Thursday of second week in ordinary time, Jan. 17,2007

Scripture: Hebrews 7:25-*:6 Psalm 140:7-10 and Mark 3:7-12:

A dramatic scene faces us today in Mark's narrative about Jesus. This is
customary for our evangelist who is succinct, colorful, and detailed. He
writes like a J.D.Salinger! but with a lot of gusto. We learn now of the
crowds from all over the land of Jesus coming to be near him whether for
his good news and messages of hope or for his healing powers over human
illness. He offers them and us a call to be wholesome and holy. We need to
hear this each day if we are to be close followers of Jesus. I can easily
put myself into the crowds and see myself as belonging to one of the
regions mentioned. I think of myself as coming from Jerusalem or Tyre in
Lebanon. Why? probably because I had the good fortune of visiting the Holy
Land and Lebanon as well. I was able to study at the Jesuit house of study
in Jerusalem for a period of three months and with the Ratisbonne priests
and brothers for another stretch of three months. It seems like yesterday,
but really was forty years ago! Today I am seeking the healing touch of
Jesus to calm me and teach me how to be patient and prayerful in the midst
of activities and ministries. I find it fascinating to see that Jesus
wanted his actions not known or acknowledged by the demons. Perhaps, this
is what we call the Messianic Secret in Mark. The spiritual nature of the
demons enable them to realize that Jesus is the Holy One, the Son of God.
He reprimands them and silences them. We mortals come to know him as a
real person in history and the designation used by Mark for this is "Son of
Man." That means he is a limited human being and is known in Galilee as
the Son of Mary of Nazareth. You and I recall that in this Gospel Joseph
is not mentioned because only God is Father to Jesus in Mark's narrative.
Jesus, however, has charismatic gifts and powers that go beyond the
ordinary for he is also the Son of God. Thus, from a certain perspective,
what happens to the crowd and the ones cured in the crowd happens to us as
we too search for the person of Jesus in our lives. We learn from him as a
historical person but also through our faith come to see him as the Son of
God. These two expressions are central to Mark's Christology throughout
his Gospel and possibly divide the Gospel into two parts. Let us continue
our search for the Lord Jesus in our lives and never waver in following the
paths he points out to us. Amen.