Very early in the morning, before daylight, Jesus went off to a lonely place where he prayed. Simon and the others went out also, searching for him; and when they found him, they said, “Everyone is looking for you.“ Then Jesus answered, “Let us go to the nearby villages so that I may preach there too; for that is why I came.“
So Jesus set out to preach in all the synagogues throughout Galilee; he also cast out demons.
REFLECTION:
“Sin – Solidarity = Death“
We continue pushing forward the mystery of the Baptism of the Lord in today’s readings. Jesus’ identification with sinful humanity means Jesus’ embracing of the full consequence of being human–BEING SUBJECT TO DEATH! The awesome implication of the mystery of the BAPTISM of Jesus is now revealed! The waters of the Jordan that had received the sins of the so many John had baptized. Jesus descended, as it were, into contaminated water so that He sinless might be contaminated with Sin. Thus, through his baptism at the Jordan Jesus enters into a “SIN-SOLIDARITY“ with humanity. Jesus, the Incarnate, though sinless, voluntarily shared man’s common lot: sin and its fruit, death! (Rom 6:23 says “For the wages of sin is death.“)
In yesterday’s Gospel Jesus expelled Satan from the possessed man. Today Jesus strikes at one common sign of our mortality, namely, sickness. Jesus’ curing of the sick mother in law of Peter and the subsequent sick who were brought to Jesus for healing clearly indicated that Jesus had come to destroy the root cause of all sickness–sin! And Jesus will bring that good news to all!
Later on, when Jesus will send his apostles on mission, he will tell them to preach the good news, drive away evil spirits, and heal the sick. Today would be a good time to pray for the healing of all the sick in our community.