
to experience the personal love of God. Truly, if God had become man in
Jesus, it was in order that man might encounter God in a tangible way. By
becoming man He assumed our sufferings and sicknesses, even our
sins. Accordingly, the Church proclaims Jesus as our compassionate
high priest because He knows what it means to suffer, to live in fear,
especially the fear of death. So in Jesus, especially in His miracles,
healings and other deeds, Jesus demonstrates to us that He is the compassion
and love of God in person. Healing miracles are important because in
Jesus, the kindness of God is shown. In Him we know that God loves us and
is merciful.
From this we
realize that miracles, especially healing miracles, are meant for the
purpose of invoking faith in God and especially in Jesus as the manifestation
of God. Miracles are His credentials to substantiate His
identity as the Son of God, as the personal representative of the Father.
They are meant to provoke faith in Him as the power and mercy of God.
They are not a substitute for faith. Indeed, miracles of whatever kind in
themselves are ambiguous. We must go beyond experiencing the miracles and
arrive at faith in the identity of Jesus as the Son of God. If Jesus
forbade the devils to proclaim His identity, it was because although “they knew
who he was”, the people did not. Unless they discovered Jesus as the
power and mercy of God in person, there would be no real faith and conversion!
Once we
believe in the identity of Jesus, then the corollary is to trust in His Word. Ultimately, it is in
the understanding of the Word of God, believing in His Word and doing His Word
that can bring us fullness of life. We must never think that every time
we pray, the Lord will heal us physically. Rather, every time we pray,
God will give us the fullness of life which goes beyond simply bodily and physical
health. Having good physical health is not sufficient to make us happy.
To live a
good life, a life of integrity, bearing fruits of love, generosity, compassion
and a good conscience is greater than any physical healing. For what brings us
true joy is when we are at peace with God and our fellowmen. For this
reason, preaching the Word is primary in the proclamation of the gospel, for it
leads to conversion of mind and heart.
Once we know
who Jesus is, then, like Job, we will come to understand that suffering remains
a mystery in the divine plan of God. To some extent, there is a close relationship between
physical and spiritual health. But this is not always so as in the case
for Job who suffered even though he was upright spiritually. But suffering
is not meaningless. It can be redemptive and salvific. So suffering
has a redemptive value, such as the suffering of Jesus on the cross. Only
faith in Jesus’ love and victory over death can enable us to suffer
redemptively. Indeed, in the case of Pope St John Paul II, his
suffering has become a source of inspiration to all those who suffer because of
illnesses. From hindsight, we now realize that if God did not take away
his suffering, it was because he wanted to make use of his suffering for a
greater cause, which is to proclaim the power of faith in God even in apparent
hopelessness. Most of all, sickness is meant to help us strengthen our
spiritual life for a greater end, which is eternal life.
In Jesus, we
come to realize that suffering need not break us but build us; it
need not make us bitter but can make us better. Suffering, especially
sicknesses, might weaken us bodily but can build us interiorly in terms
strengthening our character, particularly in perseverance, patience, compassion
and faith.
Thus, when we
speak of healing miracles, we must consider healing in a holistic manner.
More than just physical healing or even the healing of the mind and the heart
is the healing of the soul. So what makes us truly happy in life is not
physical well-being but spiritual health. We need to be healed of our
sinfulness and selfishness. We need to be freed from our bondage to the
devil, the spirits that oppress us and make us slaves to insecurity,
possessiveness, jealousy, power, wealth, lust and death. Those of us who have
experienced His mercy must learn to have faith in Him. We must grow out
of expecting miracles all the time or prolonging this human life. Rather,
life is more than physical health. Life is more than simply living on
earth, but it is our hope that we can share the fullness of life by being one
with God, sharing in His life and love, now and hereafter.
Indeed, we
know that we are truly healed only if like Job, we grow in
faith and confidence in the Lord and His incomprehensible ways, or like
Peter’s mother-in-law, when we begin to reach out to others, just
as she began to minister to Jesus and wait on Him. So if the Lord
heals us, it is in order that we can in turn become the proclaimers of the Good
News. Like St Paul, we can proclaim convincingly the mercy of God only
after encountering His resurrection in our own lives.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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