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Jesus Christ’s physical healings “announced a more radical healing”

On the Readings for Sunday, February 4, 2024

"Christ Healing the Mother of Simon Peter’s Wife" (1839) by John Bridges (Wikipedia)

Readings:
• Jb 7:1-4, 6-7
• Ps 147:1-2, 3-4, 5-6
• 1 Cor 9:16-19, 22-23
• Mk 1:29-39

Fast-paced. Abrupt transitions. Constant action. Confrontations. Good vs. Evil. Death. Demons. Sickness. A decisive hero of few words. Supernatural acts.

Such words might be used to describe a movie, a comic book, or a work of fantastical fiction. But they actually describe very well the Gospel of Mark, which is punchy and fast moving, the shortest of the four Gospels. Of course, it has the significant feature of being a true account of historical events and people.

As Scott Hahn and Curtis Mitch write in their commentary, “Mark paints a portrait of Jesus that is vivid and dynamic, focusing most of his attention on Jesus’ mighty works.” Aside from two discourses (Mk 4:1-32; 13;1-37), the second Gospel “depicts Jesus as an active healer and exorcist continually on the move …” (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible). The urgency of St. Mark’s style is evidenced by his repeated use of the word “immediately,” which appears over forty times in the span of just sixteen chapters.

All of these qualities are found in abundance in the readings from the first chapter of Mark, heard last week, this week, and next week. In last week’s reading (Mk 1:21-28), Jesus confronted a demon after speaking in the synagogue. In today’s reading he is described healing a variety of physical illnesses and casting out more demons. And next week’s reading depicts Jesus’ dramatic interaction with a desperate leper.

These actions demonstrated—in startling, powerful fashion—the reality of what Jesus declared in Mark 1:15: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” The kingdom is not about words only, but about the saving, healing actions of the only Word, the Son of God. By casting out demons, Jesus showed his power over the dominion of darkness and spiritual death. By healing the sick, he revealed his love and care for those who suffer, who are blind, lame, and deaf.

Those physical healings, the Catechism points out, “announced a more radical healing: the victory over sin and death through his Passover. On the cross Christ took upon himself the whole weight of evil and took away the ‘sin of the world,’ of which illness is only a consequence” (par 1505).

Jesus himself made explicit this connection between physical maladies and spiritual sickness. “Those who are well do not need a physician,” he said to the scribes questioning his motives and methods, “but the sick do. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners” (Mk 2:17). It is a sad and desperate fact of the Fall that once we are born, we begin to die. We need to be reborn through radical, supernatural surgery: a new heart, a transformed mind, a sanctified spirit.

“The wounded surgeon plies the steel,” wrote T.S. Eliot, in Four Quartets, of the Physician of souls. “Beneath the bleeding hands we feel/The sharp compassion of the healer’s art/Resolving the enigma of the fever chart.” The fever afflicting Simon’s mother-in-law was likely deadly; the scene is set forth with curt urgency.

Upon being “raised up”—the same language used, it is worth noting, of the risen Lord after his death (Mark 16:6)—she waits upon Jesus and his disciples.

Why? St. Jerome thought the question was silly. “Can you imagine Jesus standing before your bed and you continue sleeping?” he wrote, “It is absurd that you would remain in bed in his presence.” He focused on the spiritual meaning of the physical actions involved. “See how costly is the compassion of the Savior,” he stated, “Our sins give off a terrible odor; they are rottenness.”

But the fever of sin and the stench of death flee at the touch of the Savior. The sharp compassion of the holy healer cuts us to the quick. The grace-filled paradox, as Eastern Christians sing during Easter, is that “by death He conquered death.” It is not, praise God, just a movie, or a comic book, or a work of fantastical fiction.

(This “Opening the Word” column originally appeared in the February 8, 2009, edition of Our Sunday Visitor newspaper.)


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About Carl E. Olson 1241 Articles
Carl E. Olson is editor of Catholic World Report and Ignatius Insight. He is the author of Did Jesus Really Rise from the Dead?, Will Catholics Be "Left Behind"?, co-editor/contributor to Called To Be the Children of God, co-author of The Da Vinci Hoax (Ignatius), and author of the "Catholicism" and "Priest Prophet King" Study Guides for Bishop Robert Barron/Word on Fire. His recent books on Lent and Advent—Praying the Our Father in Lent (2021) and Prepare the Way of the Lord (2021)—are published by Catholic Truth Society. He is also a contributor to "Our Sunday Visitor" newspaper, "The Catholic Answer" magazine, "The Imaginative Conservative", "The Catholic Herald", "National Catholic Register", "Chronicles", and other publications. Follow him on Twitter @carleolson.

