Rise and Serve

Final Sunday of Epiphany

Today's Readings: 1 Cor. 9:16-23; Mark 1:29-39

Grace and peace to you in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

In last week’s gospel, Jesus healed a man with an unclean spirit in the synagogue using just his words. From the synagogue, Jesus and the disciples go to the home of Simon and Andrew, where Jesus heals Simon’s mother-in-law from a fever with just one simple touch. We may never even know her name, but she is forever an important part of the gospel message. Jesus comes to her bedside, reaches out his hand and lifts her up, restoring her to full health.

Once Jesus lifts her up, her immediate response is to serve Jesus and the disciples. Some may hear this and cringe, as if because she is a woman it is just another example of how women were made to serve men, but let me assure you that is not what is at play in this gospel. Last week’s message was focused on the power of words, so let’s take a closer look at a few key words from this story.

In the original Greek, the word used for “lifted her up,” is the same word that is used in the resurrection of Christ. Therefore, this is not merely an act of helping her stand up, this is Christ raising her up to life – whole and new. Her response to this gift she has been given of new, restored life is to serve, and this word “to serve” in the original Greek is diakonia – where we get the term for our modern day Deacons. Her response to the gift of new life is to serve God, which is an announcement, not with words but with ACTION, that the kingdom of God is at hand.

Not only does the lifting up of this woman foreshadow Jesus’ resurrection (and therefore also our own), but her response foreshadows and gives concrete example to something Jesus says in chapter 10. You may recall when Jesus says in 10:45, “I came not to BE served, but to serve.” This woman is ALREADY following in the footsteps of Jesus, embodying the gospel and kingdom of God, and Jesus has barely just begun his ministry on earth! I mean, we are still in the first chapter of Mark and honestly the disciples won’t even understand the gospel on this level until after Jesus’ resurrection! Jesus and this woman share a vocation of service. This is the same vocation we are all invited into. This is the revelation of the kingdom of God on earth and an embodiment of the gospel itself.

Now as powerful as this is, I would be remiss not to mention the challenge these stories of Jesus’ miracles and healing abilities can sometimes be. Many of us, at some point in our lives, find ourselves holding in tension the trust that Jesus’ miracles are real AND the frustration that comes with knowing God can do such miraculous things yet SO many suffer and/or die each day from chronic pains or illnesses, cancer, covid-19 and numerous other ailments.

I don’t have a good answer for this, but I want to go back to that word of resurrection. Jesus does not cure this woman of whatever it was that had her bedridden, rather Jesus raises her to new life; restored and whole. A colleague of mine with cancer was reflecting on this and pointed out how cures are temporary. You can be cured of something, but you may get sick again, and no matter how many times you are cured, you will still die because that is the fate we all share. God in Christ KNOWS this, knows the limitations of cures. Therefore Jesus already goes the extra mile, not only curing her in the moment, but raising her up to new life. And this is, of course, what we know Jesus does at our times of death; “for if we have been untied with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his” (Rom. 6:5).

Through Christ, God is made known to us as the one who does MORE than cures us in the moment, but rather lifts us up in resurrected life that lasts an eternity. Like Simon’s mother-in-law, Jesus lifts YOU up and in one simple act restores you to wholeness. You who are weary, burdened, tired, or sick – Jesus’ hand is stretched out to you, ready to resurrect your life. This is a permanent promise, a resurrection promise that goes beyond the grave, but let us not forget how Jesus’ promise of restoration and healing are new for us even TODAY.

What a powerful revelation of who God is in just a few short verses from Mark this morning. What a powerful reminder of who God calls us to be in the example of the first Deaconess. May this gospel raise you up and give you life this day and always. Amen.