Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year B

Jesus heals many people with all kinds of illnesses

# Signs and miracles were the business of the charismatics, proof of the intimacy of their relationship with God who granted them these powers, writes Paula Fredriksen. Flavius Josephus, as well as some closer rabbinic sources and the New Testament, keeps the memory of these individuals alive. A certain Eleazar cast out demons from the possessed; Hanina ben Dosa of Galilee healed from a distance; the historian Geza Vermes saw a striking parallel between this thaumaturgical power and that attributed to Jesus in the episode of the healing of the son of an officer, where Jesus was supposed to act from a distance.

Other charismatics commanded nature: Honi, the circle tracer (« Onias » in Josephus), and his grandson Hanan were reputed to bring rain. These rainmakers were aware of their special relationship with God: Hanan the rainmaker even went so far as to pray that his audience would distinguish between him and the one who gave the rain, the Father in heaven. In general, historians admire that Jesus presented himself as a healer and exorcist in an act of salvation in accordance with his word of liberation. The miracle plays an important role in the conversion to Christianity.

From the Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark

At that time, as soon as they left the synagogue of Capernaum, Jesus and his disciples went with James and John to the house of Simon and Andrew. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever. Immediately they told Jesus about the sick woman. Jesus came and took her by the hand and raised her up.

The fever left her, and she served them. When evening came, after sunset, all those who were sick or possessed by demons were brought to him. The whole town was rushing to the gate. He healed many people with all kinds of diseases, and cast out many demons; he prevented the demons from speaking, because they knew who he was.

The next day Jesus got up, well before dawn. He went out and went to a deserted place, and there he prayed. Simon and those who were with him went out to look for him. They found him and said to him, « Everyone is looking for you. « Jesus said to them, « Let us go elsewhere, to the villages nearby, so that I may proclaim the gospel there also; for this is why I came out. « And he went about all Galilee, proclaiming the gospel in their synagogues and casting out demons.  » (Mk 1, 29-39)

Many healings of Jesus

Matthew, as well as Mark, indicated that Jesus healed Simon’s mother-in-law at the request of his disciples. While Mark says that they immediately told him about her, Luke noticed that they questioned or consulted him about the sick woman. Thus they became accustomed to call upon him in all their troubles.

And they waited to bring their sick to him until the sabbath had passed, because they thought that it was a violation of the rest of that day: « The Jews therefore said to him that was healed, It is the sabbath; it is not lawful for thee to take up thy bed.  « (Jn 5:10). The evangelists distinguished between the sick and the demon-possessed: « At evening they brought many demon-possessed to Jesus. He cast out the spirits with his word and healed all the sick. « (Mt 8:16)

The whole city means most of its inhabitants who crowded to the door of the house where Jesus was. He imposed silence on them to prevent them from talking about him, because they knew him, and from then on they would have given him a testimony that Jesus rejected. This passage shows how many miracles Jesus performed that are not told in the Gospels.

John himself observed them and several other passages in the gospels allude to many healings that were only mentioned. All of Jesus’ activity was also infinitely richer than the gospel accounts report. Mark and Luke had this account alone.  The former retained various features that were particular to him.

He came out of the house where he had healed the healings mentioned here. He withdrew to a deserted place to re-soak his soul in the fellowship of God, his Father: there he prayed. This mention of Jesus’ prayers, which recurs quite frequently in the Gospels, sheds a bright light on Jesus’ relationship with his Father during the time of his lowering to the earth. He needed prayer: how much more so did his disciples!

Those who were with Simon were his fellow disciples James and John. They went in search of him with the intention of bringing him back to the crowd that had surrounded him the day before: they all sought Jesus.   Jesus was troubled in his retreat and his meditation; and if he did not give in to their desires, it was to take his devoted activity elsewhere.

