5th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2021

Most Reverend José H. Gomez
Archbishop of Los Angeles

Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels
February 7, 2021

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,¹

In this Gospel we have just heard, we are still in the early days of Jesus’ public life and ministry. 

This beautiful passage of the Gospel is one of my favorites because it talks about how Jesus cares about our human needs and also our spiritual needs. 

This reminds us that when we hear these Gospel readings every Sunday in our sacred liturgy, we need to listen in a special way. 

The Gospels are written by disciples and for disciples. They are written so that we can feel the “newness” of what it was like for those first disciples to know Jesus, to hear his words, to witness his miracles, to be the first to follow in his footsteps. 

So in our Gospel reading today, we have to imagine that we are with those first disciples, leaving the synagogue at Capernaum with Jesus. As we probably recall, last Sunday we witnessed Jesus preaching in the synagogue on the Sabbath and healing a man with an unclean spirit. 

Today’s Gospel is a continuation of that story. So we go with him to the home of Simon Peter and there we find his mother-in-law who is very sick.  

And the Gospel tells us: “He approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up.”

This is quite a beautiful scene. We can feel our Lord’s love, his care, his human touch and contact. 

My brothers and sisters, we see this so often in the pages of the Gospels. Our Lord’s love is personal, he is always deeply involved in the lives of the people he comes to serve. 

Jesus does not only preach about our duty to love our neighbors — he shows us how to do it!

And his healings are more than physical. The miracles he works are always “signs” that reveal the truth of his preaching. Through his healing works, he shows us the great dignity of the human person. He shows us how precious we are — every one of us — in the eyes of God. 

Jesus today heals Simon-Peter’s mother-in-law. But that’s not the end of the story. The very next line in the Gospel says this: “Then the fever left her and she waited on them.” 

Brothers and sisters, we need to understand that we are this woman in the Gospel. 

Each of us in our lives has experienced the salvation of Jesus, his healing touch. That is the meaning of our Baptism. That is why we are gathered today to worship him in this holy Eucharist. 

Jesus has set us free from sin by his life and his death for us on the Cross. His love for each one of us is personal. He died for you, and he died for me. He binds our wounds, he calls us by our names. And by his sufferings we are healed.

Like this woman today in the Gospel, Jesus has raised us up and made it possible for us to live in a totally new way. In freedom. Not for ourselves, but for others, and for God. The healing that Jesus brings is a liberation from the bondage of our own selfishness, our isolation, our indifference to others. 

My brothers and sisters, like this woman today in the Gospel, we have been healed and we are now called to serve. 

In the Gospel, Jesus says to his disciples: “Let us go … that I may preach.” 

He is speaking today to us. Our lives are joined now to Christ, we share now in his mission. 

Jesus calls us to go with him, to walk in his footsteps. Jesus wants to continue his mission of preaching and healing — through us. Through our words. Through our works of love. Through our lives.

St. Paul says today in the second reading: “All this I do for the sake of the Gospel.” 

My brothers and sisters, this is how Jesus wants us to live as his disciples. All for the sake of the Gospel! All for the sake of helping others to find him — so that they might know his healing in their lives. 

That’s why also in today’s passage of the Gospel, we hear the disciples tell Jesus: “Everyone is looking for you.”

This is still true, my brothers and sisters! 

In the first reading tonight, from the Book of Job, we hear the cry of the poor: 

“Is not man’s life on earth a drudgery? …  He is a slave who longs for the shade. … My days … come to an end without hope … I shall not see happiness again.” 

Without Christ, with God, life has no meaning. And we know many people who are searching for meaning, searching for God — some of them maybe in our own lives, sadly.

Jesus Christ is the One who gives our lives meaning. He holds the answer to every question.

And this is his purpose for coming into our world. He comes to preach the good news of God’s Kingdom. He comes to cast out all the demons from our lives. To heal the brokenhearted and the sick. So that we can live with God and for God. 

So, brothers and sisters, let us go with Jesus. Let us ask him today for the grace and strength to preach and heal in his name. And to help our neighbors to find what they are looking for, to find Christ!

Let us ask Mary, Our Blessed Mother to intercede for us and to help us to do everything for the sake of the Gospel of her Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. 

1. Readings: Job 7:1-4, 6-7; Ps. 147: 1-6; 1 Cor. 9:16-19, 22-23; Mark 1:29-39.