The Ministerial Life and the Realm of God—Lectionary Reflection for Epiphany 5B (Mark 1)

Mark 1:29-39 New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

²⁹ As soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. ³⁰ Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. ³¹ He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.

³² That evening, at sunset, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed by demons. ³³ And the whole city was gathered around the door. ³⁴ And he cured many who were sick with various diseases and cast out many demons, and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.

³⁵ In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. ³⁶ And Simon and his companions hunted for him. ³⁷ When they found him, they said to him, “Everyone is searching for you.” ³⁸ He answered, “Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also, for that is what I came out to do.” ³⁹ And he went throughout all Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.

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                If you haven’t noticed, we live in a rather secular world. It’s a reality that Andrew Root has laid out in a series of six books, so if you’re struggling with this reality, consulting these books might be of assistance. What many are discovering is that it’s getting difficult to share the good news of God’s realm with a world that has largely tuned out traditional forms of Christian messaging. There are many reasons for this, not the least being the way we Christians have presented ourselves to the larger world. There has been scandal after scandal, the rise of a virulent form of religious authoritarianism, along with some ugly messages to folks who are gay, lesbian, queer, bi, and transgender. That’s only a short list. More could be added. When all of these issues are taken together they feed into the world’s skepticism about faith. While there are still Christians who embrace an enchanted worldview, at least in my world most of my clergy friends have embraced a disenchanted worldview. In other words, we may have given in to Nietzsche’s declaration that God is dead such that we have largely pushed God to the sidelines.

In exchange for living in this disenchanted world, we have left the mystical for moralism. Being Christian is largely about being good, though we’re not all agreed on what being good entails. The main thing is not to expect anything supernatural to happen. That goes for both conservative and liberal Christians! So, as Richard Beck writes, “If God is slowly dying, it’s because Christians stopped seeking God and started to focus on being good” [Hunting Magic Eels, p. 35].  Living as we do two millennia after Jesus began his ministry, we want to see Jesus’ vision as something more rational and universal. Just follow Jesus and life will be wonderful. But that would seem to be far different from the vision Jesus offers, especially in the Gospel of Mark where Jesus is in a spiritual battle. His world, unlike ours, is quite enchanted. Powerful things happen around him. So, what should we make of all of this?

                On the Fifth Sunday after Epiphany, we continue our journey through the first chapter of Mark. We pick up the story of Jesus’ early ministry in Galilee after he preached as one with authority at the synagogue in Capernaum, along with healing the man with the unclean spirit, who as often happens when Jesus encounters persons with such afflictions, recognized him for who he is. All of this activity caught the attention of the neighborhood because as Mark records “At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee” (Mk 1:21-28). Like many a preacher, once the church/synagogue service was over it was time to eat. That’s where our story begins.

                After Jesus and his team finished with the service they headed over to the home of Simon and Andrew. At this point, the team is only four people—Simon and Andrew, James and John. When they arrive at the house, they find Simon’s mother-in-law in bed with a fever. Yes, Simon was either married or had been married. What happens next is a bit problematic from a modern perspective. You see, when Jesus sees that the mother-in-law is ill, he takes her hand, lifts her up, and heals the fever. Now she was ready to head to the kitchen and get lunch ready for the guests. It is often said that Jesus didn’t use his powers to benefit himself.  After all, he wouldn’t turn stones into bread, but on this occasion, he surely benefitted from her healing. He got to eat as a result! While Jesus does seem to benefit, Erin Dufault-Hunter offers a more helpful reading, noting that the restoration to health of Peter’s mother-in-law enabled her to serve others, even as Jesus came to serve. She writes: “Allowed neither to be pitied for their previous state nor to bask in the miracle itself, those restored by God in mind and body have, like Paul, received free of charge and now become conduits of the same grace for others” [Connections, p. 242].

                Before we continue, it is worth noting that there is archaeological evidence that suggests the location of Peter’s house might have been discovered. After all, there is a site that has been venerated as his home at least since the fourth century. James Martin, SJ, tells us that if we were to go to the modern Church of St. Peter’s House, a church that looks like a gray spaceship, we can see evidence of the original structure through a window in the floor where we can see the “ruins of the much older church and the original dwelling below.” While we can’t know for sure that this is Peter’s house, the fact that this site was venerated before Constantine suggests there is a chance this is Peter’s house, and perhaps the place Jesus lived when in town [Martin, Jesus, p. 183].

                Now back to what took place, in Mark’s telling, at Simon’s house. While some preachers are extroverts who love to be around people 24/7, many of us are introverts. So, after church is over and lunch is eaten, we like to go off by ourselves and recharge. It is also true that ministry duties don’t always allow for such things. That seems to be the case here.

