Today, we meditate on two important points from the Gospel of the day. The first is the healing that Jesus brings us. He is willing to touch even our infected body and soul to heal us. He heals everything. Yes, Jesus is not afraid to expose himself to contagion to free our hearts; he is not afraid to deal with even the worst things we have done or cultivated inside us, those invisible diseases or bad habits that stick to us. This means that in God’s heart, there is room for everyone. There is room for me despite everything I might have done. And there is room for you. There is room for the condemned thief even in the last seconds of his life.
No Indifference
Consequently, we cannot ourselves feel indifferent to others’ problems. Just as Jesus has mercy on us and welcomes us despite our limitations, so we are called to do the same with others by bearing witness with our lives. If Jesus makes room for everyone, why should we keep someone out of our love or out of our church? That is why the Church is a home for both saints and sinners; no one is excluded. And there is a hope of salvation for all.
Reject Vainglory
The second point of reflection is the way in which Jesus works, rejecting any form of clamor or vainglory. This is why he withdraws himself from the cheering crowd to a lonely place to pray. A big lesson for us. We can often get excited when we see crowds; we begin to count and announce the numbers, and that, for us, should mean the success and goodness of our work.
In doing so, we run the risk of thinking too highly of ourselves, feeling that the crowds are present because of our excellence. And the more we exalt ourselves, the more we organize ourselves and marshal out strategies to ensure that the numbers keep increasing in some way. And when the numbers are not there, do we still work and preach?
Sometimes, being so conscious of the numbers can suggest hiding vainglory under good intentions. Jesus’ criterion in performing healing is not that of clamor or numbers. When we work, what do we do it for, for salvation, for numbers, for success and the resulting glory? Do we use the Christian life for our personal glory? Let us beware of this subtle temptation that prevents us from being instruments of healing because it makes us stop only where there is a cheering crowd, forgetting to listen to others and ignoring the lepers, the poor, the vagabonds, the seekers of God.
