5 Sunday B Peter's mother in law

Four minute homilies

Peter’s mother in law

After leaving the synagogue in Capernaum, Jesus went to Peter’s house with Andrew, James and John, to dine together. We can imagine those meals with Jesus. Peter’s mother in law was sick and she couldn’t wait on them. Maybe she was upset with her son in law for joining Jesus and leaving his wife behind. Jesus healed her, won her over and convinced her to serve them. The news spread quickly and people began to bring their sick ones, their friends, maybe their mothers in law, for Jesus to heal them. The Gospel says that the whole town gathered at his door. It was a big throng. Jesus began his public ministry healing at the sick and casting out demons. It is a good sign of a real prophet.

We too need Jesus healing. We should recognise that we are sick and in need of help. Some are physical illnesses, but more frequently our problems are spiritual ones. We are blind, deaf, lame, paralysed and crippled in our spiritual life. Two things are important to be able to be healed. First to be well diagnosed, to recognise our true sickness, and secondly, to get the proper treatment. We find it difficult to acknowledge that we are gravely ill and sometimes we wait until it is too late. Also many times we lack the faith to go to the divine doctor. Jesus is the only one who can solve our problems and many times we go to him as the last resort.

After a full day’s work, Jesus rose very early before dawn and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed. He needed to spend time with his Father God, to be alone with the Alone. It is not just an example for us, but Jesus as a man felt the need to charge his spiritual batteries. We too need to do the same, even though we don’t feel the same urge. Somehow we are more incline to seek after material things and we forget about the needs of our soul. That is why we become anxious, upset, depressed, unsettled; we become addicted to things or we lose the perspective of what it is important. Precisely our prayer life helps us to focus our priorities and to feed the famine of our soul. We don’t normally realise how important it is because our spiritual hunger is not self evident.

When Simon and those who were with him woke up, they couldn’t find Jesus. They looked for him everywhere. They weren’t used to his early routine. When at last they found him they complained: “Everyone is looking for you.” It is a great statement. It is true for all of us, even though many times we don’t recognise this truth. We are all looking for happiness, and only in Jesus we can find true joy. We are created for God, we need God; it is inscribed in our DNA.

Jesus replied to them: “Let us go on to the nearby villages that I may preach there also. For this purpose have I come.” We can be selfish wanting to keep Jesus for ourselves. We can live in a bubble, isolating ourselves from the dangers outside. Pope Francis reminds us that we need to get out, mix with others and smell like the sheep as the shepherds do. Jesus has come to save every human being, to heal us from our inclination to sin, and he counts on all of us. Let us follow Jesus wherever he goes.

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