What do I do when I leave church on Sunday? Am I caught up in a different world, or is my worship reflected in the day-to-day bustle of my life?
Jesus has been teaching and healing in the synagogue. Just as he has been putting the Scriptures into action there, so he will do the same in Peter’s house. Mark keeps using words like
“straight” and “immediately”. Jesus is a person with a purpose. Can my worship be put into action straightaway, or does my “church” life run parallel to my day-to-day world – never meeting up with it?
If we live parallel lives we might never notice the gap because each world is self-contained. We may be comfortable leaving Sunday as its own thing. We may also be missing out on something amazing if we go this way. If we allow our
worship and the Mass to infect our everyday lives, we might find extraordinary things happening. We could even see the Jesus we meet at Mass in places we have never met him before.
It’s a big ask, but Jesus doesn’t travel alone. His friends, James and John, are with him. Our churches, too, are communities. The love we share in the Eucharist should also allow us to walk together outside it. All of us are limited, but all have something
to share. We should walk with and accompany and be accompanied by another. We should be able to turn to someone in our community for advice and help and be that someone for others.
How will you share God’s love and build community this week? How can you make the experience of Christ in Church live outside it this week as you go about your daily life?
Reflections by Justin Glyn SJ