He left his home with the intention of leaving Capernaum for some time to preach in the various villages of Galilee. This was the first meaning that comes to mind according to the context and which is accepted by many interpreters. Others thought it meant: this is why I came out, from the  bosom of the Father and came into the world to preach the Gospel everywhere. Preaching the divine truth and doing good by destroying the kingdom of darkness was Jesus’ double activity.

Deacon Michel Houyoux

Links to other Christian websites

◊ Young catholics : click here to read the paper → 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year B

◊ , Catholic Diocese of Auckland  : click here to read the paper → Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

♥ Fr. John DeRiso, C.S.C : « Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time »

Zaterdag van de eerste week van de gewone tijd – Oneven jaar

Ik ben niet gekomen om de rechtvaardigen te roepen, maar de zondaars

# Matteus is een Joodse figuur die verbonden is met Galilea en voor het eerst verschijnt in de synoptische evangeliën, waar hij ofwel Mattheus ofwel Levi wordt genoemd. Hij wordt daar beschreven als een tollenaar, die Jezus riep om een van zijn twaalf apostelen te worden. Voor moderne historici is het gepast om de apostel Matteüs te scheiden van de evangelieschrijver, die volgens Matteüs zou zijn. Dit boek is waarschijnlijk samengesteld in de jaren tachtig, waarschijnlijk uit een versie van het Evangelie volgens Marcus waaraan de woorden van Jezus zijn toegevoegd uit wat geleerden de Q-bron noemen. De apostel Mattheus wordt vergeleken met Levi, zoon van Alphaeus.

Er is geen informatie over de apostel Mattheus in de recente geschiedschrijving over het ontstaan van het christendom. Hij verschijnt alleen in het Nieuwe Testament. Matthew is een publican (belastingontvanger) in Capernaum, misschien wel verantwoordelijk voor de tol van Herodes. Hij moet een hogere opleiding hebben dan de vissers van het meer, Peter en Andrew of James en John, de zonen van Zebedee. Maar vanwege zijn beroep wordt hij gefronst door de andere Joden. De burgers worden gezien, zo niet als verraders, dan toch als agenten van de Romeinse bezetting.

Uit het Evangelie van Jezus Christus volgens de heilige Marcus

In die tijd ging Jezus weer naar buiten bij de zee, en alle mensen kwamen naar hem toe, en hij leerde hen. Toen hij voorbij kwam, zag hij Levi, de zoon van Alphaeus, op het belastingkantoor zitten. En hij zei tegen hem: Volg mij. « De man stond op en volgde hem. Toen Jezus nu aan tafel zat in Levi’s huis, kwamen er veel mensen (dat wil zeggen, belastinginners) en veel zondaars die met Jezus en zijn discipelen kwamen en gingen zitten, want velen volgden hem.
Toen de schriftgeleerden van de groep Farizeeën zagen dat hij met de zondaars en de tollenaars aan het eten was, zeiden ze tegen zijn discipelen: « Hoe! Hij eet met belastinginners en zondaars! »
Toen Jezus dit hoorde, zei hij tegen hen: « Het zijn niet de gezonde mensen die de dokter nodig hebben, maar de zieken. Ik ben niet gekomen om de rechtvaardigen te roepen, maar de zondaars.  » (Mk 2, 13-17)

Roeping van Levi

Jezus keerde terug naar de zee, omringd door de menigte. En toen hij Levi, de zoon van Alphaeus, zag passeren bij het tolkantoor, zei hij tegen hem : « Volg mij. » En hij is hem gevolgd. Toen Jezus nu met zijn discipelen aan tafel zat in het huis van Levi, waar veel tollenaars en zondaars waren, zeiden de schriftgeleerden en Farizeeën tegen de discipelen : « Waarom eet Hij met zulke mensen ? »

Jezus antwoordde hen dat het juist de zieken waren die een arts nodig hadden, en de zondaars die Hij was gekomen om te roepen. Degene die Marcus en Lucas Levi noemden, werd in het Evangelie van Matteüs Matteüs genoemd. Alleen Marcus alleen al noemde Levi’s vader Alphaeus. En Levi maakte een groot feest in zijn huis : « En het geschiedde, zoals Jezus aan tafel in het huis zat, zie, vele mensen (dat wil zeggen, tollenaars) en vele zondaars kwamen en gingen met hem en zijn discipelen zitten. « (Mt 9, 10)

