The Son of Man VII. A Day in the Life of Christ

Irish Jesuit Province

The Son of Man VII. A Day in the Life of ChristAuthor(s): Hugh KellySource: The Irish Monthly, Vol. 79, No. 937 (Jul., 1951), pp. 318-322Published by: Irish Jesuit ProvinceStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20516397 .

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THE SON OF MAN?VII

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF CHRIST

By HUGH KELLY, S.S.

IT would be easy to construct a day in the life of Christ during the years in which He lived at Nazareth, where His life was fixed

and had little variation. His days were days of toil in His work

shop, and one day would be like another. The sabbath, with its

service and its cessation from work, would be the chief variation.

But periodically there would be a greater change from the simple course of life, when He went to Jerusalem with His Mother and

St. Joseph, for the celebration of one of the great feasts. These

festivals drew to the Temple of Jerusalem, which was the centre

and heart of the Jewish nation, Jews not merely from every town

and village of the country, but also great numbers who were

scattered through all the countries and provinces of the Roman

Empire. These reunions at the Temple, where alone sacrifice could

be offered, were a powerful means of fostering and keeping alive

the religious and national consciousness of a people who alone

worshipped the true God in a pagan world.

But in the public life there was much more variety of incident

and work and place. He was constantly moving about; in fact, St Peter will sum up His life in the words,

" He went about doing

good and healing "

(Acts x, 38). He would be constantly the centre

of a crowd, whom He would teach and instruct and whose sick He

would heal. He would often be a guest at the house of friends or

of people eager to see the great Teacher at close quarters. Events

would arise that would determine His movements. For example, the message of the two sisters, Martha and Mary, that their brother,

His friend, Lazarus, was ill, brought Him from Perea to Bethany, a journey of a few days. A good deal of His time naturally would

be spent with His Apostles and disciples. Towards the end of His

life, when the hostility of the Scribes and Pharisees had grown very

strong and when they sought for an opportunity to seize Him, He

would, for periods, remain in out-of-the-way places, or would even

cross the border into neighbouring territories where He would be

safe.

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THE SON OF MAN

The evangelists were not concerned with giving a full, and still less a chronological, account of His life; but actually one day in

His public life is described in considerable detail by two of them,

by St. Mark (chapter I) and by St. Luke (chapter IV), and from

these accounts we may follow Him through the whole twenty-four hours and get some fairly adequate idea of what His life in the

ministry must have often been. It was at the beginning of His

public life when He had already drawn round Himself a group of

disciples. On the eve of a sabbath He came with these to Caphar naum, where the homes of some of the disciples were and which is

called also by St Matthew "His own city". In the morning He went with His friends to the synagogue. There was something distinctive about this synagogue; it had been built by a Roman

centurion as a mark of esteem for the Jewish people among whom

he lived. They were grateful to him for this benefit and on one

occasion interceded with Our Lord for him. On the site of Caphar naum to-day may be seen the ruins of a synagogue built about two

hundred years later on the site of the centurion's building. This

earlier synagogue has a still greater interest for us because it was

in it that Our Lord first spoke of the Bread of Life.

To this synagogue then He came on the sabbath morning with

His disciples, Peter, Andrew, James and John. As He was already known as a Teacher, He was invited to conduct the service and to

preach. In the centre of the room was a platform to accommodate

the ruler of the synagogue, the more distinguished members of the

congregation and any important visitors. On this platform was the

lectern from which the preacher spoke. Christ then, at the invitation

of the ruler of the synagogue, took His place at the lectern when the

clerk handed Him the scroll of the Old Testament from which the

readings were taken. On a similar occasion, when He conducted

the service at Nazareth, we know that He read a passage from

Isaias; but we have not been told what was the reading on this

occasion, or what was the subject of His discourse. We only know

what was the effect of His words: "They were astonished at His

doctrine. For He was teaching them as one having power and not

as the Scribes "

(Mark i, 22).

Suddenly a terrifying scream rang through the crowded build

ing. A possessed man had come unnoticed among the crowd For

a time he listened in silence, but the evil spirits could contain them

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IRISH MONTHLY

selves no longer in the presence of Christ, Whom they recognized as their Master. "What have we to do with Thee, Jesus of

Nazareth?" they screamed. "Art Thou come to destroy us? I know

Thee Who Thou art the Holy One of God "

(ibid. 23). The wild

cries and the writhings of the demoniac must have aroused general

feelings of horror and fear. But a word from the Teacher in the

lectern restored calm. "

Speak no more and go out of the man," He cried sternly to the evil spirit. At once the man was torn and

racked by a final convulsion and with a great cry the spirit went

out of him. Immediately there arose a new murmur in the

synagogue, a murmur of admiration at the power He exercised so

easily over the evil spirits. Some of the congregation may have

at some time witnessed the process of exorcism, a laborious and

superstitious rite, which in every way contrasted sadly with the action

of Our Lord.

