Christian Art | Jesus’ Healing Miracles
Mark 1: 29-39 – 5th Sunday Year B – also Week 1, Wednesday (King James Audio Bible KJV)
29 And forthwith, when they were come out of the synagogue, they entered into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.
30 But Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick of a fever, and anon they tell him of her.
31 And he came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up; and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto them.
32 And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils.
33 And all the city was gathered together at the door.
34 And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him.
35 And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.
36 And Simon and they that were with him followed after him.
37 And when they had found him, they said unto him, All men seek for thee.
38 And he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth.
39 And he preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and cast out devils.
Christ continues his work of healing and exorcism. He passes from the synagogue, a Jewish meeting place for prayer and for reading of the Scriptures, to enter into the home of Simon and Andrew. The Bible tells us that Jesus spends much of his time preaching in synagogues. Later, during his Passion, Jesus will tell Pilate that he has always taught openly in synagogues. There is indeed a great openness to Jesus’ teaching. Many are called, here in a space which would be at the spiritual heart of local Jewish communities. Similarly, we are called as followers of Christ to spread the good news. Our openness with our love of Christ reflects Christ’s openness to the people of Galilee and to us.
Simon and Andrew have welcomed Jesus into their home. There, in an intimate part of the home, the bedroom of Simon’s mother-in-law, Jesus heals. He is told straightaway of the fever, and the act of healing is similarly immediate. So we are asked to admit Christ into our home, our lives, our innermost thoughts, including the most intimate and hidden-away, the deepest parts of ourselves. The fever may be understood to represent our sins burning within us. It can take great humility to admit Christ into the heart of us, to confess our sins with Jesus, and so be healed.
Christ’s fame has spread extraordinarily rapidly. People are clambering to meet him. It seems there so much sickness and evil in the land, craving healing, forgiveness, release from evil powers. For so long, the coming of Jesus Christ the Messiah has truly been longed for. The whole city is gathered together about the door. Christ is unperturbed. Through his infinite love and mercy he heals those who come to him. Christ has time for everyone. And the demons once more know that Christ is the Son of God, but he will not permit them to speak, it has been said because he did not wish to accept, in support of the truth of his divinity, the testimony of him who is the father of lies.
Christ’s prayer is an example to us all of the relationship we should develop between ourselves and the Father. As we hear the Bible we place ourselves in close communion with the word of God. As we pray we cultivate our conversation with God. It is of enormous significance that in doing so we are following Christ’s example. Christ himself prays. He is with us in our relationship with God the Father. The Bible tells us Christ prays at some of the most important moments in his life, for example, his baptism, the choosing of the twelve, the miracle of the loaves, the transfiguration, and in the garden of Gethsemane. When we pray the Our Father, the Lord’s Prayer, this is the prayer which Christ gave to us.
Christ’s prayer and his ministry are inextricably linked. His prayer informs his ministry. Again, this is a guidance to us all. He takes himself apart to pray, just as he went into the wilderness for forty days. Christ too needs his alone-time with his Father. In these verses of the Bible, the time of Christ’s prayer is also significant. He arises well before dawn – we may think now of the office of Vigils – and so his prayer dispels the darkness of the night and anticipates sunrise and the new day.
And so following prayer, Christ declares his ministry, telling Simon and his others followers that it is time to travel the neighbouring towns and thence through all Galilee. He will preach – in the synagogues – and heal people, casting out demons. There will such an outpouring of faith in this land. And to this day, our faith, the Church, the Bible, the Word of God, continue to exhort all Christians to witness Christ’s ministry and to proclaim the good news of salvation through Christ our Lord.
Jesus often went off to a lonely place to pray. Yet the same Jesus who prayed in lonely places said, ‘When you pray, go into your room and pray to your Father in secret.’ This means that the lonely place is not necessarily a place far away, or that by ‘room’ he means four walls that separate us physically from others. The room is the room of our utmost heart. This room is with us at all times. We should make it a place to which we can go to find rest and spiritual recovery when the world is too much with us. Then we will discover that the inner room is occupied by the God of love who dwells in us all.
