With Purpose, May 7, 2025

Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 38; PM Psalm 119:25-48 ; Dan. 5:1-12; 1 John 5:1-12; Luke 4:38-44

Today’s Gospel echoes the theme from last Sunday. Then, Jesus asked Simon Peter three times, “Do you love me?”—each time following with a command: “Feed my sheep.” In that moment (John 21:1–19), love became vocation. Peter’s experience of God’s love gave shape to his life by giving him a mission: to care for others.

We see a similar rhythm in today’s passage from Luke. There’s something quietly powerful about the pace and pattern of Jesus’ day. After teaching in the synagogue, he immediately responds to the suffering in Simon’s household. He heals not just with compassion but with authority. And when Simon’s mother-in-law is restored, she rises—not just in strength, but in service. Healing, here, is not the end of the story. It becomes the beginning of purpose.

As the day wears on, the needs grow. People gather from every direction, bringing with them sickness, burdens, and pain. Jesus responds to each—not with a sweeping gesture, but with personal attention, laying hands on every individual. And yet, even in this outpouring of presence and mercy, he doesn’t remain. At daybreak, he departs to a quiet place, and when the crowd tries to hold on to him, he says, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other cities also; for I was sent for this purpose.”

Jesus’ mission is both intimate and expansive. He meets people in their deepest need with tenderness, but he is also propelled by a holy urgency to carry the Kingdom into every corner of the world. For that to happen, the healing he offers must also become the healing we extend.

Today, may we pay attention to both the healing we need and the healing we are called to offer. May we listen for God’s invitation to serve, even when it moves us beyond what feels comfortable or familiar. And may we see our lives through the lens of sacred purpose—called, like Simon’s mother-in-law, to rise and serve.

John+

Question for Self-Reflection: Where is God calling you to be an instrument of healing today?