02042021 – Mk. 1. 29-39 “In Capernaum”
I have to do a little “CATCH-UP” here. So that we are all on the same page! I WANT you WITH me.
For some — Mark’s gospel seems “a bit rough around the edges.” For me that has never been the case.
You have to remember it is a first time attempt at “a NEW NARRATIVE FORM” called a “gospel.” Later evangelists will attempt to REFINE the process.
Mark wastes NO TIME telling his story, and HIS URGENCY comes through, even when WE divide his writing into short passages to examine them one by one.
In the first chapter alone, we have already found Mark’s favorite word “IMMEDIATELY” twelve times.
There is SO MUCH packed into this first chapter, it is hard to remember that most of these events all happened only on TWO CONSECUTIVE DAYS.
I get the impression that the people who were following Jesus had a difficult time keeping up, too. It is non-stop. Continual.
Here is what has happened so far in Mark’s gospel – and remember, we are still ONLY IN chapter one:
After his baptism and 40 days in the wilderness, Jesus HEADS to Galilee, where he CALLS four fishermen to follow him; they leave their boats and their nets.
They ALL go to Capernaum, a small fishing village, where these two sets of BROTHERS actually lived.
On the SABBATH, Jesus goes to the synagogue and teaches with “UNUSUAL AUTHORITY.” So much so, that people are AMAZED. A demon-possessed man stands up in the middle of the synagogue and CHALLENGES JESUS” the Holy One of God” – in other words, the “Messiah” – the “Anointed One” – the “Christ” – but Jesus silences the unclean spirit and tells it to LEAVE the man. It OBEYS IMMEDIATELY.
This brings us to TODAY’S passage.
It is still THE SABBATH…THE SAME SABBATH…the same day.
Jesus and his disciples have just left the synagogue.
THREE separate events will occur over the next few hours.
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.
Maybe they went to Simon’s house because it was closest to the synagogue, you know, that “old you can only walk so many steps on the SABBATH THINGY” or maybe because it had the most sleeping rooms for guests.
WHATEVER-the-reason, they arrive at Simon’s house, and we learn something about Simon that we did not know before.
He has a family to support, and his wife’s mother is sick with a fever. Simon (soon-to-become- Simon-Peter) tells this to Jesus “IMMEDIATELY.” Maybe he is hoping that Jesus, who has just shown authority over an unclean spirit, might also have “the AUTHORITY” to drive out a fever from his Mother-in-law. Who knows?
And that is exactly what Jesus does.
He does not SAY-A-WORD.
Jesus puts out his hand and takes the hand of Simon’s mother-in-law.
And GUESS WHAT? The fever is GONE. IMMEDIATELY.
As Jesus brings her to her feet, the verb is the same one Mark will use in the last chapter to describe Jesus’ own death and resurrection from the dead. HE LIFTS HER UP!
And the mother-in-law’s response to this miraculous healing is also IMMEDIATE. She “GETS BUSY” serving them.
That evening, at SUNSET, (when the SABBATH is FINALLY OVER) they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons.
And the WHOLE CITY was gathered around the door.
And 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…and he was not taking any chances.
You just cannot keep A SECRET in a small town LIKE Capernaum. They flocked.
By now, everyone knows what happened in the SYNAGOGUE, and MANY PEOPLE have already heard that Simon’s mother-in-law is NO LONGER SICK.
As soon as the SABBATH ENDS, a WHOLE stream of people make their way to Simon’s front doorstep.
WEARY AND TIRED when his work is completed. In the early morning when it is still dark out – Jesus goes off to be alone in prayer.
He does so THREE TIMES in Mark’s gospel.
IN Mark, we read about Jesus going off alone to pray, first here, then after he has fed the five thousand, and finally in the garden of Gethsemane on the night he is betrayed by Judas and others.
Three times so we do not forget. Three times for emphasis sake. Three times so “WE GET IT” that PRAYER IS IMPORTANT.
For some, Mark is “a little rough around the edges” …for me, it is the closest thing we have to a “primary document” …and it happens to be ONE-OF-A-KIND…
So, HOW is YOUR PRAYER LIFE doing?
AMEN.