From the Gospel acclamation: “Our Savior Jesus Christ has destroyed death and brought life to light through the Gospel.”
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (Mark 3:7-12)
He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, so that they would not crush him. He had cured many and, as a result, those who had diseases were pressing upon him to touch him.
People come from many regions to see Jesus and to receive his healing. So great is the crowd that he speaks to them from a boat so that the people don’t crush him. Mark tells us that his power is such that people seek only to touch him to be cured. Even the unclean spirits fall down before him, shouting in recognition of the truth, “You are the Son of God.” The command to them not to tell anyone is an expression of the “Messianic Secret,” which is that Jesus keeps hidden the fullness of his divinity as he does the will of the Father. Just as Jesus reveals his divinity according to the Father’s will, he invites us to do the same in freely choosing to share the Gospel in a way that gives glory to God.
Father in heaven, help me call to mind today’s Gospel as I have the opportunity in encountering others to be an instrument of your love and healing. I often forget to bring the Gospel into key events of the day or, for that matter, any event of the day. Jesus knew where he was. He knew that the need people had even to touch him was so great that they would crush him as they pressed upon him. When I engage with people today, help me remember to look at them and know exactly where I am and who I am—a means of your mercy, even if the only expression of it is a smile or gentle reassurance. Give me the grace to take myself less seriously and return to you again and again in childlike faith in your truth, in the person of truth, Jesus Christ your Son.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.