Dear friends, we would be grateful if Jesus could have gone around hospitals with people infected with COVID-19 like this last year, he would have taken their hand, and they would have been healthy immediately…. Even in our rural area, I have already buried several people with this very disease…
In the Gospel of Mark, it is the first healing from an illness – the healing of a woman, a perfect healing… Jesus bends over with love to the woman, the one who needs help right now…She reciprocates by serving him, following his example in this way. The woman’s life was in danger; she could have died. Jesus brought her back to life – he gave her a new chance. In a way, every new day is also a kind of new chance from God for us—Peter’s mother-in-law serves immediately; she uses the time—how can we use it? Should we spend our time serving others or wasting it?
Other sick and possessed people quickly surround Jesus—they know that he can speak and act, that he heals the soul, body, and spirit, and that he previously freed the possessed and healed a seriously ill woman from a fever… he is surrounded by a crowd of people whom he can help. And even when there is a crowd, he does not make it easy for himself but approaches each person individually – as needed… he heals the heart and the soul, not just the body…
Today we do not need Christ for many illnesses—doctors, physiotherapists, psychologists can do many things, and Jesus seems not to be that important anymore… but Jesus did not come primarily as a miracle worker, as a physician or pharmacist; he came to save us for the kingdom of God. He did not come only to solve this world, but eternity…
How would Jesus act today? Would he also heal or preach? He would certainly speak to us; he would certainly devote himself to individuals, not wasting time collecting likes on Facebook or counting views on YouTube. He would not be a populist who says what people want to hear, but above all what they need to hear… At the same time, he would undoubtedly have a sense of humor and attention to detail, empathy, and concern for the needs of even one person…. By the way, we as the church now represent this task of his – this is precisely what we should do too….
Jesus would certainly still be in constant connection with the Father through prayer – this is also our continuous task – to connect heaven with earth, to connect people with the Father. Jesus made time for this—he liked to be among people, but he was also necessarily alone with his heavenly Father… also for the sake of other people. Here we acquire strength, peace, and inspiration to make decisions; here is his power.
We should not be ashamed to show that God is essential in my life and that I seek strength and inspiration from him. An athlete is proud of his training, and an artist is proud of hours of practicing complex compositions. And we, Christ’s ambassadors, need training and strengthening in prayer – this is not weakness – on the contrary, it is a source of strength… it is better than preaching and mentoring about what to do and what not to do…
I remember how my mother prayed quietly while kneeling; as a child, I sometimes “caught” her praying, but I did not disturb her because she inspired sacred respect in me. How is it at home? Is there a possibility that our children, husband, or wife will also catch us praying? Not for effect and show, but at the same time without embarrassment and shame.
Let’s go on to other towns “I am not just for you, but for everyone”—as he later says to Mary Magdalene, “Do not touch me; do not hold me back”—into your imagination… in Capernaum, into the imagination of the healer and the tomb—into the imagination of the dead Master…. God ultimately transcends everything—even our imaginations—and that is excellent; in this way he leads us further and deeper.
The passage illustrates this point. Yet, and yet, it was not enough for many to accept him… Let us persevere despite non-acceptance or misunderstanding. The truth will eventually emerge, affecting everyone equally.