We may reasonably conjecture that it was some considerable

time before He could get away from the synagogue. He would be

held up and questioned about His teaching; the people would remain

discussing the wonderful things they had heard and seen. Here was

a Teacher certainly mighty in word and work. But at length the

service was over and Peter invited the Master to dine at His own

house with his friends. There was, however, one circumstance which

made it awkward to have guests on that day. The mother of Peter's

wife lay ill of a heavy fever in the house. They told Him of it; and at once He went to the bedside and taking her by the hand

healed her. "

And immediately the fever left her and she ministered

to them." It is likely that there were many visitors if not to eat

at least to have a chance of meeting the Master. The conversation

would be prolonged for hours after dinner. Visitors might come

and go while the Master spoke to all who came. It was the sabbath

and men had no business to transact and no journey to make. And

besides it was a rare privilege to see and hear the Master in this

intimate way. And so the afternoon hours would pass and the

shadows would lengthen. And soon someone might have said with

the disciples at Emmaus, "it is towards evening; the day is far

spent ". It had been a fatiguing day for the Master, these long hours

spent in a crowd and speaking; at evening He might look for a time

of quiet and for a chance of being alone.

After sundown one of the company who would have gone to the

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THE SON OF MAN

?oor would have seen a strange sight. A crowd was gathering in

the street, growing with every minute?and such a strange pitiful crowd. From the town, and from the country all around, the people were bringing their sick to be healed by the Master. To one who

looked out from the doorstep it was a woeful, heart-rending sight: there were gathered the paralyzed who lay stiffly on their pallets, the blind who were led along rolling their sightless eyes; there

were lepers in every stage of their loathsome disease, defying the

law which banished them from the company of their fellows; there were lunatics who mopped and mowed; there were?worst sight of

all?the demoniacs who writhed and screamed and had to be held

down by force. During the sabbath day nothing could have been

done, not even a sick man could be c'arried. But now that the sabbath was over with the sundown, the pitiable muster had begun.

There was something symbolical in the scene?the sufferings of the

world being laid at the feet of Christ the Healer, It was a sight that would have touched a less feeling heart than that of Him Who

said: "I have pity on the multitude."

Naturally Christ must have felt tired and exhausted after His

trying day, and in no condition for this new call on His time and

energy. He could have done all that was expected of Him without

putting Himself to any further trouble. He could merely have gone to

the door and raised His hand in blessing and all would have been

healed. After all, virtue went out from Him; He was charged with the

divine energy and power which subdued all sickness. He could have

commissioned the Apostles to heal the sick as He had done when

He sent them on a missionary expedition. "And going," He

instructed them on that occasion, "

preach saying : the Kingdom of

Heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out devils; freely have you received, freely give

" (Matt, x, 7, 8).

He does neither of these things. Whereas He could have healed

them by a wish, He goes out to them and passes amongst them.

He laid His hand on every one of them and His touch brought

Healing and calm and peace of mind. On palsied twisted limbs, mx sightless eyes, on loathsome sores, on the corrupting stumps of

what had once been legs and arms, on gnashing, writhing lunatics, mk screaming demoniacs, that gentle, merciful, healing touch descends.

From one to another He goes. No one is passed over. All have the

same claim?the claim of suffering and disease on the Sacred Heart.

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We can easily imagine the cries of joy which accompanied His

passage. Some rise up from their pallets; some look round and open their eyes for the first time; life begins to flow through limbs long dead and diseased; peace comes back to tormented souls. With

every cure the enthusiasm grows. How many hundreds did He

touch? We cannot tell. But we may be sure that the news of the

great Healer's presence would have gone far and wide and that there

would be a great number waiting the touch of His hand. Probably it would be well after midnight before the last group left the street.

There was little time of the short summer night left for sleep and

rest.

Certainly little time was given to sleep, for the Gospel says that

early next morning He went into a lonely place to pray. But He was not allowed much time for that communion with His Father

which meant so much to Him. Peter and the others, missing Him

from the house, went to seek Him and found Him in prayer. He

cannot be allowed any time for Himself; the demands on Him are

too great. "

All seek for Thee," Peter tells Him. Another busy day has begun for Him?there will be the crowds, the healing, the

interviewing, the preaching. He goes to the work of the new day. " My Father always works and I work," He said on another occasion.

When He was going to His Passion He could say, "

I have finished

the work Thou gavest Me to do." Every day, then, as it came

witnessed to the truth of the words He had said to His Mother in

the Temple : "

Did you not know that I must be about My Father's

business?" His earthly life was His working day in which He was

to perform the tasks set Him by His Father. "

I must work the works

of Him Who sent Me, whilst it is day: the night cometh when no

man can work "

(John ix, 4).

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The Son of Man VII. A Day in the Life of Christ