Sunday Thought

Marino Parish Sunday Newsletter

St. Vincent De Paul Parish         5th February 2012

 ‘ so that I can preach there too, for that is why I came’

Our readings today are very different in one sense, and yet each has a specific theme, namely, the need to focus on what is our major task in life. Job in his distress sees that everything is bleak and almost hopeless. Yet he perseveres despite all.

Again in the letter of St. Paul, he tells his followers that he could follow his trade and be paid for it, as the Gospel tells us, ‘ The labourer is worthy of his hire’. Yet he chooses to follow the mission that he feels has been entrusted to him. This mission he embraces wholeheartedly, to bring the love of Christ and His message of redemption to a wider world. He is not to be sidetracked, even though he could earn a good living as a cobbler and tent maker. His is a choice which so many people face, that is, either to follow the service of God or to concentrate on the affairs of the world.

In the Gospel we see Christ coming as it were to terms with His mission. Visiting the house of Simon and Andrew he heals their mother in law. On her recovery she sets about what she sees as her mission. That is to care for those in her family and in her neighbourhood.  She represents to us another form of dedication.

As the healing power of Christ becomes apparent to all in the surrounding countryside, He is called on to heal the people both physically and spiritually. He becomes exhausted by this and retires to be by Himself.

When the disciples come to Him, they can only see His role as that of healer. But Christ knowing the bigger picture does not seek local fame. His mission and His Father’s message are for a wider world and for all men.  In this way as He sets out, He also determines how His future will be lived out.

The readings set before us the choices people make in different guises.

Each day and each Sunday, we, too, come face to face with the need to choose to live the message of Christ or to take the easier road. His message of love and service can be lived in the home, in the work place, and in the wider community.

For each of us, it is a choice to make each day an encounter with the Word, and especially the Word made flesh, Christ Himself.