Thursday of Week 2 in Ordinary Time
Heb 7:25-8:6
Mk 3:7-12
For he had cured so many that all who were afflicted in any way were crowding forward to touch him.
I think not one of us can say that we do not suffer from any affliction. While writing this reflection, I checked the meaning of the word affliction. The Oxford dictionary defines affliction as a cause of pain or harm. This meaning that doesn’t confine it to pain alone and expands the scope of the word. And it’s really true, because not every thing that causes us harm is painful. In fact, many are pleasantly addictive.
We have been afflicted ever since original sin. Our nature had been wounded from a long time back. So, at the mention of ‘all who were afflicted in any way’, I started imagining that the people who were crowding round Jesus were not just those that were physically ill, but also those who were mentally, emotionally, spiritually afflicted, and other ways I could not mention. And because of this, I started seeing myself in that crowd. I started seeing myself not just an observer, but someone who is desperate to be rid of my afflictions, as someone who is hoping to be cured.
And I also realised that until I reached heaven, I will always need to be in that crowd…until I reach heaven.
If we imagine ourselves in this crowd, it would be very uncomfortable. Imagine jostling amidst a very packed crowd – it was so packed Jesus had to get on a boat to avoid being crushed. It will be so difficult to move, and it will be so inconvenient as well. But the people in the crowd persevered. They would not have persevered if they had no hope nor faith.
This year, Pope Francis invites to live our lives with hope. Quoting from Spes non confudit
“Everyone knows what it is to hope. In the heart of each person, hope dwells as the desire and expectation of good things to come, despite our not knowing what the future may bring. Even so, uncertainty about the future may at times give rise to conflicting feelings, ranging from confident trust to apprehensiveness, from serenity to anxiety, from firm conviction to hesitation and doubt. Often, we come across people who are discouraged, pessimistic and cynical about the future, as if nothing could possibly bring them happiness. For all of us, may the Jubilee be an opportunity to be renewed in hope. God’s word helps us find reasons for that hope.”
This hope will surely help us persevere in that crowd. I’m not sure how long each of us stayed there. Some of us may be been there for seemingly such a long time. Some of us may just have decided to join the crowd. I really pray that in this year of hope, we will be able to persevere joyfully; after all, we were told that ‘the power of Jesus to save is utterly certain.’
(Today’s OXYGEN by Stephanie Villa)
Prayer: Lord, please fill my heart with hope.
Thanksgiving: Thank you, Lord, for this year of Jubilee.
OXYGEN 
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