A Day in the Life of... Sunday Readings B 5 (Y-not question the Sunday Readings)

Thank you again Tony.
As you point out preaching the Good News and healing the afflicted were shown as his great commitments.
It struck me that was able to be totally committed to his mission, no matter how much distraction he faced. He lived for the message and for others.
He made time for prayer.
It seems that his great commitment came from prayer; it reinforced his faith the Father and the Father’s will.
The power of prayer has been discussed a lot recently in this forum.

Here is an interesting reflection from a USA priest.

The text can also be read here:

One of my favourite reflections on prayer is by Abraham Herschel

Tony, thanks for your reflection, and the way you have grounded it in the everyday. 

I've always been intrigued about the sort of prayer Jesus would have engaged in, in this passage from Mark, and in other similar Gospel passages.

Rising very early before dawn, he left 
and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed.

Only recently have I realized, that as an observant Jew, Jesus would have followed command in Deuteronomy 6:4 and prayed,

Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one.

And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be upon thy heart;
and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest.

The instructions in Deuteronomy about saying these words, seem to be very close to the instructions given about using a mantra for meditation, where one says it over and over until it becomes engraved on the heart and accompanies one everywhere, not just during meditation time.  It struck me as rather wonderful that we could use this same prayer that Jesus himself must have used (and which Jews to this day use in their daily prayer).

Just thought you, and others who meditate, might be interested.

Sue

Thank you yet again to Tony, Jerome and Sue for getting us thinking about different aspects of today's Gospel. Tony, I'd especially like to say that not only is this reflection one of your best, IMO, but it's one of the best commentaries I've ever read on a Gospel passage.

One thing which particularly strikes me about this Gospel story - and I think your reflection helped me see it this way, Tony - is that, in a sense, it could be describing a day in the life of just about anyone! I mean, to borrow Tony's very apt phrase, Jesus did not operate from the "great heights of a cathedral pulpit", nor from the great heights of a temple, or a palace, or anything else like that. Jesus very much lived among the ordinary people, and in fact, although he did such extraordinary things, he WAS an ordinary person. Hence, I feel I can say that this could be a description of a day in the life of almost anyone, a day that consists of spending time with friends, sharing a meal with them, helping others as best you can, and finding time for quiet prayer.

This last point is, I'm sure, one that many parents could identify with. I particularly thought of this when I read the bit about Jesus having to get up extremely early and going off on his own to pray - and even then he had people coming after him to let him know he was needed! I am reminded of something a friend once told me, about the time when her five children were teenagers or younger. She said that at that stage of her life, she found it so hard to find quiet, uninterrupted time for prayer and meditation that she decided she would have to wait up till the early hours of the morning. This she did - only to have her teenage children and their friends burst into the house and shatter the silence, having decided to end their evening out by bringing a pizza back to their house! So much for a quiet time of solitude!

So - to borrow from another Gospel - the Word truly became flesh and dwelt among us, and, I think we can add, truly became one of us.

Cathy Taggart

I splash in my poetry puddle
and try to keep God amused. - James Broughton

How was it for her? Definitely a memorable day, begun when she was "proper poorly," weak with fever and not apparently able to get on with her customary business. She was surely less than delighted when Simon (her son-in-law) and Andrew brought a total stranger into the house, plus James and John.

As it was probably a small house, she couldn't avoid the man and may indeed have felt too wretched to protest when he came to look upon her. The cure was sudden and remarkable. She was her old self again, bustling and hospitable. What a gift she had received!

And what a responsibility - throngs of neighbours turned up at the door, crowded in, made demands. But the stranger was equal to the event, and she surely wondered. . . One thing was clear - he would always be welcome in that house - she wouldn't hear a word against him. She knew now what it was that had attracted her son-in-law (and would take him away from his home and his fishing).

Her mind must have been in a big buzz. She probably didn't sleep that night. She'd have heard him get up and slip out early without waking the others. Would he be back, she wondered? Would he say or do more for them? He had healed her, a woman. Just a woman, and she had won his concern. What a reversal of the usual priorities in her village.

Well, there was little she could do, but she could and would tell people how he had healed her, made her really well again. She felt great. I guess she got up and made bread for that day. And when the boys got up and looked for their friend, she gave them the bread to take with them as they made off along the route they reckoned Jesus had taken.

One thing she knew - he had touched her and healed her.

We don't know her name. She is you, me, Everyone.

Mary