February 5, 2012
Simple Service
- Mark 1:29-39
- Dr. Teri Thomas
Sometimes a passage of scripture is so complicated and complex
that I struggle for days on how to make sense of it in a sermon.
But every now and then the lectionary throws us a few verses
that are just so straightforward and so simple
I can’t help but think I must be missing something somewhere.
This week’s Gospel lesson can be summed up very simply:
There are two kinds of people in the world....
people who need help, and people who need to help.
Or, you could say people who need care,
and people who need a calling.
Or: people who need support and people who need to serve.
Point two of this simple sermon
is that we all can be either one of those people at any given time
and we have been.
Point three is that the church is the place that brings us all together.
Too simple?
Let’s look at the lesson more closely.
Jesus is pretty busy.
He’s been preaching and teaching in the synagogue.
He healed a guy who was possessed by demons.
This naturally attracts some attention
so he tries to slip away from the crowds
for some down time at Andrew and Simon’s house.
But when he gets there he discovers Simon’s mother-in-law is sick.
So Jesus heals her.
Word gets out about that and suddenly the whole city of Capernaum
is at the door waiting to be healed.
What a day.
It is no wonder Jesus needs to sneak off the next morning for some solitude and prayer.
While there is a great deal of action in this passage
what actually happened is pretty simple.
"Jesus came and took [Simon’s mother-in-law] by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them" (1:31b).
In Jesus’ day, an illness that sent you to bed was serious business.
It meant you were unable to earn a living,
unable to contribute to the family or the community.
You were considered to be contagious
and avoided by everyone but closest family.
There is no reason a guest in the home would go to a sick room.
But Jesus did.
And he took her by the hand and raised her up.
The Greek verb that translates- raised her up
is used in connection with healing several times in scripture,
but it is also the verb used to describe what happens to Jesus at the resurrection.
"The word suggests that new strength is imparted to those laid low by illness, unclean spirits, or even death, so that they may again rise up to take their place in the world." (Sarah Henrich)
So once Mom is raised up and she is ready to serve.
This verb is diakoneo,
the same verb Jesus uses to describe his own ministry
"to serve" rather than "to be served".
It is also the verb that characterizes his disciples.
Mom is not an un-liberated woman for whom waiting on others is her whole life.
Rather she is the first character in Mark's gospel who exemplifies true discipleship.
It was her calling and her honor
to show hospitality to guests in her home.
Cut off from that role by an illness
cut her off from doing that which integrated her into her world.
Jesus restored her to her social world
and brought her back to a life of value.
Healing is about restoration to community
and restoration of a calling,
as well as restoration to life.
Through this simple series of events
Simon’s house becomes a household of God,
a church,
a gathering of those in need of healing and forgiveness
along with those offering compassion and service.
Mom is lifted up, as in the Resurrection.
And she begins to serve - just as the apostles are sent out to serve.
She is the church's first deacon.
She preaches the Gospel by her action.
Healed, transformed, and ready to serve.
So, there are two kind of people in the world;
people in need of care,
and people who need a calling.
And at any given moment we can be either of these two people,
and sometimes we may be both.
But together we are a community
that responds to those currently in need care
and clarifies the calling of those who currently don't.
So the question is- Where are you today?
Do you need help, or do you need to help?
Do you need care, or do you need a calling?
Think about it.
Pray about it.
Write it on a note card.
Put your card in the offering plate this morning
or drop it in one of the boxes in the narthex and Gathering Place.
We will take your cards and direct those of you in need of care
to join up with some of you who need a calling
so you can care for each other and,
in turn, move out from the church to care for the world.
Amen.