The Fifth Sunday after Epiphany
Year B

The Power of Love

Readings: Isaiah 40:21-31; 1 Corinthians 9:16-23; Mark 1:29-39

Consider for a moment how many of the words that we use to describe God are images that speak of God as powerful.  Words like Omnipotent, Almighty, Eternal, Ruler, Great! When tragedy strikes as it has in the past week – seven people aboard the Columbia die, seven young people are crushed by an avalanche, a thirteen year old girl dies of cancer – it is that God of power that we are quick to blame. 

 There are just as many words that describe a God of love.  Father, Giver, Loving, Gracious, Heavenly! There are times when we can see God as a God of love.  We take in the beauty of God’s creation.  We experience the miracle of life.  We come to God in prayer and know the peace that God can place in our hearts.   

But to put the two together! Power and Love! That seems ludicrous, for to most of us power and love belong in two totally different arenas.  How can God be powerful and yet loving?  It is that contradiction with which we must grapple in today’s readings.  God’s power creates the vast world; the God of love knows each star by name and cares for each insignificant creature.  Our loving God is there for even the most hopeless person; God gives that person the power to overcome their situation. Jesus casts out a demon.  He uses the power of love to overcome the power of evil.  He uses the power of the Holy Spirit to bring healing into the lives of sick and suffering people. Paul uses the power that God has given him wisely and it enables him to do the loving thing.  

We are called to celebrate both – God’s power and God’s love.  We do it by following Jesus’ example of powerful love.  We strive to be like Paul in doing the loving thing even when we have the power to do otherwise.  We worship the God of power and love.   

Jesus’ whole ministry is an example of how to live our lives celebrating God’s love and God’s power.  In today’s gospel we read how people crowded around the door looking for healing! Even when Jesus retreated for a rest, the disciples came after him.  “Everyone is searching for you,” they told him.  The same Christ today works through us to bring the divine touch to the ailments of the suffering masses.  He knows the demons that afflict us – our bad habits, weaknesses, vices, compulsions, fears and worries.   

Paul’s life too is a wonderful example of how God works through us.  “Woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel!” he says to the Corinthians.  He has no option but to preach; it is a compulsion, an obligation.  Preaching when he is discouraged, praying when everything is going wrong and it is the last thing he wants to do, witnessing to the faith when his own faith needs bolstering, and continuing on in faith knowing the importance of what he does.   

Are there times when you are unable to experience the love of God?  We move at a hectic pace.  The cares of life overtake us.  Like Jesus we need to practice prayerful solitude.  How do we make time for ourselves?  How do we set aside time for prayer and reflection.  Prayer was an essential part of his service.  It was a refuge from the enthusiasm of the crowds.  It was the secret to his great power.  If we want to be in touch with God, then we need to take the time to withdraw from the world to pray.  Like Jesus we need time to recharge our batteries, to be alone, to be renewed. 

 We can find and pray to God anywhere and everywhere – in the kitchen, in the classroom, in the office, in the street.  But it is good also to have a special place to which we can withdraw from time to time.  In such places we become different, more attuned to God, calmer, quieter, more relaxed, and more open to God’s presence.   

When people came to Jesus for healing, Jesus said that he did not come to heal sick people but to heal the world.  He came to change the world in such a way that sickness would disappear.  It is a call to us to look for the reasons behind what is ailing our society and to change our priorities as he did.  

Some mission sisters went from Europe to start a clinic in an impoverished area in Africa.  People came to the mission bringing their children.  It was a wonderful success, but the sisters kept wondering whether they were doing the right thing.  Most of the cases they treated were children suffering from diarrhea.  The sisters could treat the symptoms overnight, but they knew that the main problem was bad drinking water.  They started visiting people in their homes and speaking in the community to help bring about a change in their living conditions. 

How do we begin to look at the problems in our society and then do something about them?  We see needy people all around us.  We live in a world where many go hungry.  Violence is escalating in our community.  People are discriminated against because of their ethnic origin or the colour of their skin.  We feel powerless to change anything.  Yet the same power that energized Paul, the same power that Jesus used, is available to us.  We too can learn to channel power, peace and joy to the difficult people and situations around us.   We can bask in the love of God and reach out in love to our needy world.  We can see Christ in others and let them see Christ in us.  Amen.