Scripture:
Reflection:
We might say that Jesus embodies the reign of God in our world. His actions, words, teachings, active compassion, indeed his very presence – all reveal who God is and how God is, and how God sees our lives and our world.
Thus, where Jesus is, God reigns. To ‘reign’ in the way God reigns is to allow all that is human to reach its full potential. When God reigns, love is the ultimate determinant and most obvious part of human living.
God’s reign is also exercised over other forces too. In a symbolic way, then, the entry of Jesus into Simon’s house left no room for illness and any force that debilitated humanity to thrive. Illness is banished by the presence of Jesus and by his all-powerful word.
God’s reign is to be found wherever we are. Today we see God’s reign finding itself in he synagogue, in the family home of Simon, in the open air and cool of the evening as crowds sough healing and in the itinerant ministry of Jeus that did not afford him a place of security and stability. .
The ‘reign’ of God manifests itself when evil is banished or silenced. The reign of God also breaks into our world when suffering is cast aside. These two movements – the silencing of the demons and the banishment of Simon’s mother-in-law’s fever and later various other diseases – is a sub-theme of today’s reading and worthy of our reflection and meditation.
When did God break into your world and into your life in a way that healed and ‘set right’ things that were not allowing you to live as God intended?
Fr. Denis Travers, C.P., is the Provincial Superior of Holy Spirit Province, Australia.