Fifth Sunday of the Year: Gospel B

On leaving the synagogue he entered the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John.

· This is in Capernaum. In fact, excavations in that town have identified this house which has a Church built on top of the site.

Simon's mother-in-law lay sick with a fever. They immediately told him about her. He approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up. Then the fever left her and she waited on them.

· This is the only indication in the scriptures that Simon was married. The fact that she waited on Jesus and the others may indicate that his wife may have died.

· Nothing is too small for Jesus to deal with. Do we bring everything to Jesus or do we think that he is not interested in small things? The issue is that Jesus is interested in everything about us. To bring everything to Jesus is to indicate our total surrender of ourselves to him.

When it was evening, after sunset, they brought to him all who were ill or possessed by demons. 

· The reason they waited till after sunset was that they waited for the end of the Sabbath. Remember very little was permitted on the Sabbath that indicated work.

 The whole town was gathered at the door. He cured many who were sick with various diseases, and he drove out many demons, not permitting them to speak because they knew him.

· One of Mark’s themes will be Jesus not allowing people or spirits to tell others about him. The reason for this is that the full understanding of Jesus as Messiah will not be understood until his death and resurrection. We will see this throughout Mark’s Gospel.

Rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed. 

· Why do you think Jesus prayed? He was busy and popular but he took time regularly to pray. Does his example say anything to us?

· How important is prayer in our daily life? How much time do we give to the Lord in prayer each day?

Simon and those who were with him pursued him and on finding him said, "Everyone is looking for you." He told them, "Let us go on to the nearby villages that I may preach there also. For this purpose have I come." So he went into their synagogues, preaching and driving out demons throughout the whole of Galilee. 

· Jesus had a clear vision of his mission and did not allow anything to distract him, including what others wanted or thought. How clear is God’s vision for us and how committed are we to following that vision no matter the results?