In the Gospel, many people went to Jesus because of healing. You can just imagine during the time of Jesus when medicine was not so advanced yet, a sickness was almost like a death sentence. The question then arises, why did Jesus heal when we are only passing by in this world? Why did Jesus heal when he came to save us? Why did he not just say, “prepare yourself for eternal life”?

Whenever Jesus heals, it sends three messages:

1. God cares. During the time of Jesus, people thought that God is an angry God. Therefore all the offerings are to appease an “angry” God. There are food offerings, money offerings, and animal offerings. When God heals, it reminds us that God is a loving God. God cares. 
2. God is in control. When Jesus heals, it reminds us that God is in control: He calmed the storm; He walked on water; He turned water into wine; He fed thousands of people with seven loaves and two fish; He raised the dead to life; When Jesus heals the sick, he reminds us that he is greater than sickness – He is in control. 
3. God has a plan. Why not just prepare for eternal life? It is because while we are here in the Philippines, God has a plan. Yes, while we are still here on earth, it only means that God has a plan and mission for each of us. 

Hence, when someone says goodbye and passes away, we are also hopeful because: 

• God cares. Yes, the grief and sadness of goodbye are very hard. But Jesus comforts us in times of difficulties. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”
• God is in control. People nowadays are wondering why is evil seemingly prevailing: the right is made wrong; the wrong is made right; But in the end, good will always prevail. As the saying goes, “It is when it is darkest that the stars shine brightest!”
• God has a plan and in this plan, there is a time for everything. A time to be born, a time to die; a time to grieve, and a time to move forward; a time to see death as a loss, and a time to see death as the entry to eternal life.