15th Sunday of Ordinary Time - July 10, 2021

15^th Sunday Ordinary Time Year B
“They cast out many demons, an anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.”  Mk 6:13
In Sacred Scripture and it’s study there is a very important point which is often overlooked, understated and even ignored out of the bias of privilege…
First, it becomes glaringly apparent when we hear this passage….”Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out in pairs, giving them authority over unclean spirits….
One of my Scripture professors pointed out the fact for me a number of years ago….we presume from out privileged bias that the “twelve” were sent out in pairs….so that if we did the math it would be 6…but that would have been extremely anti cultural reality of the Ancient Mediterranean world…it would be most likely that the twelve went to their respective peoples, they sent them out in groups of two to attach themselves to others in Ancient Mediterranean culture—to heal…not to cure…
You see my friends, curing in the ancient Mediterranean culture had to do with physicians and magic….healing had to do with a persons place in the community. 
And to top it off, it wasn’t just the twelve who were sent….it was the community who was sent…to heal…..to restore those who were set aside, set apart, the anawim…the little ones...those without a voice, those without power, those without a place at the table….to restore them.
Who are they today?
The prisoner….the one who suffers from mental illness, the leader who seemingly is beyond reach, the one who stands on the corner flying a sign, or who “seems fine to me” but who can’t hold a job, or keep a roof over their head.
Who are those who need to be healed in our world today?
Maybe it is us?
Maybe it is the mom and dad who simply need the anointing of a hug
Maybe it is the son or daughter who just needs the anointing of the words… I love you, or I am proud of you.
Maybe it is the parent who in their aging just needs to be anointed with the words…thank you Mom, thank you Dad, for just being you, as best as you could!
Maybe it is the police officer who needs the anointing of a note that says…thanks for all you do to keep us safe.
Maybe it’s a friend who needs the anointing of our willingness to listen to their struggle, and not fix it, but just be with them.
Maybe we are sent, still today….sent out into the world by Jesus, to continue to bring healing….by the hundreds of anointing’s we can give.
Maybe we are sent by our God, to be miracle creators…to take what is broken, wounded, hurting, and love it back into wholness.
And sometimes, as we learned in this Gospel today…even when we send out love, it will occasionally be thrown back at us, and we must simply say, thank you, and send it to someone else. 
Healing is not easy work.  Healing is about restoring. Healing is about creating the opportunity for miracles to happen, even when we least expect it.
I leave you with one example I encountered recently….in a local Menards, I saw a gentlemen whom I have known for years, who works in a particular department.  Even behind our masks I recognized him and he recognized me.  We spoke briefly and he said…I need you to realize, in 23 years in this department, you are one of the few people who ever asked me my name, and that has made all the difference in the world to me.
Healing need not be seemingly outstanding…sometimes; it’s just caring enough to ask someone’s name!