Alleen Mark bewaarde dit belangrijke detail dat veel van de aanwezige tollenaars en zondaars zich om hem heen verzamelden waar ze zijn woord konden horen. Zij volgden deze menigte van Jezus’ discipelen en de tollenaars die naar het huis van Levi kwamen. Het spektakel voor hun ogen lokte hun kritiek uit.

Zo’n gevoel onder deze trotse mensen, doordrenkt met hun eigen gerechtigheid, in de oosterse zeden van eten en drinken met iemand, duidde op een mate van vertrouwdheid en intimiteit die deze daad niet impliceert in onze ideeën. En toch zat Jezus niet alleen met deze tollenaars en zondaars aan tafel, maar hij koos ook een van zijn apostelen uit hun midden en gaf daarmee blijk van zijn macht op een stralende manier.

Diaken Michel Houyoux

Links naar andere christelijke websites

◊ Oude Sporen : klik hier om het artikel te lesen →  De roeping van Levi, de zoon van Alfeüs – Oude Sporen

◊ François Malan : klik hier om het artikel te lesen →    Die Evangelie volgens Lukas: Die roeping van Levi .

♥ Woorden van Jezus – Ik ben niet gekomen om te roepen rechtvaardigen.

Saturday after Epiphany – Year B

The bridegroom’s friend is very happy to hear the bridegroom’s voice

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# In the antiquities of Josephus’ Jews An account of John the Baptist can be found in all the manuscripts of the Antiquities of the Jews (book 18, chapter 5, 2) by Flavius Josephus (37-100). Some Jews thought that the destruction of Herod’s army [Antipas] was God’s doing, and that he was rightly called the Baptist as punishment for what he did against John: for Herod had him executed, Herod, who feared that John’s great influence on the people might induce them to rebel (for he seemed ready to do anything he asked him to do), thought it best, by putting him to death, to prevent any harm he might cause, and not to get into trouble, by sparing a man who might make him repent when it was too late. Consequently, he was sent prisoner, out of Herod’s suspicious character, to Macherus, the castle I have already mentioned, and was put to death there. The Jews thought that the destruction of this army was a punishment for Herod and a sign of God’s displeasure towards him .John died near the time of the destruction of Herod’s army in 36 A.D. However, in another passage Josephus states that the end of Herod’s marriage to the daughter of Aretas was only the beginning of the hostilities between Herod and Aretas, which intensified until the battle.

From the Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John

At that time Jesus went into Judea with his disciples, stayed there with them, and baptized. John, on the other hand, was baptising in Ainona, near Salim, where water was plentiful. People came there to be baptized. In fact, John had not yet been put in prison. However, there was a discussion between John’s disciples and a Jew about the purification baths. They went to John and said to him :  « Rabbi, he who was with you on the other side of the Jordan, to whom you have testified, behold, he is baptizing, and they all go to him. »
John replied : « A man can take nothing for himself except that which is given him from Heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said : I am not the Christ, but I was sent before him. He to whom the bride belongs is the bridegroom; and the friend of the bridegroom stands there and hears the bridegroom’s voice and is glad. This is my joy : it is perfect. He must grow, and I must diminish. « (Jn 3, 22-30)

Jesus in Judea, the last testimony of John the Baptist

After this first stay of Jesus in Jerusalem where the interview with Nicodemus took place. Jesus left the capital, where his manifestation in the temple and the miracles he performed could not secure him the general adherence and approval of the theocratic authorities. He concluded that the work of preparation carried out by John the Baptist had to be continued and he joined in, and went to the countryside of Judea to stay there for a while with his disciples. There too, he joined baptism to the preaching.

