Mk 1.29-39 presents a scene of healing. He heals Simon’s mother-in-law and she begins to serve them. Good health is a necessary condition to be at the service of God and neighbour. God grants it to those who are eager to enter into this service. At sunset, he heals all the sick and the possessed, who are gathered in front of the house. Mark presents a human condition that is unhealthy which is healed through the power of God. God is the way to human healing and recovery to normal life.
When we look at individual societies and the world around, we can see that not only the individuals who fall sick, but societies, cultures, institutions or human groupings can also fall sick. We can see this in the history of the world and even in our present day. The present confrontation between the islamic terrorism and the rest of the world is a good example. The class system, the caste system, the corrupt politics or a bad beurocracy are all various forms of sicknesses, that a society as a whole can suffer from. Just as the harmful bacteria or virus impairs the vital functions in the body of an organism and destroys its wholeness, various forms of unjust structures can also impair the functioning of a society or a nation and destroy its wholeness.
From the healings that Jesus brings about, the evangelist makes it very clear that belief in a God who is not capable of granting good health and wholeness is the source of all sicknesses. As Jesus replaces in the hearts and minds of those who came to him the harmful words of false gods who fail to gift life and wellness with the words of his Father, of the true God, people get back their health and wholeness. Therefore, if we desire the healing and wellbeing of individual persons, societies and cultures and of the world as a whole, each one is invited to examine the beliefs, ideas, values and goals according to which we live. If the source of our sicknesses is located in them, we need the help of Jesus to replace them with the beliefs, ideas, values and goals of our Father in Heaven.
We have developed all over the world a medical care system which treats the sicknesses. And we know that even this system develops its own sicknesses from within, because there is something wrong in the fundamentals. The gospel reveals that the values of the gospel are the fundamentals for a healthy life, for healthy societies and healthy systems in the world. Mk 1.29-39 speaks about the healings at sunset. It shows that it is time for the sun that causes sickness and evil to set; it is time for the rule of sickness and evil to end and to give way to a new dawn of good health and wholeness in the world. It happens to those who give themselves over to Jesus to be healed. With healing and health, at the dawn of a new life, we are able to go forth to serve God and one another.
