Mark 1:29-39
Dear Friends, The seemingly breathless activity of Jesus takes place in in the framework of an ordinary day. The series of teachings, exorcisms and miracles were, in fact, a declaration of the coming of the long-awaited kingdom of God. The people at that time saw the exorcisms and healings as an open attack on the reigning power of the demons.
Here are a few major points that will be helpful in understanding these initial actions of Jesus:
There is one aspect of today’s Gospel that bothered me for a long time. The verse says, “Then the fever left her and she waited on them.” (Mk 1:31)
I did not feel very good about the mother-in-law getting right out of the sick bed to wait on them. It seemed a bit much to me. I thought they should wait on her.
As is so often the case, deeper study of the Scriptures opens up new and powerful insights. In this case, the service of the mother-in-law is related to a central theme of Jesus’ teaching in Mark. The word used to describe the action of Peter’s mother-in-law is used at critical points later on to describe a true disciple. The mother-in-law, as a new disciple, must respond to the call of the kingdom in service.
Jesus uses the same word to describe a true disciple when John and James ask to sit at his right and left. He says, “for the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life as ransom for many.” (Mk 10:45)
The next time the word used to describe the mother-in-law’s action is at the time of the passion. In portraying the faithful women who did not flee but stayed near the Cross, Mark has this to say about them: “These women had followed Him when he was in Galilee and ministered to Him.” (Mk 15:41)
In these three instances, among several examples, of the description of service, we have a clear picture of what Jesus wants from His disciples: a life of service for the brothers and sisters.
From the beginning to the final stages of Mark’s Gospel, the disciples struggle to understand Jesus’ teachings. In the Garden, they flee. Their failure is crystallized in Peter’s three denials.
Mark’s Gospel gives us a powerful picture of the broken humanity of the twelve disciples. Their vision was rooted in their longing for privilege and power, not service. They struggle mightily and painfully before they grasp the contradiction between their misguided understanding of the Messiah and the clear and demanding reality of the suffering Christ.
Mark uses them to give us an image of ourselves. It is no small task to accept Jesus’ teaching about the cross. “He summoned the crowd and his disciples and said to them, ‘whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the gospel will save it.’ ”(Mk 8:34-35)
Peter’s mother-in-law got it. Let us hope, like Peter and the disciples, we too, will eventually get the message.
Here are a few major points that will be helpful in understanding these initial actions of Jesus:
- The teachings, exorcisms and healings clearly signaled the coming of the kingdom.
- This new reality demands that people must recognize the need for personal change. Personal attitudes and false values are often an obstacle to the coming of the kingdom.
- Jesus holds the key to overcoming the reign of evil in the longstanding dominance of the demonic powers.
- Early on, it is clear that the disciples’ understanding of Jeus is quite deficient. The question of what kind of Messiah Jesus was to be is a critical question in all of the Gospels, especially Mark.
There is one aspect of today’s Gospel that bothered me for a long time. The verse says, “Then the fever left her and she waited on them.” (Mk 1:31)
I did not feel very good about the mother-in-law getting right out of the sick bed to wait on them. It seemed a bit much to me. I thought they should wait on her.
As is so often the case, deeper study of the Scriptures opens up new and powerful insights. In this case, the service of the mother-in-law is related to a central theme of Jesus’ teaching in Mark. The word used to describe the action of Peter’s mother-in-law is used at critical points later on to describe a true disciple. The mother-in-law, as a new disciple, must respond to the call of the kingdom in service.
Jesus uses the same word to describe a true disciple when John and James ask to sit at his right and left. He says, “for the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life as ransom for many.” (Mk 10:45)
The next time the word used to describe the mother-in-law’s action is at the time of the passion. In portraying the faithful women who did not flee but stayed near the Cross, Mark has this to say about them: “These women had followed Him when he was in Galilee and ministered to Him.” (Mk 15:41)
In these three instances, among several examples, of the description of service, we have a clear picture of what Jesus wants from His disciples: a life of service for the brothers and sisters.
From the beginning to the final stages of Mark’s Gospel, the disciples struggle to understand Jesus’ teachings. In the Garden, they flee. Their failure is crystallized in Peter’s three denials.
Mark’s Gospel gives us a powerful picture of the broken humanity of the twelve disciples. Their vision was rooted in their longing for privilege and power, not service. They struggle mightily and painfully before they grasp the contradiction between their misguided understanding of the Messiah and the clear and demanding reality of the suffering Christ.
Mark uses them to give us an image of ourselves. It is no small task to accept Jesus’ teaching about the cross. “He summoned the crowd and his disciples and said to them, ‘whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the gospel will save it.’ ”(Mk 8:34-35)
Peter’s mother-in-law got it. Let us hope, like Peter and the disciples, we too, will eventually get the message.
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