John corrected and completed by saying : « But Jesus did not baptize himself, but his disciples did. « (Jn 4, 2) This baptism was like that of the forerunner, a baptism administered as a sign of repentance ; the baptism in the Spirit did not take place until after Pentecost : « Whereas John baptized with water, you will be baptized in the Holy Spirit in a few days’ time » (Acts 1, 5).

In the Christian Church, these two baptisms were united into one, which became the seal of regeneration : « He was not manifested to the sons of men in other generations, as he has now been revealed by the Spirit to the holy apostles and prophets of Christ. « (Eph 3, 5)  John continued his work, because the kingdom of God, for which he preached and baptized, had not yet been established. He needed a command from God in order to end his mission; he received it through his imprisonment.

John explained how the work of John the Baptist could still continue. Why was this observation necessary? It was necessary because the accounts of Matthew and Mark, which did not follow a strict chronological order, suggested that the imprisonment of John the Baptist took place before the first return of Jesus from Judea to Galilee, immediately after his baptism.◊

However, John, who reported a first trip to Galilee and a second trip, thus distinguishing these two returns, which the synoptic tradition merged into one, re-establishes the chronological order of these early times of Jesus’ activity. John’s disciples were not unaware of their master’s positive statements about his relationship with the Messiah.   John the Baptist showed what his subordinate position was with regard to Jesus : « He is the bridegroom, to whom the bride belongs ». John was only a friend of the bridegroom, but that was enough to make him happy.

The position that John attributed to himself by this comparison was that of friend of the husband, his intermediary with the bride, charged with asking for her hand in marriage, and finally with preparing the wedding feast. This role that John described in these details: the friend of the bridegroom stands there, at her disposal, he listens to her, he is delighted to hear her voice, during the wedding feast : « I will cause the songs of gladness and songs of joy to cease in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, the bridegroom’s song and the bridegroom’s song, for the land shall be nothing but a desolation. « (Jeremiah 7, 34)

Deacon Michel Houyoux

Links to other Christian websites

◊ Epithalamium : click here to read the paper →   What Does John 3:29 Mean ?

◊ Desiring God   : click here to read the paper →  Jesus Christ, the Bridegroom, Past and Future

♥ Saint John Paul II National Shrine

Vendredi après l’Epiphanie — Année B

À l’instant même, la lèpre le quitta

# D’après Irénée de Lyon, Jésus montra sa divinité par ce miracle. Il invitait les incrédules, par les miracles qu’il faisait, à rendre gloire à son Père, et, aux Pharisiens qui n’accueillaient pas la venue du Fils de Dieu et qui, pour cette raison, ne croyaient pas à la rémission des péchés accomplie par lui. Le Fils de l’homme a, sur la terre, le pouvoir de remettre les péchés. Après avoir parlé ainsi, Jésus ordonna au paralytique de prendre le grabat sur lequel il gisait et de s’en retourner à sa maison. Par l’accomplissement de ce miracle, il confondit les incrédules et fit comprendre qu’il fut lui-même la Voix de Dieu. C’est pour avoir transgressés les commandements qu’il étaient devenu pécheur, et la paralysie avait été la conséquence des péchés. Ainsi, en remettant les péchés, Jésus n’a pas seulement guéri l’homme, il a aussi révélé clairement qui il était. Personne ne peut remettre les péchés, sinon Dieu seul, et si le Seigneur les remettait et guérissait l’homme, il est clair qu’il était le Verbe de Dieu devenu Fils de l’homme, ayant reçu du Père le pouvoir de remettre les péchés. Jean Chrysostome cite la Bible qui dit que Jésus est venu en ce monde pour sauver les pécheurs.

