Homily

The evangelist Mark begins his Gospel with the narration of Jesus’ first day in Capernaum. It is a typical day in Jesus’ life. For us, however, it immediately seems so different from our own lives, so often marked by monotony, sadness, pettiness and, at times, lack of meaning. At other times the hardships and tragedy of life take over and we find that what is written in the book of Job is true for us too, "Do not human beings have a hard service on earth, and are not their days like the days of a labourer?" Furthermore, when we look at those affected by violence, injustice and wars - whether they are many and well-known or few and less spoken about - Job’s lamentation becomes even more tragic, "So I am allotted months of emptiness, and nights of misery are apportioned to me. When I lie down I say, "When shall I rise?" But the night is long, and I am full of tossing until dawn ... Remember that my life is a breath; my eye will never again see good." This passage of Scripture underlines the fact that the lives of men and women are full of hardships. The "day of Capernaum," which was proclaimed in today’s Gospel, infuses our days with strength and energy, like yeast that ferments the entire mass of dough.
After having cast off an impure spirit from a poor man in the synagogue, Jesus goes to the house of Simon and Andrew, perhaps in search of some quiet. However, as soon as he enters the house, he is told that Simon’s mother-in-law has a fever. Without delay, Jesus heals her. He says not a word, not even a prayer, but takes her hand and helps her rise. It is a simple story that, nonetheless, contains all of Jesus’ triumphant power against evil. It is not a coincidence that, in describing the woman’s healing, the evangelist employs the same verb used for Jesus’ resurrection. The woman’s response - "she began to serve them" - is not mere courtesy but "diaconia," i.e. service. This is the verb used to indicate what the woman began doing: serving the Lord and the brothers and sisters.
In a sense, this healing contains in itself all others: both the ones that Jesus will do in his earthly life, and those of the disciples of that time and of every time. In fact, the evangelist immediately broadens the scope from the healing of one person to that of many people, so as to say that Jesus came to fight every type of evil both physical and psychological. Compassion is already visible in the first page of the Gospel, and so should it also be in the life of the Church: compassion for the weak, the sick, the poor, the tired and worn out crowds, about whom we will often hear in the Gospels of the following Sundays. In a way, this compassion sums up Jesus’ entire mission. The evangelist notes that on the same day "that evening, at sunset, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons, and the whole city gathered around the door." The sun had set and the world gave no sign of light or hope, but the city was gathered in front of that door leading to the house where Jesus stayed; he was the only sun that had not set. One thinks naturally of the millions of people affected by war and hunger, who are seeking a door on which to knock for help. How can we not also think of the doors of our church communities, which are often a last refuge for the poor and desperate? Do these doors know how to open in order to provide healing and consolation, as Jesus did?
The evangelist tells us that Jesus healed many people. When everyone had gone, healed and heartened, Jesus went to a secluded place to pray. That moment was, in fact, the climax and inspiration of all of his days and of all that he did. It was his first and fundamental work. We can therefore imagine Jesus’ nightly prayer after having been so close to the anguish and hope of many people throughout the day. His intimacy with the Father was not a way of escaping the world and life to find tranquillity, which indeed he would have deserved. Most likely these meetings were passionate, maybe even dramatic, conversations between the Son and the Father regarding the mission the Father gave His Son, the state of the world, the salvation of those whom Jesus had met, and others whom he had still to meet. This might explain his reaction when the disciples join Jesus and tell him that everyone is looking for him: "Let us go on to the neighbouring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also." Jesus does not stop only in one home, only among one group or nation, or only in one civilization; nor does he exit only one door. He wants to visit all homes, because the Gospel is needed everywhere.