Vigils Reading – 5th Sunday ORD

MERCY AND HELP TO ALL

From a commentary by St Peter Chrysologus1

◊◊◊

Those who have listened attentively to today’s gospel will have learnt why

the Lord of heaven, by whom all creation was renewed, entered the houses of

his servants on earth. Nor should it surprise us that he so courteously adapted

himself to every situation, since his motive in coming among us was to bring

mercy and help to all.

You can easily see what drew Christ to Peter’s house on this particular

occasion; it was not to sit down and rest himself, but compassion for a woman

stricken down by sickness. He was prompted not by the need to eat but by the

opportunity to heal, his immediate preoccupation being the performance of a

work which only his divine power could carry out, rather than the enjoyment of

human company at table. In Peter’s house that day it was not wine that flowed,

but tears. Consequently Christ did not enter to obtain sustenance for himself,

but to restore vitality to another. God wants human beings, not human goods.

He desires to bestow what is heavenly, not to acquire anything earthly. Christ

came to seek not our possessions but us.

As soon as Jesus crossed the threshold he saw Peter’s mother in-law lying

in bed with a fever. On entering the house he immediately saw what he had come

for. He was not interested in the comfort the house itself could offer, nor the

crowds awaiting his arrival, nor the formal welcome prepared for him, nor the

assembled household. Still less did he look for any outward signs of preparation

of his reception. All he had eyes for was the spectacle of a sick woman, lying

there consumed with a raging fever. At a glance he saw her desperate plight, and

at one stretched out his hands to perform their divine work of healing; nor would

he sit down to satisfy his human needs before he had made it possible for the

stricken woman to rise up and serve her God. So he took her by the hand, and

the fever left her. Here you see how fever loosens its grip on a person whose

hand is held by Christ’s; no sickness can stand its ground in the face of the very

source of health. Where the Lord of life has entered, there is no room for death.

1 Journey with the Fathers – Year B – New City Press – 1999 – pg 78-79.3