A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (Mk 1:29-39)
Rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed. Simon and those who were with him pursued him and on finding him said, “Everyone is looking for you.” He told them, “Let us go on to the nearby villages that I may preach there also. For this purpose have I come.” So he went into their synagogues, preaching and driving out demons throughout the whole of Galilee.
Early in his public ministry in Capernaum, Jesus responds to the needs of the people he encounters, healing many who were sick or possessed by demons. After healing Simon’s mother-in-law, in his compassion Jesus “healed many who were sick with various diseases, and he drove out many demons.” Next, Mark describes the priorities of Jesus in his daily routine, rising early before dawn to find solitude and spend time with the Father in prayer. Simon and others pursue Jesus, seeming to call him away from prayer. Yet, Jesus reveals to Simon the fruit of prayer—perfect fulfillment of the will of the Father. “For this purpose have I come.”
God, grant me the means to take in today’s readings and lay them out as a path for the week ahead. “So I have been assigned months of misery, and troubled nights have been allotted to me. . . . My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle; they come to an end without hope.” Job’s words from the first reading describe the suffering and loss he experienced in life. They also suggest the hopelessness of the many people who came to Jesus to be healed by his touch but also by every word of hope that he spoke. In my moments of discouragement and numbering days and months ahead, help me remember who you are, the one who calls me by name and numbers the stars. You, Lord, are truth itself and hope realized.
From the responsorial psalm: “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He tells the number of the stars; he calls each by name. Praise the Lord, who heals the brokenhearted.”
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.