Memorial of Saint Gregory the Great, pope and Doctor of
the Church
(Colossians 1:1-8; Luke 4:38-44)
When Jesus cures Peter’s mother-in-law in today’s gospel, he
“rebukes the fever.” The evangelist Luke
uses the same word here as he did a few verses earlier when he wrote that Jesus
rebuked the demon possessing a man. In biblical
times demons were thought of as the source of physical ailment.
How should we understand what happened? If possession is the cause of disease, why do
we see a doctor and not an exorcist when we are sick? Perhaps the ailments which Jesus healed were
psychosomatic illnesses which the commanding presence of Jesus resolved. But how were there so many cases of
psychosomatic then compared to a relatively small number today?
It is better to think of Jesus’ cures as demonstrations that
he has come to establish the Kingdom of God.
The Father has bestowed on him, as sometimes does on others, the ability
to effect cures over disease. Jesus has
similar power over other forms of evil like ignorance and corrupt habits. We rightly consider these evils as demons that
prevent us from becoming holy and loving women and men. But this reign of terror has been upended with
Jesus. Like those in today’s gospel, we
need to beseech him to rebuke the spirits affecting us.
