On leaving the synagogue Jesus entered the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John. Simon’s mother-in-law lay sick with a fever. They immediately told him about her. He approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up. Then the fever left her and she waited on them. When it was evening, after sunset, they brought to him all who were ill or possessed by demons. The whole town was gathered at the door. He cured many who were sick with various diseases, and he drove out many demons, not permitting them to speak because they knew him.” Mark 1.29-34
As we continue our study of the Gospel of Mark today, we learn an important lesson. One day in the life of Jesus of Nazareth was hectic. Here in Chapter 1, Mark makes it clear that the life of Jesus is going to be hustle and bustle. As we may recall from last week, the day began with a visit to the synagogue because it was the Sabbath. There Rabbi Jesus teaches the people with authority.
While still in the synagogue, a man possessed with a demon or two spies Jesus and the evil spirits cower before the power of the Rabbi. “Let us alone,” the demons beg, “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth?” In short order, the Man from Galilee orders the demons to come out of the man, a command that the evil spirits are powerless to defy or deny.
Leaving the synagogue, Rabbi Jesus goes to the house of Simon and Andrew who live next to the synagogue in Capernaum and who were called to follow him a short while before as they busied themselves casting their nets into the sea. Learning that Simon’s mother-in-law is sick in bed, suffering from a fever, Rabbi Jesus goes to her, takes her hand, and lifts her up. Immediately–one of Mark’s favorite words throughout the book–the fever breaks and the woman goes to work in the kitchen to prepare a meal for them.
But the day is far from done. While they are still inside Simon’s house, the townspeople brought “all that were diseased and those that were possessed with devils” and Mark says “he healed many that were sick of different diseases and cast out many devils.” At some late hour, he finally goes to bed, his day done, only to start over again in the morning.
Of course, the packed day fits nicely with the fast pace of Mark’s gospel, a text that suffers no delay in the mission of the Rabbi. But it is important to see that Mark puts this day of back-to-back good deeds right at the start. It seems intentional, allowing some interpreters to posit the belief that Mark is intending us to see it as an allusion to the first day of the new creation.
Perhaps so, especially since he will end his gospel with another Sabbath, this one spent in rest as the Crucified Lord is placed inside the tomb. Again, one could argue, I believe, that Mark sees this as similar to the seventh day of creation when the Lord God rested from all his labors. Admittedly, the interpretation does provide tidy bookends–the two Sabbaths providing the start and the finish of the new creation.
Another interesting pairing, one that we will examine today, is Mark’s division of illness into two types, a first type that requires healing and a second type that requires exorcism. We find that distinction in these few verses when he tells us that “Jesus healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons.” The easiest explanation is that Mark separates physical infirmities (that require healing) from spiritual infirmities (that require casting out of demons).
Of course, the same pairing has already been presented to us, although the Common Lectionary has kept them apart by placing one of them in last Sunday’s reading and the other one in this Sunday’s reading. So, the synagogue visit that was reported last week concluded with an exorcism of a man possessed by demons and this week’s reading begins with the healing of Simon’s mother-in-law.
As we watch this separation of ailments that afflict either body or spirit continues to be juxtaposed in the pages ahead, a closer glance will reveal that Rabbi Jesus typically brings healing to the body by way of touching the sick person, and he removes demons that have possessed someone by way of voicing a command to them.
While we may live in a time that has a greater appreciation for the unity of mind and body and the impact one has on the other, it is still worthwhile to appreciate the point that Mark is making here. And it is this. Rabbi Jesus restores those afflicted both in body and in mind, using a healing touch in the first instance, and using his voice in the second instance.
Later, in Chapter 6, when Rabbi Jesus sends forth his disciples “two by two”, he gives them power to do as he had done. Mark tells us that “they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them” (6.13). Apparently, they imitate his actions, offering healing to the sick by touching them with their hands and expelling demons from the possessed by a command from their voice.
As always, there is a lesson here for us, fellow followers of Rabbi Jesus, similarly sent out as the first followers were, urged to do as they did, to heal those infirm in body by a touch of our hands and to remove demons that harm the spirit by the sound of our voices. It is what the Rabbi asked of the twelve and it is what he asks of the many who follow him now.
In other words, as we bring the same good news into the world that Rabbi Jesus offered when he began his Galilean ministry, we do it best by dual efforts on our part–by a healing touch and by a calming voice. When combined and offered to those who suffer in body and in spirit, we can restore them to health in the same way that Rabbi Jesus and his first followers did.
