WEDNESDAY, TWENTY SECOND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
1 Cor 3: 1-9 Ps 33: 12-15, 20-21 Lk 4: 38-44
CALLED TO HEAL AND SERVE
Today’s readings remind us that the fruitfulness of our Christian life and ministry depends entirely on God’s grace. In the first reading, St. Paul corrects the divisions in the Corinthian community. Some claimed that they belong to Paul, others to Apollos, forgetting that both were only servants. Every vocation and ministry in the Church is God’s work before it is ours. As Lumen Gentium teaches, the Church is “the universal sacrament of salvation,” through which Christ continues His saving mission.
The Gospel reveals Jesus as the compassionate healer. He heals Simon’s mother-in-law of fever, and immediately she serves them. Healing always leads to mission. Christ restores us not merely for our own comfort but so that we may become instruments of His love. Evangelii Gaudium reminded us that the Church is “the house of the Father, where there is a place for everyone.” Like Jesus, we are called to bring hope, healing, and mercy to those who are burdened by suffering, loneliness, or sin.
A striking detail in the Gospel is that Jesus withdraws to a deserted place to pray before continuing His mission. His ministry flows from communion with the Father. St. Teresa of Avila says, “Prayer is nothing else than an intimate sharing between friends.” Without prayer, our mission becomes mere activity; with prayer, it becomes God’s work through us. Likewise, St. John of the Cross would add, “Where there is no love, put love, and you will draw out love.” Every act of charity becomes fruitful when rooted in contemplative union with Christ. Here the meaning of the Psalm also comes alive. It says, “Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to he His own.” We are reminded that our hope rests not in our achievements but in God’s faithful love, and encounter with that Love, the person Jesus, is the beginning of Christianity.
Like the Blessed Virgin Mary, let us humbly offer ourselves to God. We may plant and water through our prayer and service, but keeping in mind that it is always God who gives the growth. May we become faithful instruments of His healing presence and joyful witnesses of His Kingdom.
Response: Blessed the people the Lord has chosen for his heritage.
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