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| Healing of Peter's Mother-in-Law (Rembrandt c. 1658) |
He answered, “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. (Mark
1:38)
My Confirmation students were reading about Saint Paul this past week. I
had them look at Acts chapter 9 where Saul gets converted to faith in Jesus
Christ and starts preaching the gospel. This led to some umbrage being taken by
the Damascene Jews who previously thought Saul was on their team. Their response to the previously anti-Christian zealot hooking
up with this new fraternity was to put a hit out on him (those Middle Eastern folks
really take their religion seriously!), causing the Christian community to
sneak Saul out of town in a basket lowered through an opening in the walls of
Damascus. This, of course, sparks some moral questions like “Would you be
willing to put your life at risk for your faith?” or “Is it just enough to live
a good life or do others need to hear about Jesus from you?”
My students (bright lads, both of them) seemed to be in line with the
thinking of Saint. James who said, “I, by my works, will show you my faith.[i]” That
is, they don’t feel it’s necessary for one to go about spouting one’s belief
system all over the place. It’s better just to do the works of love, mercy,
generosity, and compassion and let those things speak for themselves. Preaching
the gospel without words as Francis
of Assisi would say[ii].
In the gospel lesson appointed for Epiphany 5, Year B (Mark 1:29-39) Jesus
is doing more works and less preaching. He’s already given what we have to
believe was a pretty provocative sermon in the synagogue in Capernaum, but when
he gets to Simon and Andrew’s house, there’s a medical situation which requires
him to take some action. Simon’s mother-in-law[iii]
is in bed with a fever. In the days before NSAID’s or antibiotics, this could
be a pretty serious condition. Jesus responds by working a miracle. He takes
the old gal by the hand and raises her up. The fever leaves her, and she gets
back to serving her family and their guests. The word for “serve” in the Greek
is diekonei, which the old King James
Bible translated as “ministering.” It’s actually the same word Mark uses for
what the angels did for Jesus in 1:13 when Jesus was led into the wilderness to
be tempted by Satan. I like this because it suggests what this lady did was
more of a calling than a socially
enforced gender role.
Having done this one good work, Jesus is now called upon to play doctor
to just about everybody in the neighborhood. The word gets out, and before Mrs.
Simon’s Mother-In-Law can serve dessert, half of Capernaum shows up on the doorstep
expecting Jesus to heal their diseases or cast out their demons. Jesus—being
Jesus—gets to work and spends the evening doing his thing for the sick and
demon-possessed.
The works Jesus did in Capernaum should, you’d think, speak for
themselves. You’d have to think people would be grateful to be healed or have
their loved-ones healed. They’d be impressed by this rabbi’s relationship with
God, and their lives would be powerfully impacted. I don’t doubt some of them
felt this way. But, human nature being what it is, I have to believe some
others were happy to have been healed or to have witnessed a miracle or two,
but they really didn’t get the message. Maybe that’s why Jesus had to sneak off
in the early morning darkness to have a private word with his Dad. He prayed,
and the answer he got was, “Proclaim the message.”
Jesus didn’t come just to be a local healer. He came to proclaim God’s
Kingdom. Using words was necessary for his mission—even when his deeds of power
underscored the message. Not everyone is called to be a preacher or an
evangelist. But I believe when we articulate our faith, we strengthen and heal
each other.
Yes, we’ve all known people who don’t seem to be able to stop proclaiming the message of their
faith. When they begin sentences with, “I was reading in my Bible last night,”
or “I think the Lord is telling me,” you might just feel like slapping them.
But I think our polite, restrained, Northern European Lutheranness often keeps
us from proclaiming the message at all—or even being sure of what the message
is.
My little congregation—on the ropes as she may be these days—is still
doing deeds of power for those in need. But I don’t often hear us using words
of faith outside of Sunday worship. I’m going to propose an interactive
mid-week series for Lent which will ask participants to speak about their faith
experience. I know we’re kind of shy, so I’m not sure how well it will go over;
nevertheless, I’m willing to give it a shot. Sometimes it’s just necessary to
use words.
So let’s talk, okay?
[i]
See James 2:18
[ii]
Actually, the famous quote “Preach the gospel at all times and, if necessary,
use words” has never been conclusively proven to have been said by St. Francis.
It sounds good, though.
[iii]
The term “mother-in-law” is kind of confusing. It was not uncommon in Jesus’
day for many families to live together in a single home or compound. It’s
probable that Simon lived with his wife’s family. It’s also possible that the
term “mother-in-law” is used as the Brits used it and the sick lady is Simon
and Andrew’s step-mother. Of course, this distinction doesn’t really matter
since Simon left her (whoever she was) to follow Jesus. I just thought you
might be interested.
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