Monday of 7th Week in Ordinary Time
Healing and Raising Up
In his letter, James presents to the faithful rules of Christian moral living as an expression of the true wisdom of faith.
Jesus heals a man who is possessed. He demands faith and trusting prayer, otherwise we are closed to God’s action. Mark describes the healing of the possessed boy in terms of a raising up, like the cure of the mother-in-law of Peter or the raising up of the daughter of Jairus. By his touch Jesus heals and restores life.
First Reading: James 3:13-18
Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? Here’s what you do: Live well, live wisely, live humbly. It’s the way you live, not the way you talk, that counts. Mean-spirited ambition isn’t wisdom. Boasting that you are wise isn’t wisdom. Twisting the truth to make yourselves sound wise isn’t wisdom. It’s the furthest thing from wisdom—it’s animal cunning, devilish conniving. Whenever you’re trying to look better than others or get the better of others, things fall apart and everyone ends up at the others’ throats.
Real wisdom, God’s wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced. You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor.
Gospel: Mark 9:14-29
When they came back down the mountain to the other disciples, they saw a huge crowd around them, and the religion scholars cross-examining them. As soon as the people in the crowd saw Jesus, admiring excitement stirred them. They ran and greeted him. He asked, “What’s going on? What’s all the commotion?”
A man out of the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought my mute son, made speechless by a demon, to you. Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and goes stiff as a board. I told your disciples, hoping they could deliver him, but they couldn’t.”
Jesus said, “What a generation! No sense of God! How many times do I have to go over these things? How much longer do I have to put up with this? Bring the boy here.” They brought him. When the demon saw Jesus, it threw the boy into a seizure, causing him to writhe on the ground and foam at the mouth.
He asked the boy’s father, “How long has this been going on?”
“Ever since he was a little boy. Many times it pitches him into fire or the river to do away with him. If you can do anything, do it. Have a heart and help us!”
No sooner were the words out of his mouth than the father cried, “Then I believe. Help me with my doubts!”
Seeing that the crowd was forming fast, Jesus gave the vile spirit its marching orders: “Dumb and deaf spirit, I command you—Out of him, and stay out!” Screaming, and with much thrashing about, it left. The boy was pale as a corpse, so people started saying, “He’s dead.” But Jesus, taking his hand, raised him. The boy stood up.
After arriving back home, his disciples cornered Jesus and asked, “Why couldn’t we throw the demon out?”
He answered, “There is no way to get rid of this kind of demon except by prayer.”
Prayer
Compassionate God,
through your Son, Jesus Christ,
you raised the sick to a full life
by healing them.
Take us by the hand too,
touch us and restore us to a fuller humanity.
Touch our minds, that we may become wiser
and look at the world and people
with your own compassionate eyes.
Touch our hearts,
that we may love and serve people more.
We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Video available at: bibleclaret.org