Word to the Wise
Thursday, January 18, 2018 - Thursday in the 2nd Week in Ordinary Time
[1 Sam 18:6-9; 19:1-7 and Mark 3:7-12]THURSDAY, JANUARY 18, 2018. ST. MARGARET OF HUNGARY, O.P. [1 Samuel 18:6-9; 19:1-7 and Mark 3:7-12. The scriptures may vary at Dominican locations ] He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, so that they would not crush him. He had cured many and, as a result, those who had diseases were pressing upon him to touch him. [Mark] The price of fame is well known. Those who are celebrities know it well. It is said that Pope St. John Paul II stopped wearing cuff links because people were tearing them off when he "worked" the crowds. In the Acts of the Apostles, people would lay their beloved sick in the path of the apostles so that their shadow would touch the sick! Jesus could tell the difference between being jostled in a crowd and a woman who just touched the tassel of his cloak. It is no wonder that he asked for a boat to create some distance. It's an early and creative form of crowd management! As frantic as the crowds were, their faith is not in Jesus as messiah but in Jesus as wonder worker. Only the unclean spirits knew who he really was, and Jesus did not want to be known in that way. In the Gospel According to Mark, faith and understanding come only with the cross and resurrection. This could remind us to consider if we "filter out" the cross and resurrection and focus too much on Jesus as healer and wonder worker. Who is he? AMEN
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