Healed To Serve
Posted on Feb 08, 2015 by David Whetter
Grace and peace to you from God our Creator, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, who abides in which of us. Amen
Our story today takes place in Capernaum. You see, we know this because today’s gospel is a continuation of our story last week and last week we read that Jesus and his disciples were in Capernaum. This is the archeological site of Capernaum today. As you can see, the Catholic Church has built a sanctuary over the sight that some say could have been Simon’s home and so when you go into the sanctuary, you can actually look down through glass to see into what was a first century home in Capernaum. Was this really Simon’s home, probably not! But was it like the home that Simon and Andrew would have lived in, probably. But, as our story continues today, it is the Sabbath and Jesus and the disciples had been at the synagogue earlier where he had been teaching and everyone was amazed because he taught with authority. They questioned his authority and wanted to know who he was. But, as the people of the synagogue were asking these questions, there was one being there who knew who Jesus was. The man with the unclean spirit knew and he and he shouted, "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God" (1:24). It was clear to the demon that God was about to do something that the demon didn’t like. And with a simple command of “Be silent and come out,” the man was healed and the unclean spirit left the man. And once again everyone questioned who this was and what power did he have to command such a thing?
But Jesus’ day wasn’t over, and as we just read, “As soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them” (1:29-31). Once again, Jesus heals someone, but this time, he didn’t even have to say anything. This time his mere presence, his mere touch, healed Simon’s mother-in-law. Now, for some, this story is a little problematic because this woman had been very sick. In today’s world of antibiotics and medicine, we don’t get too concerned when we here someone has a fever, but in the first century, people died from what we label simple illnesses. This woman had been very sick and Mark says the instant she was no longer sick, she began to serve Jesus and the others. That’s awful. Let the woman rest, say the critics of this story. But, to argue such a point is to miss the point of the story. This woman, who had been so sick she couldn’t get out of bed, wasn’t just feeling better, no, the point here is that she was completely healed and when one is healed, they are to serve and they are to serve with joy. This woman was so thankful to be healed that she did the best thing she could think to do and that was to serve.
Well, it had been quite a day for Jesus, and you would think that casting out a demon for one man and completely healing a woman, on the Sabbath, no less, would have been enough for one day, but Mark goes on to say that, “That evening, at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. 33And the whole city was gathered around the door. 34And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him” (1:32-34).
Word had gotten out, Jesus was the great healer and everyone wanted to be healed. Now at some point Jesus stopped healing folks. I suppose he was tired and finally said, I have to go to bed, but in the morning, Jesus was nowhere to be found. Jesus had snuck off to a “deserted place, and there he prayed” (1:35). But, Simon and the others hunted for him and when they found him, they said to him, "Everyone is searching for you" (1:37). Of course everyone was searching for him, there was more healing needed in Capernaum, but here is the odd part of the story, Jesus, the great healer, doesn’t go back to heal everyone else in Capernaum, no, instead he says , "Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do” (1:38). It seems to me Jesus left some people on the porch of Simon’s home who still wanted to be healed. He left while there still seemed there was work to be done there. How odd! That doesn’t seem right.
But, for Jesus, there was a greater healing that he came to proclaim than the physical healings that everyone was seeking. Jesus knew his mission was to proclaim the gospel, that is the “Kingdom of God is near” and he also, knew that real healing would come in the Resurrection and that was his real mission. Jesus knew that there would be things he would have to leave behind to accomplish his mission. Jesus knew there were issues that some would want him to deal with, but he couldn’t, if he was going to be able to accomplish his mission and so instead of going back, he said, “Let us go on to the neighboring towns…” so that he could proclaim the good news in those towns, too, and so he could heal in those towns too, so that those he healed could serve and proclaim the good news, too.
So, I was wondering about this notion that sometimes there might be things we think have to be fixed now, or done now, and yet, they might be things that if we focus on them will keep us from doing our mission. For example, we spend a lot of time, energy, and money on this facility and I wonder, are these issues keeping us so busy, so focused that they are keeping us from proclaiming the gospel, from healing others so that they, too, might proclaim the gospel? I don’t know if this is the case or not, but it is definitely something for us to explore isn’t it? What are those things in our lives that are on our porches that seem really important, and, yet, when we are willing to take a good hard look at them, we might discover that they are only distracting us from being the disciples we are called to be?
Today, we are being challenged by this Gospel to take a look at our individual lives and at the life our faith community to see what we need to leave behind so that we, who have been healed, can get up and immediately serve. Amen