Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany
You may remember that last week Jesus and the disciples were in the synagogue and Jesus was amazing everyone present with his teaching and liberated a man from an unclean spirit. Now a lot of us may be tempted to linger and bask in the accolades and applause, but Jesus does not stick around for that and we will soon see how full this day turned out to be for him. So, immediately they left the synagogue.
Jesus is always on the move in the Gospel of Mark and they left the big public space of the synagogue and went to a more private place, Simon Peter’s home. And as soon as he enters the house, he’s immediately told about Simon’s mother-in-law who is ill and in bed with a fever. We don’t know why she had a fever but we do know that for many living under imperial rule, they often did not have safe water and easy access to food and were no strangers to sickness and shortened life spans. Unfortunately, much of the world still lives like this. So, it stands to reason that the household was very concerned about Simon Peter’s mother-in-law.
Jesus doesn’t really ask any questions, he just came in and took her by the hand. There was no asking her if she needed to confess her sins, he did not ask her about her faith. In fact, in no way did he question her worthiness. She was in need, and he responded. No strings attached. In her world she was a woman which meant she had no agency of her own, seemingly had no husband or son to look after her, and we don’t even know her name. You have to have some importance to be mentioned at all, let alone by name, so she is only known to us as Simon’s mother-in-law. Who society at the time perceived as irrelevant, Jesus did not. He took her by the hand. LIke many healing stories in the Gospels, it is Jesus’ touch that heals.
But Jesus doesn’t just touch her hand. He takes it and lifts her up. What is amazing here is that it is the same verb “raises up” that was used for raising Jairus’ daughter from the dead and, twice later in this Gospel, it is the same verb for Jesus’ own resurrection, his raising up. There is a powerful message being sent by Mark here. Jesus takes this woman by the hand and raises her up. It is no accident that there is a connection between this woman being raised up foreshadowing Jesus being raised up. Mark is linking these two servants together. She is healed and restored and “immediately” she begins to serve. She is Jesus’ first deacon. This is no woman who is bowing to cultural convention. We are being given insight into how Jesus intends to lead. As a servant.
To serve in the raising up of the lowly, the restoration of those who suffer, even the resurrection of the dead. Jesus did not ask anything from her. But she began to serve out of her own gratitude and by her own choice and is already following in the steps of the one who just healed her. The one who came to lead us on the path of eternity turns our understanding of leadership upside down and instead of giving orders and directing others to do the work, Jesus leads as the one that is a servant himself. I came to serve, not to be served, he’ll later tell his disciples. Simon Peter’s mother-in-law already understands this. She demonstrates this for the disciples, for you and me. Simon Peter may later on come to be the lead disciple, but his mother-in-law was ahead of him in understanding what was going on.
And then, when the sun had set, like good law abiding Judaists of Capernaum, who waited until the sun had set and the Sabbath was over, they all showed up at Simon’s house. The whole city gathered at their door! Now, I don’t know if that’s hyperbole from Mark, but nevertheless it must have been a humdinger of a crowd. Don’t forget that this is still the same Sabbath day we heard about last week where Jesus had started out in the synagogue teaching, exorcized a man from an unclean spirit, went to Simon’s house, healed his mother-in-law and now the whole town shows up for healing. Remember how astonished they were at Jesus in the synagogue? That word spread fast and by evening everyone who was sick from all kinds of things and those who were in need of being freed from the evil that controlled them–they were all there looking for healing or liberation from evil. I’m just going to say that Sundays are exhausting for those of us who serve the church, so reading about this Sabbath day in the life of Jesus made me feel wiped out!
We’re still in the first Chapter of Mark, the setting of the stage for what was to be Jesus’ ministry and purpose. As exhausting as that day had to have been, Jesus goes out in the wee hours of the morning, before the sun rises and a new day begins, and prays. He doesn’t do it all. He doesn’t keep working. At some point he stops even though the entire town has shown up, he stops, goes out by himself to pray. This is the part we really need to pay attention to. We’re good at the do-do-do, but not so good at stopping, pulling away to replenish ourselves, and most importantly, to pray. The work is not more important than the rest, and the rest is not more important than the prayer. Ministry and service are whole, healthy, and complete when it contains all three of these elements. If one is neglected, things get out of balance and become unhealthy. We live in a society addicted to productivity. We measure it, we analyze it, we base our worth on it. God does not. You are worthy because you are. If your soul and body are not tended to, you cannot effectively attend to anyone else.
Now, clearly Jesus knew his need to be alone and to pray, to restore himself and refuel from a day in the synagogue and a day at a friend’s home where the whole town ended up. He also seemed to know he had to just sneak out of the house because no one knew where he was. I sure hope Simon’s mother-in-law got away to pray and give thanks, too. Introverts know this wisdom, but I think even extroverts who love being with people know they need time to be still, to be quiet, to listen to God in the silence. Those that don’t pay a price. There is a time to do the work, and there is a time to be still and listen. If you are not listening to God and being still, God will not be leading. You will. Let me tell you from experience that does not work out well.
And when Jesus snuck out the kitchen door, he knew he was tapped. He stopped for a bit. Maybe, too, the needs, all the suffering of the people overwhelmed him too, like it does us. So, he had to pray.
As we seek to serve Christ here at St. Christopher’s, we are quite involved in tending to the needs of our community and each other. We understand this call, this mandate from Jesus. What we must equally understand is our need to replenish…daily. If we don’t we won’t last long in our service. Prayer is like Jesus taking you by the hand and raising you up. That precedes doing the work of serving. If we do not balance our days and weeks of service with prayer and being still before God, our ministry will not flourish. We all know you can’t drive a car without fuel. Neither can you serve without prayer. Like our dear unnamed sister in the Gospel reading, let Christ take your hand and lift you up. Take yourself away from the fray, and be still and pray. Let God raise you up and let God restore you.
Magdalena's Musings 