In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus visits Simon’s mother-in-law in her own home and cures her of her high fever. Jesus ‘rebukes’ the fever and later, in the same Gospel narrative, he ‘rebukes’ the demons as he drives them out of their victims.

To rebuke is to reproach, to admonish, and may seem a strange thing for Jesus to do. Illness and demons interfere with our well-being – physical, emotional and spiritual. They cause us to be less than what we are called to be. By rebuking the illness and commanding the evil spirits to leave, Jesus restores the victims to their place in the community – he gives back to each one his, or her, own dignity. The cured are free, once more, to fulfill their God given purpose.

Let us turn to Jesus to ‘rebuke’ all that is wrong within and around us. When we work toward restoring our lives and the environment we live in, we will be fruitful members of our community as God, our Father, intended us to be.