“And immediately he [Jesus] left the
synagogue, and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James
and John. Now Simon’s mother-in-law lay sick with a fever, and
immediately they told him of her. And he came and took her by
the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her; and she
served them.” --Mark 1:29-31, RSV
Jesus came to heal the
sick. According to St. Mark’s Gospel, Jesus healed a fevered
woman, Simon’s mother-in-law, very early in his public
ministry. With his touch, Jesus healed her of fever. Then,
immediately, she rose from her place of rest; and she served
Jesus and several of his disciples.
During the last year,
when our daughter Paige was undergoing anti-cancer treatments at
Pitt County Memorial Hospital and at Duke Medical Center, it
occurred to us that these hospitals institutionally reflect the
healing ministry of Jesus. Often these hospitals, their
doctors, their nurses, and their staffs do not recognize that
they are carrying out Jesus’ ministry of healing; even so, they
are. And thanks be to God that they go about their healing work
with such dedication and faithfulness!
The sins that lurk in
our lives -- even in the lives of baptized, mostly faithful
Christians -- can be understood as a kind of sickness. Greed,
anger, prejudice, jealousy, and evil desires can sicken us. But
Jesus came to deal with our sins, to heal us of the sickness of
our sins. And when Jesus takes our sins onto himself, we are
freed of the captivity and guilt they always bring. When Jesus
takes away our sins, we, like Simon’s mother-in-law, can get up,
breathe in the gift of freedom, and serve those around us.
On this day in Lent, let
the Lord heal us a bit more.
Heavenly Father, we
praise you for sending your Son to heal the world and to heal
us. Use whatever means you must to open our eyes to the sins
that so subtly afflict us. And heal us of their power to turn
us in upon ourselves. We will be careful to give you the glory
for this, your saving work. Through Jesus Christ and in his
Spirit we pray. Amen.
