Gospel: Mark 6: 53-56
"All who touched him were healed." In today's Gospel portion we see people who are sick reaching out to touch Jesus in order to be healed, and indeed they did find relief from all their infirmities. We marvel at the miracles of these healings, just as we do in other miracle stories in the Gospels. But perhaps there is a greater miracle at work in this passage that we often neglect to observe.
In today's Gospel portion the author goes out of his way to note that people in every village would bring out those who were sick to the marketplace in order to be healed by Jesus. People came together in order to help others, in order to help one another, find healing in an encounter with the Lord Jesus. This care for each other, the solidarity and mutual support, is perhaps the greater miracle within the text. It is something that the presence of Jesus inspires us to do for one another.
In an age when Christians revel in denying aid to the poor across the globe; in marginalizing refugees, immigrants, and migrants; in vilifying minorities of all kinds - it is well to remember what authentic Christianity looks like. It is coming together to care for one another, to provide love and mercy, healing, liberation, and nourishment to the most vulnerable in our society.
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