Whenever illness strikes, we all seek out the best medical attention we can find. Today medicine has advanced to such a degree that a cure and restoration to health is very promising.

Not so in the times of Jesus. Medicine was at a primitive stage at best. And consequently when Jesus came around, people flocked to him with those who were ill and in need of healing. Today’s Gospel is but one example of that. St. Mark tells us that people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment. Today there is much hope for those who are unable to hear but not back then. Jesus it seems without hesitation takes the man aside and restores his hearing and his speech. And the man returns to a normal life.

All of Jesus’s healing miracles go far beyond the physical cure. Not only do people get their lives back, but people are healed from the inside out. The years they spent as outcasts from society are smoothed over and healed as well.

Every one of us has a need to be healed by God. Not necessarily physical healing, but healing of the inner brokenness that comes with living life. All of these stories in the gospels reiterate God’s desire to make us whole and complete. As these people come before Jesus with their need, so too must we turn to God and seek His love and compassion. God will be there for us every time!