Reflection for January 14 Wednesday of the First Week in Ordinary Time: Mark 1:29-39

Gospel: Mark 1:29-39

On leaving the synagogue Jesus 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.

When it was evening, after sunset, they brought to him all who were ill or possessed by demons. The whole town was gathered at the door. He cured many who were sick with various diseases, and he drove out many demons, not permitting them to speak because they knew him. 

Rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed. Simon and those who were with him pursued him and on finding him said, “Everyone is looking for you.” He told them, “Let us go on to the nearby villages that I may preach there also. For this purpose have I come.”  So he went into their synagogues, preaching and driving out demons throughout the whole of Galilee.

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Reflection:

Do we share Jesus with as many people as possible?

Jesus is an itinerant Healer and Preacher—always on the move, always reaching out, always seeking souls. He desires to cover as much ground as possible so that He may touch more lives and heal more hearts. Yet this is what the people in the Gospel failed to understand.

They wanted to keep Jesus to themselves, to possess Him as if He were meant only for them. But Jesus would have none of this. After healing many— including Simon’s mother-in-law—He moved on to other towns, because His mission was not to stay, but to be sent; not to be kept, but to be shared.

Here, we are gently reminded of our own calling. Our gift of knowing Jesus is not meant to remain locked within our hearts. It is a grace entrusted to us, and grace is always meant to be given. We are called to share Him with others, whoever and wherever they may be.

And how do we share Jesus? We share Him through our words and through our lives. If we feel inadequate with words, then let our lives speak. Let us share Him through simple acts of kindness, through love that does not expect in return, through forgiveness that heals, and through gentleness that reflects the very heart of Christ.

So many people have only a shallow or distorted image of Jesus, not because He is hidden, but because we often fail to teach and live what He taught. What a blessing it would be—not only for others, but also for us—if we truly cared enough to make Jesus visible in the way we live.

And lest we forget: all of us are called to labor humbly in the vineyard of the Lord—no matter who we are and no matter what our past has been. Our sins do not disqualify us; they remind us of mercy. The past no longer defines us; it only teaches us. What matters most to Jesus is our present—our here and now—and our willingness to walk with Him into the future.

So let us ask ourselves, not only with our lips but with our lives: Are we content to keep Jesus to ourselves, or are we ready—starting today—to truly share Him with others? — Marino J. Dasmarinas