We see Jesus coming out of the synagogue, as if from the bosom of his heavenly Father, to meet the man overcome by the forces of evil.
Since time immemorial, man has sought God through beliefs, ideologies and thoughts, through sacrifices, cults and prayers…, with all the ambiguities that this can entail. Even today, people still create idols and laws that suit them or meet their expectations, without imagining or suspecting the perdition that ensues. For there is no savior on this path, and man ends up coming face to face with himself.
Christianity, on the other hand, takes the opposite approach: God himself comes to visit us through the incarnation of his Son, born of the Virgin Mary. It is not man who can seek and find God, but it is God Himself who first loved us and comes to meet us. The situation of Simon’s mother-in-law demonstrates the state in which man finds himself without the help of the true God. “Truly man’s life on earth is drudgery…” (Job 7, 1f).
We see Jesus, overflowing with love and compassion, coming to us, reaching out and lifting us up from our situation; healing us in our souls and bodies; freeing us from everything that alienates us and prevents us from serving God and our brothers and sisters. Thus, freed from our captivity, we will in turn place ourselves at the service of our brothers. “Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel” (1 Cor 9:16).
“I thank God for my 25 years of priestly life. This is in no way a merit on my part, but a free gift from God who freed me and made me a servant of my brothers. Blessed be His Name”.
