Homily for Wednesday of the 1st Week in Ordinary Time

In today's Gospel passage, we encounter two distinctive traits of Jesus. The first is His ministry of healing. Jesus healed Simon's mother-in-law, who was suffering from a fever, by taking her hand and helping her to stand. Later that evening, many people brought others who were ill or possessed by demons to Him. The town gathered as He cured the sick and cast out numerous demons, making it a public event.

The Gospel then highlights a second, more private trait of Jesus. It describes how He went to a deserted place in the morning to pray. However, Simon and others pursued Him, interrupting His time for prayer, rest, and solitude because they wanted Him to continue His work. Eventually, perhaps feeling weary, He agreed to move on, saying, "Let us go on to the nearby villages so that I may preach there also. For this purpose, I have come."

Simon Peter and the others did not appreciate Jesus' need for quiet time and rest. They even rebuked Him by saying, "Everyone is looking for you." Yet, Jesus understood that the source of His life-giving work was His relationship with God, which required dedicated time for prayer. For Him, this time spent in prayer was just as important as His healing work.

Prayer is not just a spiritual practice, it is a necessity for us as it was for Jesus. We must maintain a close relationship with the Lord to live as He desires and partake in His work. In prayer, we acknowledge and express our dependence on the Lord; we open ourselves to His life-giving presence, enabling us to become channels of that presence for others.