This point seems so obvious that it shouldn’t have to be said and, yet, it has to be said because it is so often overlooked and too often avoided. We live in an age that glorifies personal space and exults individual privacy. We are taught to honor boundaries as soon as we cut our teeth. As a result, over time, we have become more insulated in our own worlds and less involved in other people’s lives. We leave the healing of bodies to the medical professions and the expelling of demons to the psychological community.
It is little wonder, then, that the greatest ailment that people in our culture suffers from in our times is loneliness, the logical consequence of not reaching out to others and not talking with them. Like larvae encased in protective cocoons, we live apart and at a distance from others, guarding our own turf and avoiding other people’s turf. Our lives do not intersect except in planned and in safe ways, and our interactions are limited and timed. Loneliness has become the new epidemic. A number of countries, including Australia and England, have set up an official government agency to address the crisis, usually calling it the Ministry for Loneliness.
Experts continue to stress that loneliness is detrimental to both physical and mental health, resulting in increased risks of heart disease, dementia, and premature death. As one leading researcher noted recently, “The world is becoming lonelier and there are some very, very worrisome consequences.” And while loneliness is not new to humanity, the experience of it has worsened in modern times because of the disconnected lives that we have constructed for ourselves in our culture.
Unfortunately, social media seem to be culprits in the crisis, offering the illusion of connection with others by clicking onto “likes” and “followers,” while at the same time isolating people behind computer screens and iPhone apps, denying genuine and real connections with other people. Half of young adults have admitted that no one in the previous few weeks had taken more than just a few minutes to ask how they were doing in a way that made them feel like the other person genuinely cared.
The solution stares us in the face. It is right here in the ministry of Rabbi Jesus. Each day, we can reach out to someone to show them that we care about them. We can look for ways to serve others that will bring relief and comfort to them. We can make time to give others our full attention and to hold genuine conversations with them.
Obviously, this means shelving our electronic devices and weaning ourselves from our social apps, instead engaging with people one-to-one, face-to-face, hand-to-hand. For many of us, this is no small matter, so habitually attached are we to our devices, suffering separation anxiety when we can’t get to them. Sadly, there are professionals who now offer their services in helping people to turn off their electronic connections, like teaching survival skills to people who go on a wilderness hike.
At the beginning of creation, the Lord God made a clear pronouncement when he said, “It is not good for man to be alone,” his words offering remedy for our physical and spiritual wellbeing. So it makes sense that when his Beloved Son began his mission on earth, he also would offer remedy to physical and spiritual maladies by touching those who suffered physically and by speaking to those who suffered mentally.
Touch and voice–the twin components of care of those who suffer in mind and in spirit. Rabbi Jesus understood it and he wanted his followers to understand it, insisting that their imitation of his ways meant reaching out to those afflicted in any way, offering them a healing touch and a compassionate voice. When done, health was restored and it can still be done by us.
So, what can we do if we want to be like Jesus of Nazareth? We can reconnect with others in a meaningful way, sharing in their walk of life, touching their lives, speaking words of comfort to them. In a world filled with people who suffer from bodily and spiritual ailments, there is no short supply of available persons to whom we can become like Jesus to them.
A pastor tells of the time he met a woman coming up the sidewalk towards the parish hall. Hers a familiar face to the pastor, he asked the woman what she was doing that morning coming to the center. The woman smiled and said that she was coming to see Sister Pat for a massage. It was well-known in the parish that Sister Pat did healing and touch massage and also taught others how to do it.
The priest, intending light-heartedness, said to the woman, “A massage, huh?” The woman’s face turned serious and she answered him in a soft voice, “I live alone and no one ever touches me.” Her honesty and her need hit him in the gut when he realized that she had no one to reach out to her, to bring her close, to touch her in a warm embrace that was filled with tenderness and affection. He saw in that moment that the woman had to pay someone to touch her, a basic need of each and every human person.
So, as we hear the passage from Mark’s gospel today, we may want to look carefully at what he says when he writes that Rabbi Jesus “grasped the hand of Peter’s mother-in-law, helped her up,” and, in that moment, “the fever left her.” His message might propel us to reach out to others who suffer in any way, offering them a gentle touch and speaking to them with a kind voice. If and when we do, we might bring healing to body and spirit as surely as did the Galilean Teacher.
–Jeremy Myers
Sunday Brunch 