                Once the sabbath was over at Sundown on Saturday evening, people began to gather at Simon’s house. After they saw Jesus deal with the man with the withered hand, the people realized that Jesus not only could preach a good sermon he could heal people. So, folks from all around Capernaum brought the sick and the demon-possessed to Jesus seeking his assistance. It appears that Jesus didn’t turn anyone away as he “cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons” (Mk. 1:32-34). The one thing he didn’t allow to happen was letting the demons identify him. For now, he made sure that the messianic secret stayed secret. Finally, after the ministry time concluded Jesus got a chance to sleep (I’m reading between the lines here).

                In verses 35-39, Jesus begins his big ministry tour in Galilee. According to Mark, Jesus got up the next morning while it was still dark, and he found a deserted place and began to pray. Preachers should take note of this fact. If Jesus needed time away from ministry so he could recharge, shouldn’t the same be true of us as well? When Peter and the gang got up that morning, they discovered that Jesus wasn’t in the house. So, they hunted for him. When they finally found him, they told him that everyone was looking for him. Were they worried about him? Or did they want more ministry from him? Mark doesn’t say what was happening back at the house, but I can imagine a group of folks lining up at Simon’s door hoping Jesus would heal their diseases. Whether he did so, we’re not told.

                In any case, when Simon and his companions found Jesus and told him everyone was searching for him, Jesus simply announced that it was time to go to the neighboring towns. He had done what he needed to do, at least for now, in Capernaum. After all, he wasn’t a settled pastor. He was an itinerant healing evangelist. As far as I know, unlike Oral Roberts and others like him, he didn’t take a big tent with him. So, they headed out proclaiming the good news throughout the region. That is because this was Jesus’ calling. So, he went about preaching in synagogues (thus not needing a tent) and casting out demons.  

So far, in Mark, we have encountered a healing preacher who proclaims the good news. His is a very enchanted world. When Jesus comes to town things mystical things happen. He’s compassionate. He cares about people. He teaches about God. He even has prophetic tendencies. At the same time, at least to this point, there isn’t much that is revolutionary about him. The Romans might get skittish about this preacher who gathers a crowd, but so far, he’s hanging out in the rural areas of Galilee, which is itself something of a backwater. At the same time, there is a sense of urgency about the ministry. He gathers a team, but he doesn’t seem interested in building an institution. If he did, he would have stayed a while in Capernaum and built a big synagogue/healing center. When that got big enough, he could set up franchises throughout the area. From there, who knows? That might have been a good plan, but it’s not the one he chose. Instead, he headed out on his preaching tour, moving from town to town, but without leaving an infrastructure. As he preaches, he responds to requests for healing and exorcism. As John Byron points out “Jesus never goes out seeking to heal, but heals only in response to those who seek to benefit from his authority over demons and illness. This reflects back on 1:14-15, where Jesus’ stated purpose is to proclaim the good news of God and call people to repentance. The miracles are a by-product of his authority and ministry” [Connections, p. 241].

In closing, I want to return to this question of embracing an enchanted faith. I know that my own spiritual life is rather disenchanted. I’ve had mystical experiences on occasion, but I struggle to keep focused when it comes to prayer. I believe God is always present with me. I believe also that when I am engaged in matters of faith I am in partnership with God. Nevertheless, I often live as if it all depends on me. There is something about these stories of encounters with Jesus that transform lives, bringing healing and freedom. We might have logical explanations for all of them, but occasionally should we not bask in God’s mystical presence? Isn’t that what people are looking for? After all, the spiritual but religious folks often turn to things like astrology as a spiritual device. We want mystery. We want enchantment. But, to embrace it, to recover it, requires great discernment. As Richard Beck notes, when it comes to moving into an enchanted environment, we need to engage in discerning the spirits, which “starts with asking ourselves the hard questions about how our ‘spirituality’ is being used to mask our selfishness and prejudice. But while that hard, honest look in the mirror can tell us when we’re not hearing the voice of God, we need something else to let us know when we are hearing God, how to know when it is Christ who is calling us.” The key to this, according to Beck, is hearing the call to give our lives away for others. That’s what Moses discovered when he encountered the Burning Bush. [Beck, Hunting Magic Eels, p. 285]. It’s something that Jesus embraced as he gave his life for others.  

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, 1606-1669. Christ Healing Peter's Mother-in-Law, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=57481 [retrieved January 28, 2024]. Original source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rembrandt_Heilung_der_Schwiegermutter_des_Petrus.jpg.