Luke 4:38-44
After leaving the synagogue Jesus entered Simon’s house. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked him about her. Then he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. Immediately she got up and began to serve them.
As the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various kinds of diseases brought them to him; and he laid his hands on each of them and cured them. Demons also came out of many, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Messiah.
At daybreak he departed and went into a deserted place. And the crowds were looking for him; and when they reached him, they wanted to prevent him from leaving them. But he said to them, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other cities also; for I was sent for this purpose.” So he continued proclaiming the message in the synagogues of Judea.
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
God in Our Own Lives
What's the difference between loving service and acquiescing to peer pressure? What's the difference between sharing one's gifts and talents freely and relying on the accolades and affirmations of others for one's sense of esteem? How do we know the difference between our own interior wisdom and the wisdom and persuasion of beloved others who seem so sure some good thing is “just right” for us?
I imagine that Jesus may have felt many of these interior tensions as he navigated this particular "day in the life" of his ministry. People were coming to him because of his talent for healing. He seemingly obliged with loving service. And yet, when they asked him to remain with them, he seemed to know, interiorly, that this was not quite right. Because of his prayer, his solitary time away from the crowds, he was able to remain grounded and centered in the truth of his purpose as he experienced it. I am reminded of St. Ignatius' Fifteenth Annotation that encourages us to remember that the Creator deals directly with each soul, preparing each one to better serve God in the context of their own lives. May each of us, then, be people who take the time to listen to the wisdom of God in the midst of our own lives AND may we allow each other the freedom to do the same.
—Laura Gilmartin is the Grants Manager and Facilitator of Urban Plunge immersion retreats at Casa Romero Jesuit Renewal Center, serves on the leadership team of the Ignatian Volunteer Corps of Milwaukee, and maintains a private spiritual care practice for monthly spiritual direction as well as the accompaniment of people through The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola. She completed her formation to serve in this capacity through the Seminars in Ignatian Formation with the Midwest Province of Jesuits.
Prayer
Spirit of God,
You are like a compass embedded in our hearts.
Help us to take time away, like Jesus did,
to calibrate our center and true north always on you.
Help us to listen closely, attuning our will to yours,
trusting that you are guiding us, and others, rightly according to your best purpose.
We ask this in the name of Christ, who always walks with us.
Amen.
—Laura Gilmartin