In the first reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah, the Lord said:
“Lo, I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; The things of the past shall not be remembered or come to mind. Instead there shall always be rejoicing and happiness in what I create. No longer shall the sound of weeping be heard there, or the sound of crying.” ~ Isaiah 65:17-19
God knows when we have a broken heart and he does not want us to hurt, be sad, or cry anymore. God is close to the brokenhearted. It is not His will that we suffer. He does not want us to suffer anymore. God wants to take our suffering away from us and bring us happiness instead. We are His children and He loves us deeply. He wants us to be happy.
In the gospel today, Jesus said that, “a prophet has no honor in his native place.” But, when he came into Galilee, “the Galileans welcomed him.” And that is still a timeless piece of wisdom for us as well. Sometimes those closest to us hurt us the most, just like the people in Jesus’s hometown treated him.
The next time that a family member or friend hurts us, we should remember that the same thing happened to Jesus too. It’s pretty sad really, that strangers sometimes treat us better and more respectfully than those who are closest to us. Strangers are often more open to seeing a person for who they really are.
That’s not always the case though, because the royal official who came to see Jesus in today’s gospel, did so because he loved his son deeply. The royal official went to extremes to find Jesus, because he thought that he was a miracle worker and that there was a chance that he might be able to save his dying son.
Jesus sounded a little exasperated when he said, “unless you see signs and wonders, you will not believe.” But, the sorrow and suffering must have shown on the royal official’s face when he asked Jesus to heal his son. Jesus was compassionate toward him, and even if he seemed a little frustrated initially, out of his deep compassion he granted the royal official’s request.
Jesus does not want us to suffer and neither does God. There are a lot of people that blame God for their suffering, or get upset with Him that He doesn’t do anything to end their suffering, but God doesn’t normally intervene in our lives. Sometimes out of His great compassion for us He does though, when a genuine miracle occurs. It was a true miracle that Jesus cured the royal official’s son from such a great distance.
The last verse in today’s gospel said, “Now this was the second sign Jesus did when he came to Galilee from Judea.” The signs and miracles that Jesus performed was out of his great compassion for those who suffer. He did what he could to end the suffering of the people he came in contact with throughout his ministry. However, God doesn’t give us miracles just because we ask for them. Miracles usually occur for the benefit of an entire group of people, so they will truly understand that God is present in their midst.
Maybe what we can take from the readings for mass today, is that God and Jesus both love us deeply, and do not want to see us sad or crying. It is not their will that we suffer. But, when we pray for a miracle, God may, or may not, answer our prayers. Miracles mainly occur so that people will understand that God is real, and come to believe in Him, just like the royal official and his household did.
Prayer for the Brokenhearted
Merciful Lord of Life,
I lift up my heart to you in my suffering
and ask for your comforting help.
I know that you would withhold the thorns of this life
if I could attain eternal life without them.
So I throw myself on your mercy,
resigning myself to this suffering.
Grant me the grace to bear it
and to offer it in union with your sufferings.
No matter what suffering may come my way
let me always trust in you.
Amen.
Related article written by a Holistic Healing physican:
Carolyn M Berghuis, MS, ND, CTN
From Broken Heartedness to Peace
