5th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Job 7:1-4, 6-7
1 Corinthians 9:16-19, 22-23
Mark 1:29-39

1. Text/Context

• As what we have heard in the gospel  just a few seconds back Jesus is again performing miracles of healing and exorcism upon seeing the pitiful situation of the people
• Mark describes the mother-in-law of Simon as laying sick and has a fever
• Jesus approached her and the fever left her and started serving them
• And for the whole day until evening, Jesus just witnessed how people have lived such a wretched lives because of the many diseases and sickness that he saw
• The whole town was there and Jesus healed them all including those possessed by the bad spirits and they were all freed from the tentacles of the demons
• And after that, Jesus retreated to a deserted place in order to pray
• But Simon and his companions were looking for Jesus and they found him. Simon told Jesus that everyone is looking for him
• As if to tell Jesus that there are still many people who need to be healed
• But Jesus said: Let us go to other villages that I may preach there also
• And that means that the time for Jesus to go to other places has come and even if there are still many who need him, they must go
• And Jesus did the same preaching, and healing and expelling demons throughout Galilee

1. Human Situation

• If we look at the gospel situation, we can see that Jesus healed all the sick and the possessed people brought to him
• And what happened after that? The mother in law of Simon was immediately healed and in fact she was so healed that she is strong enough like she has never been sick before because immediately she started serving her guests
• The woman was totally healed. Sometimes God gave us the full answer to what we need just like the mother in law who was restored to her perfect health once again
• But on the last part of the gospel, Simon insisted to Jesus that there are still many who want to be healed
• But Jesus proceeded to other places and we can only reflect on this that at other times God also postpones to give us the answer of what we ask
• And the same thing happens to our life as Christians
• There are times that we can afford to give what the others need because we have the capacity and we have the power to do so
• But there will be times also that we can only help very little because we only have very little to give
• And at other times, we even refuse to give because we really have nothing to give anymore
• You see, if we analyze very well the gospel today, there is an interplay between healing, and prayer and healing and preaching
• And we can only surmise the very important role of prayer: that prayer heals the sickness of our physical bodies. Prayer restores the physical health of a sick person
• And in preaching the words of God that we listen in the readings of this holy mass, the words in the bible, the words of the Church authorities also bring healing to the sickness of the soul
• The word of God also restores the health of a soul disfigured by the many sins that we commit
• In fact, the healing of the soul is the more important component of healing than the physical healing. Most of the time, the spiritual healing occurs first and the physical healing follows
• Jesus can now afford to leave the people even if there are still many who need him, because the fact that they are looking  and following him is because they hunger for his words
• By their very intention of listening to him even if it is no longer possible because he is already gone has made forgiveness possible. God will perform the rest of the healing that was left undone
• By our mere intention God already performs what we ask of him
• For example, you bear the burden of guilt because you have offended a friend but you cannot find him anymore
• You want to ask for forgiveness but even if you have searched for him you did not meet each other anymore
• Because of the purity of your intention to ask for forgiveness, God has already forgiven you
• So this is the more important part of healing, the forgiveness of our sins necessitates the healing of our broken souls
• The sick and the bedridden who knows that he is already terminally ill and there is no more hope for recovery but has already repented for all the sins committed will still feel the joy because he believes he is already forgiven. But, miracles can really happen
• In the 1^st reading, Job is already lamenting of the wretchedness that has befallen upon him
• He cried out to God why all these pains and suffering of this horrible disease?
• But what did Paul say to the Corinthians in the 2^nd reading?
• To the weak I became weak. As we suffer in pain because of our sickness, God also suffers with us. We must never forget that. If we experience joy, God is there. If we experience sufferings and trials God is also there
• We only think that God has abandoned us in our difficulties but God is there in our sufferings for a certain purpose that we may not unerstand

1. Challenge

• So today we are reminded, that the healing of our sick bodies and the healing of our souls are all at the disposal of God
• God heals our physical bodies through the people whom he used as instruments so that his power will be made manifest; like the doctors and nurses, medical technologists and all the other medical workers
• And the healing is also possible because of the structures that we built, the hospitals, the laboratories, the programs that we applied for those who cannot afford, the system that we work upon, etc.
• They all work together and the healing becomes possible
• And today we are reminded also that healing may come or may not come at all because everything is at the disposal of God
• That answers the question why is it that Jesus has to leave to go to other villages in the gospel
• God may postpone our physical healing for a purpose that is mysterious to us
• But one thing is very sure of the Lord, if we ask for forgiveness, God will forgive us and this will effect the healing of the soul
• No matter how horrible the sins that we commit in the open or in secret, God forgives all of them
• Even if the sin is red as scarlet or dark as black, still we are sure of God’s forgiveness if we ask for it
• Whether we are sick or healthy, if we ask for forgiveness it will not be denied to us
• We can only be sure of the vibrancy of our soul and the health of our spirit because God is always the healer for all of us