Our Lady of Lourdes Church and School

I can only imagine what would happen in our home if I brought a group of my adult friends home for dinner one Sunday evening, and my mother wasn’t feeling well. My mother takes great pride in her hospitality. But when it comes to visitors who arrive at dinner time, that’s a whole other level of hospitality, and we all stand back as she works her magic. Over the years, I’ve actually seen her shake off her feelings of illness, or of being under the weather, and bluster through an evening’s entertainment and dining. Nothing is ever done in half measure. She runs her kitchen like a professional chef and caters to her guests with an energy that leaves this son in awe, and often exhausted just watching her in action.

When Simon and Andrew bring their friends, along with the newly arrived and budding celebrity, Jesus, by all accounts their mother is ill. Mark’s narrative tells us that “immediately” they told Jesus that she wasn’t well. Jesus reaches out to her and helps her up. Straight away she begins to take charge of the situation as this bunch of men invade her home, and I can see her stepping up and outdoing herself as she extends hospitality to her surprise visitors.

The interesting point in this narrative, at least to me, is that Jesus works this little “miracle” within the home (privately) as they come from the Synagogue. It was the Sabbath. Technically he’s doing work on the Sabbath that is forbidden, but Jesus doesn’t seem to care too much for the prescriptions of human laws meant to preserve the honor of the holy day. He clearly understands that the Sabbath is for the good of people, and not the other way around. Jesus seems to be pretty sharp when it comes to keeping his focus on what matters most.

This sharp sense of focus is underscored in what follows immediately in Mark’s story. Everyone is taken with his healing of all who are brought to him and Jesus could easily have been distracted by trying to meet their immediate needs. However, that’s not his purpose. Instead, Jesus reminds Simon, and those who are with him, that his first and most important task is to preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God. To do this, he has to travel to other towns and villages. His concern has to be bigger than just this one place, even though it is his own place. So Jesus sets out and changes the world.

In many ways, we follow in the footsteps of Jesus by looking beyond our own immediate needs and beyond the concerns of our own parish, our own community and even beyond the need of our own families, perhaps. When we participate in Together in Mission, we lift our gaze to a horizon beyond our immediate vision, and we choose to make a difference in the lives of so many others. We do it for many reasons, perhaps, but I like to think one of our main reasons is that it is a good and Christian thing to do. We don’t turn our back on brothers and sisters who are in need, even though it often means that we make a sacrifice in our own lives in order to show Christian love and charity to others. Through our participation in the annual Together in Mission campaign, we follow the example of Jesus who went about doing good, and who made himself neighbor to the oppressed and the poor. He went out of his way to ensure that they particularly would have the Good News preached to them. Jesus had a special place in his heart for the disenfranchised and those suffering in life, and as his faithful disciples, we strive to make a difference in the lives of those whose needs are often greater than our own. We open our own hearts, just as Jesus did, and our goodness and charitable giving is part of our putting flesh - in our time - on the mission and love of Jesus.

The website for Together in Mission (ourmissionla.org) reminds us that “our theme for this (25th) anniversary year is ‘Let us Love.’ The love that Jesus calls us to is more than words and more than feelings. Christian love is a call to action. Jesus calls us to open our hearts and extend a helping hand to those who are most vulnerable and most in need. Thank for your generous support of the Together in Mission Campaign.”