Year B: Fifth Sunday After Epiphany
Healing and Proclaiming the Message
This is the special grace of Epiphany. In view of his divine dignity and power, the Son of God gathers into himself the entire human family past, present and future. The moment that the Eternal Word is uttered outside the bosom of the Trinity and steps forth into the human condition, the Word gives himself to all creatures. - Thomas Keating1
Over the next few weeks, we will be contemplating the revelation of Jesus to several groups of people: the apostles, those afflicted with demons, and many who were sick and in need of a Savior. As we celebrate the Epiphany of Jesus to these blessed few, may Jesus appear in our lives in new ways and with a new intensity.
Year B, Fifth Sunday After Epiphany, February 4th, 2024
First Reading: Isaiah 40:21–31
Psalm: Psalm 147:1–11, 20c
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 9:16–23
Gospel: Mark 1:29–39
Sermon - Healing, Liberty, and Deliverance
In the gospel of Mark, the evangelist presents us with a rapid succession of miracles of Jesus. He cast out demons, healed the sick, and preached with authority as last weeks readings recounted. Our reading for this week is no different. Jesus heals a woman who had a fever, cured many who were sick, and cast out many demons.
After reading all of these miracles, one would think that Jesus’s primary purpose is to bring physical healing.
But after this very busy first day in Capernaum (notice the words “as soon as” and “just then” and “that evening” that tie the passage together), Jesus unexpectedly goes into the wilderness. One would think that after all of this apparent success as well as the fast moving pace of this gospel story that Jesus would get to work the next day, but he pauses to pray.
The disciples were confounded at such behavior! “Everyone is searching for you.” But Jesus’s response forces us to rethink what Jesus’s point behind all of these healings truly were: “Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also, for that is what I came out to do.”
And so he went. These next two passages present the kind of Messiah Jesus is.
Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint and strengthens the powerless. Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted, but those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:28–31
The LORD builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the outcasts of Israel. He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names. Great is our Lord and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure. The LORD lifts up the downtrodden; he casts the wicked to the ground. Psalm 147:2–6
Strengthens the weak, gathers the outcasts, heals the brokenhearted, and lifts up the downtrodden.
I think we all can identify with these labels in one way or another, right?
How would Jesus bring this form of healing? Mark records Jesus as saying that his purpose was to preach the good news to those who needed it the most, which leaves nobody out.
The phrase “proclaiming the message” is translated from a Greek word which shows up several times in Mark 1 in different forms. John the Baptist proclaimed a baptism of repentance and revealed that Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit (Mark 1:4, 7). Someone who was healed was supposed to keep it a secret, but he proclaimed it freely (Mark 1:45).
And Jesus came proclaiming the good news (Mark 1:14-15).
The gospel is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16). It is what delivers us from the bondage of sin, which is a prevalent theme in Mark. Paul took the healing provided by the gospel seriously that he said, “Woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel” (1 Corinthians 9:16).
Do we have similar convictions? Do we believe that the gospel is worth sharing? Do we believe it brings real healing? Can the good news of Jesus strengthen the fainthearted, bring about the release of captives, and heal the brokenhearted?
I can believe it—because the good news of Jesus has similarly transformed my life, and I believe Jesus can bring you peace too.
Second Reading - What Drives You?
“If I proclaim the gospel, this gives me no ground for boasting, for an obligation is laid on me, and woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel” (1 Corinthians 9:16).
There were some teachers at Corinth who were taking advantage of the attentiveness, zeal, and pocketbooks of the Corinthians. They were peddling a false gospel to try to win over some in the church there and earn their loyalty. These false apostles, as Paul calls them in 2 Corinthians 11, caused so much trouble that some began to doubt Paul’s apostleship.
While Paul did receive pay for his ministry from churches like Philippi (cf. Philippians 4:16). But in some cases, like in Corinth and Thessalonica, it was prudent for Paul to earn his living through his tent making trade or through the support of other churches. So in this letter to the Corinthians, Paul handles the dispute and doubts about his ministry by reminding them of his “free” labor among them.
For Paul, preaching and teaching God’s word was not about any kind of earthly perks—including a paycheck. Instead, Paul’s sole drive to proclaim the good news was the love of God and of his love for God. He had become so captivated by God’s love that the couldn’t help but share the grace of God with others (2 Corinthians 5:14).
What motivates you? Sure, relationships, good singing, common traditions, and maybe even good preaching and teaching might motivate you to attend church, read your Bible, and pray to God, and these are all great reasons, but our primary reason for being here, for loving each other, and for caring for those around us ought to be God’s love for us. Woe to us if we do not proclaim the good news!
Reflections
I’m going to be honest. I wasn’t feeling it this Sunday. It seemed like everything was going wrong from my iPad messing up in Bible class to my sermon slide having a fairly major typo in it. Besides that, I just felt…bleh. I preached a message on healing, but I was in need of healing.
So, last night I started a new tradition. I’m going to be doing body weight exercises three times a week, and I will be resuming my old habit of walking or running daily. When my brain chemistry seems to be out of whack, it usually means I’m not moving around enough, and with all of the ice and sickness and general holiday business we have had over the last three months, I need more time in motion and in the wilderness.
Thanks so much for keeping up with this blog. If you have any suggestions, recommendations, or critiques, you can always comment here or reach out through my website: https://danielr.net.
Keating, Thomas. The Mystery of Christ: The Liturgy as Spiritual Experience. New York: Continuum, 2008. Print.