The garden we plant and water

Today's gospel from Luke 4:38-44 shows the two important sides of Jesus' life. The first is the curing of the sick which was a large part of the mission of Jesus. The curing of the mother-in-law of Simon Peter was the second miracle recounted by Luke and it is interesting to see that it was carried out in a family. Most people spend a large part of their lives in their family and this cure highlights the importance of caring for our family members. For parents, bringing up their children is not just a task but it is their God given vocation. But Jesus did not spend all his time in the active ministry. Today's gospel shows us the second important part of the mission of Jesus. We are told that ''when daylight came he left the house and made his way to a lonely place.'' Sometimes we are told that he spent the whole night in prayerful union with his Father. When the woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for 12 years touched his cloak and was cured, Jesus was aware that power had gone forth from him. He needed to receive that power from his Father through frequently entering into his presence through prayer. In the first reading from 1 Corinthians 3:1-9, Paul uses the example of a garden saying that he did the planting and Apollo the watering but it is God who makes things grow. May the Father cause the words and actions that we plant in our families and communites to grow also.