We Are Healed So That We May Serve Series

May the words of my mouth be heard, written in our hearts, and acknowledged to God in prayer. Amen.

We are beginning a study of the Gospel of Mark, and as Father Philip told us last week, Mark is the first gospel, and in many ways a “just the facts, ma’am” account of Jesus’ ministry, In this rather short gospel (there are only 16 chapters), there are 65 stories of healing and 10 parables! As Jesus traveled through small villages surrounding the Sea of Galilee and onto Jerusalem, we learn of His encounters with 122 people as He walked and visited homes and markets – and another 100 people in temples and synagogues. He had a mission – He knew He only had a short time to accomplish it – and He had to be about the work God had sent Him to do!

Last Sunday we learned that the first person He healed was a man possessed by a demon as He taught in the synagogue in Capernaum. It is noteworthy to learn, as we do in today’s reading, that the next person He healed later that same morning was a woman: Simon’s mother-in-law. We read that after leaving the synagogue, Jesus went to the home of Simon and Andrew for lunch. Simon told Jesus that his mother-in-law was ill with a fever, and asked Jesus to heal her. Immediately, He went to her, took her hand, and she was healed, and rose up to minister to Jesus and those with him.

Let’s take a moment to be aware of several interesting points in this encounter that illustrate the uniqueness of Jesus’ ministry from the very beginning.

First of all, the second person Jesus healed in His new ministry was a woman! Since women had a much less important place in the structure of Jewish society at that time, this was startling! Already we can see the work and world of Jesus was going to break the boundaries of both Heaven and earth. Women were to be of value – they became a part of His following, and in some cases, traveled with Him; they not only served, but they supported and witnessed to His ministry. Many of the parables and healings involve women.

Secondly, as was customary in Jesus’ time, women were often restricted to the home to protect their innocence and the reputation of the family; they were not ever involved with men outside the family except to serve food, and were certainly never in physical contact with them. In this case, the men asked Jesus to heal the older woman - as was proper – but Jesus went into her sleeping quarters, took her hand and she was healed forever. She rose up and went to work - everyone was so astonished and grateful that setting aside of long-held social ‘norms’ didn’t matter at all!

Finally, later that day, as the recovered woman served Jesus and His disciples, the house became overrun with crowds, seeking the healing power of Jesus and His message – and surely this woman, sick just a few hours earlier, had much to do to facilitate the gathering and miracles that occurred.

We know that Biblical writers often equated being healed with being ‘made whole’ – demons and fevers were symbols of dis-ease, fear, or depression – and when these ‘demons’ were cast out, the person was, in reality, made stronger in faith and wisdom. No rest or recovery was needed – those healed went forth at once to serve, to proclaim the good news, and praise God.

We further hear in today’s reading that after Jesus tended to the sick and broken at Simon’s house, he goes to a deserted place to pray. As is so often the case in Jesus’ ministry, his opportunities to find solitude were few and far between. Tending to the sick and the outcast can be hard work; He must have been physically and spiritually exhausted. This is just another occasion, and there are many in the Gospels, where Jesus goes off alone to pray.

Jesus didn’t “just happen” to find himself alone with time to pray. He took the time; He wanted to hear His Father’s voice. . . in solitude, and peace. Beset on every hand by the demands of His disciples and the multitudes who sought His help, Jesus looked for, and cherished that quietness. When He could clear his mind and be strengthened by God’s voice giving Him direction and courage – times when He could withdraw from the cares and clamor of the world and re-connect with the peace and love pf the eternal world of God. If He was to do the work of God, Jesus had to have time with God! And so must we; we must make time to be alone with God for prayer and meditation, and to hear His voice, and get direction. It is the time that some people have called - "God Time".