Saint Augustine reflects on Ezekiel’s image of scattered sheep and applies it to the life of the Church. Scattering is linked to pride, which leads individuals to pursue earthly goods rather than finding their life ‘buried in Christ’. Pride isolates, generating division and self-concern, while love unites through communion in the Church. The Church, as mother and shepherd, responds by seeking out the lost, binding up the weak, and maintaining unity across the whole world [ … ]
Christian Art | Parousia | Second Coming | Lamb Of God, You Take Away The Sins Of The World Luke 17: 26-37 (Audio Bible KJV, Spoken Word) Early Christian thought about the Parousia – the second coming – was largely influenced by the teachings of Jesus and the writings of Saint Paul. In the early Christian community, expectation of Christ’s return was strong, and many Christians believed that it would happen in their lifetime. This belief is evident in the New Testament, where the authors express a sense of urgency in their writings and encourage their readers to be prepared for Christ’s imminent return. As Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire, the idea of the Parousia became more complex and nuanced. Theological debates arose around the nature of Christ’s return and the events that would precede it. Some theologians, such as Origen and Augustine, saw the Parousia as a spiritual event that was already happening in the Church. Others, such as the Montanists and the millenarians, believed in a literal, physical return of Christ and the establishment of a new, earthly Kingdom. In the Middle Ages, the Parousia was often associated with apocalypticism and the idea of a final, cataclysmic battle between good and evil – the last battle. The idea of the Antichrist, who would precede Christ’s return, became a popular theme in Christian literature, and the book of Revelation (Apocalypse – meaning to reveal, to uncover) was interpreted as a prophetic guide to the end of the world. Biblical Basis For The Parousia | The Second Coming The concept of the Parousia, or the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, is central to Christian eschatology and is supported by numerous biblical passages in both the Old and New Testaments. In the Old Testament, there are numerous passages that refer to the coming of a Messiah who will restore Israel and bring about the final judgment. For example, in Daniel 7:13-14, it is written: ‘I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.’ This passage describes a divine figure who comes in the clouds and is given dominion over all nations. In the New Testament, the Parousia is described in greater detail, particularly in the teachings of Jesus and the writings of Saint Paul. Jesus speaks of his return in many passages, including Matthew 24:30-31, where Jesus says: ‘And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.’ Here, Jesus describes his return in power and glory, accompanied by angels who gather Jesus’ elect from all over the world. In Saint Paul’s letters, the Parousia is also described in detail. In 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, Saint Paul writes: ‘For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.’ This passage describes a resurrection of the dead and the gathering of believers to meet the Lord Jesus in the air. The language and imagery used to describe the Parousia are often dramatic and apocalyptic in nature. The Parousia is often described as a time of judgment, when the righteous will be separated from the wicked, and God’s justice will be fully revealed. The imagery of clouds, trumpets, and angels is used to depict the power and glory of Christ’s return. Theological Interpretations Of The Parousia | Jesus’ Second Coming The concept of the Parousia has been interpreted in a variety of ways throughout Christian history. Dispensationalism Dispensationalism is a theological framework that emerged in the 19th Century and has since become popular among some evangelical and fundamentalist Christians. Dispensationalists believe that history is divided into distinct periods or ‘dispensations’, each of which is marked by a particular mode of divine revelation and a specific plan of salvation. According to dispensationalist theology, the Parousia will be preceded by a period of tribulation, during which the Antichrist will establish a one-world government and the Jews will be restored to their homeland. The Parousia itself will involve a physical, visible return of Christ, who will establish a thousand-year reign on earth before the final judgment. Preterism Preterism is a theological interpretation of the Parousia that holds that many of the prophecies in the New Testament, particularly those in the book of Revelation, were fulfilled in the first century AD. According to this view, the Parousia occurred in a spiritual sense when Christ ascended to heaven and sent the Holy Spirit to empower the Church. Preterists argue that the tribulation and other end-time events predicted in the New Testament were fulfilled in the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in AD 70. Postmillennialism Postmillennialism is a theological view that holds that the Parousia will occur after a period of history in which the Church will gradually bring about the kingdom of God on earth. According to this view, the Church will spread the gospel throughout the world, and social, political, and economic conditions will gradually improve. Eventually, Christ will return to a world that has been largely transformed by the Gospel. Amillennialism […]
Herbert’s ‘Avarice’ critiques humanity’s obsession with wealth by tracing money’s journey from its origins to its corrupting influence on human values. The poem is structured as a meditation, moving from the origins of money to its transformation and eventual dominance over human life [ … ]