De l’Évangile de Jésus Christ selon saint Luc

Jésus était dans une ville quand survint un homme couvert de lèpre ; voyant Jésus, il tomba face contre terre et le supplia :  » Seigneur, si tu le veux, tu peux me purifier. » Jésus étendit la main et le toucha en disant : « Je le veux, sois purifié. » À l’instant même, la lèpre le quitta.
Alors Jésus lui ordonna de ne le dire à personne : « Va plutôt te montrer au prêtre et donne pour ta purification ce que Moïse a prescrit ; ce sera pour tous un témoignage. » De plus en plus, on parlait de Jésus. De grandes foules accouraient pour l’entendre et se faire guérir de leurs maladies. Mais lui se retirait dans les endroits déserts, et il priait.  (Lc 5, 12-16)

Guérisons d’un lépreux et d’un paralytique

Jésus, de la barque de Simon, annonça la Parole de Dieu. Jésus, pressé par la foule, au bord du lac, avisa deux barques, dont les pêcheurs descendirent.  Il monta dans celle de Simon et enseigna la multitude. Après avoir achevé son enseignement, Jésus ordonna à Simon de jeter le filet. Bien qu’ils eussent travaillé toute la nuit inutilement, Simon obéit, et son filet se remplit tellement qu’il menaça de se rompre. Leurs compagnons dans l’autre barque vinrent à leur aide. Les deux barques furent près d’enfoncer.

Jésus institua des pêcheurs d’hommes. Simon demanda à Jésus de se retirer de lui pécheur. Il fut saisi de crainte, ainsi que Jacques et Jean. Jésus le rassura, et lui annonça qu’il sera désormais pêcheur d’hommes. Les disciples, laissant tout, suivirent Jésus.

 Luc n’établit pas de lien chronologique entre ce qu’il  raconta : Jésus était au bord du lac de Génézareth ; la foule le pressait et écoutait. Il monta sur une barque qui se trouvait là et qui était à Simon ; il le pria de s’éloigner à une petite distance du rivage, de manière à pouvoir être vu et entendu de toute la foule assemblée.

« Avance en pleine eau », dit Jésus à Simon. « Jeter vos filets », s’adressèrent aux autres pêcheurs qui furent avec lui et qui prirent part dans l’action symbolique qui eut lieu. Ce récit ne rapporta le même fait que celui de Matthieu et celui de Marc, c’est-à-dire qu’il ne renferma la vocation des premiers disciples de Jésus.

Seulement, Matthieu et Mac ne firent que rapporter brièvement le fait de la vocation, tandis Simon lui répondit :  » de même Jacques et Jean, fils de Zébédée, les associés de Simon. «  Jésus dit à Simon : « Sois sans crainte, désormais ce sont des hommes que tu prendras. » Luc raconta le miracle qui  symbolisa d’une manière saisissante cette parole de Jésus. 

Tandis que sa renommée se répandit parmi les foules, que sa popularité s’accrut, Jésus chercha la solitude dans les déserts où il  se retira et, pria. Jésus déploya tant de forces physiques et morales, qu’il dut souvent venir retremper son âme dans la communion avec son Père des cieux. Ces temps de retraite permettaient en même temps à l’agitation produite par la vue de ses miracles de se calmer.

Luc fut celui des évangélistes qui releva le plus fréquemment ce côté intime de la vie de Jésus  (Luc 3.21 ; Luc 6.12 ; Luc 9.18 ; Luc 9.29 ; Luc 11.1 ; Luc 22.41 ; Luc 22.44).

 Diacre Michel Houyoux

Compléments

◊ Diacre Michel Houyoux : cliquez ici pour lire l’article → Catéchèse : Je veux ! Sois purifié ! (Mc 1, 40-45)

◊ Diacre Michel Houyoux : cliquez ici pour lire l’article →  À l’instant même, la lèpre le quitta

Liens avec d’autres sites web chrétiens

◊ Regnum Christi  : cliquez ici pour lire l’article → À l’instant même, la lèpre le quitta

◊  Gloire à Dieu : cliquez ici pour lire l’article →  Miracle de Jésus : à l’instant même, la lèpre le quitta

♥ « À l’instant même, la lèpre le quitta. » – Lectio Divina -