Mons. Enrique Díaz Díaz shares with Exaudi readers his reflection on the Gospel of this Sunday, February 4, 2024, titled: “Discovering his face”
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Job 7, 1-4. 6-7: “Nights of pain have been assigned to me”
Psalm 146: “Let us praise the Lord our God”
I Corinthians 9, 16-19. 22-23: “Woe to me if I do not proclaim the Gospel!”
Saint Mark 1, 29-39: “He healed many sick people of various illnesses”
This Sunday’s gospel invites us to discover in a few lines the fundamental features of the life of Jesus, it invites us to look at and appreciate his face. Perhaps, with the passage of years and history, we have been adding flourishes and ornaments to the face of Jesus, and today it is difficult for us to discover it in its original beauty, and, most importantly, many Christians have not had personal and direct contact with him. Jesus himself. We settle for being baptized, with some images that have been transmitted to us, but we do not let the figure and direct work of Jesus impact us. Saint Mark offers us today an ordinary day in the life of Jesus, what he would do every day, so that we approach Him, accompany Him, allow ourselves to be impacted and have a deep encounter with Him. Where Jesus is there is life, life grows life and this is discovered by those who read and delve deeper into this page of Mark or his entire gospel. Let us contemplate this face of Jesus.
A close face
He begins by saying that: “He went with James and John to the house of Simon and Andrew.” He is the Christ who has become incarnate and who comes to the “house” of men, who has pitched his tent in their midst, who shares their hopes, their desires and their difficulties. Some, after centuries, have wanted to reduce Him to images and ask Him to stay only in their temples, not to intervene in daily life, not to leave His niches, that when we need Him, we will go to Him and bring Him a candle, but Jesus does not want to stay closed in, he wants to share our lives and become part of our history. With his presence and his love, influence each day’s decisions, fill them with his love and his justice, give meaning to our daily lives. Will we let him into our homes, into our lives, without hiding anything from him, without putting up barriers, so that he can participate fully as one of us?
A liberating face
“Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed, with a fever, and she immediately told Jesus” When Jesus arrives home, she finds herself in pain and illness. There he performs the first healing that Mark tells us. He gives health to Peter’s mother-in-law as a sign of the Kingdom of life that he has come to announce. Thus, at the same time that she heals, she liberates. And if we read this passage carefully, we discover Jesus’ way of acting: he approaches, takes the hand and lifts. A whole salvation process. Get closer and level with the one he is lying on; holding hands, a gesture that means more than many words; and raise, which has a very deep Christological meaning related to the resurrection. This is the action of Jesus. But also, after healing, the previously sick woman begins to serve. Jesus wants the immediate result of his liberation to be an attitude of service, maturity and availability towards others. He does not bind or make people dependent, he gives them his gift and also gives them the fullness of freedom so that, like Him, they find true happiness in service.
A merciful face
Saint Mark tells us that at sunset all kinds of needy people came to Jesus. We find this face of Jesus who heals the sick, welcomes the helpless, forgives sinners, heals those possessed by evil spirits, attentive to the evils and ailments of others. It shows us that face of Jesus that spreads life and restores what is sick. With His compassion and mercy, He draws to Him the misery of humanity: possessed, sick, paralyzed, blind, deaf, marginalized, people who lack life. And Jesus welcomes them, restores them, humanizes them, liberates them and restores joy and life to everyone.
A praying face
But Jesus’ intense activity has a support: his intimate relationship with his Father, his God. No matter how busy he is, no matter how urgent the preaching and caring for those in need, no matter how strong the controversies, there will always be a time to give first place to his prayer and his relationship with Father God of he. That is why we find him at dawn, in the darkness, apart, praying and enjoying the love of the Father. Solitude and prayer sustain the ministry of Jesus. Intimate dialogue, loving confidences, constitute an essential part of his task.
An evangelizing face
Jesus’ mission is to preach, bear witness, announce the Gospel, that is, bring Good News. And announce it to all people, to all nations, but above all to the poorest and most needy. His word cannot be reduced to the people of Israel, he breaks the borders to build the great family of God with all men. For Saint Mark, the word of Jesus is of vital importance and the proclamation of it is essential. We also heard this from Saint Paul, who says to the Corinthians: “Woe to me if I do not proclaim the Gospel”!
It is what he has learned from the Master, and it is the essential thing for every Christian.
And we…?
Today we contemplate Jesus Christ, as the Gospels transmit him to us, to know what He did and to discern what we should do in current circumstances. In fact, the disciple knows that without Christ there is no light, there is no hope, there is no love, there is no future. This is the essential task of evangelization, which includes the preferential option for the poor, integral human promotion and authentic Christian liberation. The announcement, supported with prayer, with words and with works. As we contemplate the time of Jesus so full of meaning, we too must reflect on our activities, their importance and their valuation. What time and what place do we give to family, to work, to prayer, to friends, to the announcement of the Kingdom? What does the “face” of Jesus that we have contemplated tell us?
Lord, who gives us the valuable gift of life and time, grant us to value each of our actions so that, like those of Jesus, they are aimed at showing your love and building your Kingdom. Amen.