4 Comments

  1. From the article: “As Scott Hahn and Curtis Mitch write in their commentary, “Mark paints a portrait of Jesus that is vivid and dynamic, focusing most of his attention on Jesus’ mighty works.” Aside from two discourses (Mk 4:1-32; 13;1-37), the second Gospel “depicts Jesus as an active healer and exorcist continually on the move …” (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible). The urgency of St. Mark’s style is evidenced by his repeated use of the word “immediately,” which appears over forty times in the span of just sixteen chapters.”

    So, why do not the Apostolic Successors of the Apostles do as Jesus did ….. as in heal the sick, cast out demons, even raise the dead …. all of these in the physical sense, along with miracles, prophecy, and more, as Jesus said to do.

    15And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17And these signs will accompany those who believe: In My name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues;d 18they will pick up snakes with their hands, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not harm them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will be made well.”

    As in, use the gifts given to the Church ….. “28And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues. 29All are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they? All are not workers of miracles, are they? 30All do not have gifts of healings, do they? All do not speak with tongues, do they? All do not interpret, do they? 31But earnestly desire the greater gifts.” 1 Corinthians 12: 28-31.

    And the greater gifts are “13But now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
    1 Corinthians 13: 13.

    God bless, C-Marie

    • C-Marie,

      I don’t think that Paul is contrasting faith, love, and hope with the spiritual gifts of the Holy Spirit. Faith, love, and hope are not spiritual (charismatic) gifts per se. They are theological virtues that help us to live out our lives in Christ. They are gifts in a general sense in that they are graces from God. I think some people (not you) think that Paul’s magnificent encomium on love in 1 Corinthians 13 somehow deflates the spiritual gifts of the Holy Spirit that Paul lists in chapter 12. Nothing could be further from the truth. It’s important to note that Paul bookends chapter 13 with pleas to seek the spiritual gifts (Ch. 12:31b & Ch. 14:1). Paul says in 14:1 “Make love your aim, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.” Paul is saying that the use of the charismatic gifts must be motivated by love, a love for Christ, and a love for his Church. They must never be used for self-aggrandizement or to gain the approval of others. They are to be solely used to build up the Body of Christ and to help people draw closer to Jesus.

      *Paul does list “faith” as a charismatic gift in chapter 12:9 (“to another faith by the same Spirit”) but this is not creedal faith. It is more an expectant faith that the Lord is going to act in a specific situation. An example of this is when Peter heals the cripple at the Beautiful Gate in Acts 3:1-10.

      God bless you.

  2. Well, does all this fastness in healing and turning out devils from people mean possibly that because Jesus has only three and one-half years in which to complete all the works he needs to do in order to convince the huge crowds that follow Him everywhere that He is the Christ and none other? Because if this is the case, then it occurs to me that time itself becomes compressed, and we may in fact be living through what are really the LAST DAYS. Think it through. 2,500 years are really not a lot when we’ve been repeatedly been told that humans have been around for fabulous amounts of time; anywhere from 200,000 to a million years, depending on who’s been telling or writing such drivel.Satan has sold us a huge whopper of a lie again. Don’t believe him folks; it would appear the time is short, possibly. Better to believe THAT than we,ve got ALL the time in the world to repent through Sacramental confession,for we MAY NOT! Just saying. God Bless All. RTR

  3. Stark. That is, the Gospel of Mark analyzed by Carl Olson in “Jesus Christ’s physical healings announced a more radical healing”.
    Mark was both the Apostle’s and Peter’s companion. Traditionally it was believed that the Gospel of Mark is the Gospel of Peter. Mark transcribing Peter’s sermons. Hippolytus of Rome, a Rome bishop, noted theologian identifies Mark as one of the 70 disciples Jesus sent out to evangelize, heal, cast out demons. Mark has a very significant role in founding the early Church as noted by scholars. “According to tradition, in AD 49, about 19 years after the Ascension of Jesus, Mark traveled to Alexandria and founded the Church of Alexandria. The Coptic Orthodox Church, the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria, and the Coptic Catholic Church all trace their origins to this original community. Aspects of the Coptic liturgy can be traced back to Mark himself. He became the first bishop of Alexandria and he is honored as the founder of Christianity in Africa” (Encyclopedia Coptica. Archived from the original on August 31, 2005. Retrieved 26 January 2018 In Wikipedia).
    Christ’s healing of Peter’s mother in law seems consistent with a narration centered on Peter. “But the fever of sin and the stench of death flee at the touch of the Savior. The sharp compassion of the holy healer cuts us to the quick. The grace-filled paradox, as Eastern Christians sing during Easter, is that by death He conquered death” (Olson in Jesus Christ’s physical healings). Peter during his lakeside encounter with Jesus, when questioning Christ why John followed, Christ admonished Peter alluding to Peter’s martyr death prior to John’s death. That would have contributed to a sense of urgency. A stark brevity in his message, Peter himself cleansed and sanctified of the “fever of sin and stench of [eternal] death” by the gracious Savior he thrice betrayed. A signature of Peter’s message narrated in Mark’s Gospel.

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