FRIENDS and SERVANTS of the WORD
FEBRUARY 7, 2021
Sunday – Week Five
WORD of the DAY
On leaving the synagogue he entered the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John. Simon’s mother-in-law lay sick with a fever. They immediately told him about her. He approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up. Then the fever left her and she waited on them. (Mark 1: 29-31)
How shall I live this Word? 
Immediately after leaving the synagogue, Jesus goes to Simon’s house. There he is informed of the health situation of his mother-in-law. In an immediate, simple, and gratuitous way, Jesus makes a gesture of liberation. Without fanfare or special rituals, he takes the woman’s hands to set her on her feet. The woman does not resist, she puts herself, we could say, in the hands of Jesus and in this way she is freed from the fever. The action performed by Jesus for the benefit of the woman should literally be translated: He “made her rise again”. The use of this expression is not accidental, it serves the Evangelist Luke to tell us that Jesus came to save us, to make us rise from the dead. The woman, in fact, passes from the horizontal position, typical of those who have died, to the upright position, typical of those who live. It is the good news that we hear echoing throughout the Gospel: Jesus came so that we may have life and have it to the full!
Lord, there are no safer hands than yours. You extend them towards us so that we can let ourselves be put back on our feet by You. Support us with your Spirit so that our life becomes a service of love for all.
The Voice of Pope Francis Audience 18 November 2020
Those who are more humble of heart pray like this: Lord, what You want, when You want it, and how You want it. A simple prayer, but it is putting our life in the hands of the Lord: may He lead us. We can all pray like this, almost without words.
FMA, Rome E-mail: srmterzo@gmail.com Website: www.sanbiagio.org info@sanbiagio.org Blog: livingscripture.wordpress.com Comment by Fr. Giuseppe Tilocca
