Fr. Mike’s Daily Homily for Monday of the 5th Week in Ordinary Time Cycle II
Theme: Healing ministry of Jesus
By: Fr. Mike Lagrimas
St. Michael the Archangel Parish
Diocese of Novaliches
Homily for Monday February 7 2022
Mk 6:53‐56
After making the crossing, Jesus and his disciples came to land at Gennesaret and tied up there. As they were leaving the boat, people immediately recognized him. They scurried about the surrounding country and began to bring in the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. Whatever villages or towns or countryside he entered, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak; and as many as touched it were healed.
The Gospel reading today describes the healing ministry of Jesus. Wherever He goes, people flock to Him, bringing along those who are sick: lepers, blind and deaf people, paralytics, victims of evil spirits. They show their tremendous desire to get close to Jesus and be healed. He, in turn, uses His power to help them in their needs. Just touching the tassel on His cloak heals them. He does not reject anyone who comes to Him, for His heart is always full of compassion especially for those who are suffering. As a result, the number of people coming to Him from all parts of the region rapidly increased.
But if we read the last chapters of the Gospel, the picture is totally the opposite. We see that Jesus is almost left alone. The people whom He cured and to whom He manifested His wondrous deeds are nowhere to be found. Why? It is because He is already preaching about self-sacrifice and the cross. In the end, He just did not talk about the cross; He even carried it on His shoulders and died on it.
It must be noted that the miracles done by Jesus are not just to show His power. Rather, they are proofs of the truthfulness of His message. Unfortunately, the people who were drawn to Him because of the miracles are not really interested in the message He proclaims. They even shut their ears when He preaches about the Suffering Messiah. They reject the message of the cross. What many of them do not realize is that the cross is indispensable to anybody who wants to follow Jesus on the road to salvation.
Many Christians are called “good weather Christians.” They want to follow Jesus only when He talks about heavenly glory, eternal rewards and abundant blessings. But they would invariably close their ears and readily turn their backs on Jesus when He talks about suffering, self-sacrifice and the cross. This is what we can call ‘utilitarian spirituality’.
May we not be like them. We should be “good Christians”, no matter what the weather is. During those difficult moments of suffering, let us be reminded of what St. Augustine said: “Let us understand that God is a physician, and that suffering is a medicine for salvation, not a punishment for damnation.”
Fr. Mike Lagrimas
St. Michael the Archangel Parish
Diocese of Novaliches