EDITOR'S NOTE: In October 2017 I began a new venture as a synodically authorized minister at Faith Lutheran Church in Wolverton, Minn. The ride over the past 2.5 years has been an amazing journey of learning, growing and a deepening of my theological mind. This sermon took place on Feb. 4, 2018.
In this week’s gospel, I think that Mark forces us think about a very important question: Am I a true disciple of Jesus?
Now, wait, before you answer that question, I want you think a little bit about the passage we just read. Think about what Mark teaches us about discipleship in this passage, both by Simon’s mother-in-law, who was very will and who was healed by Jesus. … And by Jesus himself. ... Dwell in that moment with me. …
Good. … Now let’s ask ourselves again? … Am I a true disciple of Christ? … And even before you answer that, I’ll go one step further. … Ask yourself: Am I a radical disciple of Christ? …
No need to answer that question outloud today. I do mean that rhetorically. ... But, I would like it if you’d dwell on that question as we talk about the beautiful picture of discipleship that Mark paints in this passage.
You remember the story: Jesus has just gotten done preaching at the local synagogue, most likely after having traveled earlier in the day, and he and his buddies return to Simon and Andrew’s house, where Jesus immediately learns that Simon’s mother-in-law is gravely ill. Of course, it’s not uncommon that his mother-in-law be at Simon’s house because in the ancient times, families lived a far more communal life than we can imagine nowadays, with generation upon generation calling the same compound home.
So Jesus enters and is told that the woman has a severe fever, which of course means infection, and in those days infections often were deadly. A fever in the ancient world was never a good thing.
Jesus, being Jesus of course, doubtlessly tired from his travels and teaching that day -- after all he is human at the same time as divine -- rushes to the woman’s bedside, takes her hand and lifts her up ... or raises her up, as the text states. … And makes her well.
Sure, a miracle and all that, but is it really that surprising? ... I mean, he is Jesus after all. … No, that’s likely not so shocking to any of us.
What is shocking, however, is how Simon’s mother-in-law reacts! … Now, I don’t know about you, but if Jesus walked into my house and saved me from almost certain death, I’d be out dancing in the streets and shouting the news from the rooftops! “I am saved! … Jesus, the Son of God, saved my life!”
But, no, not Simon’s mother-in-law. … What does she do? … She immediately begins serving the guests in her house. Presumably getting them comfortable, feeding them, cleaning up after them, maybe even getting them settled into their guest rooms for the night. She’s doing exactly what the etiquette of the time required of hosts: To extend radical hospitality to one’s guest, even strangers. … After being healed, she doesn’t race to tell the world that she was saved by our one and only savior. … No, she dutifully accepts Christ’s grace and humbly goes about serving her guests as the manners of the day called for. … In other words, she was being a radical disciple! … Recognizing that her Lord and Savior had rescued her and had given her salvation -- albeit an earthly and temporary salvation -- she immediately began serving her Lord.
But remarkably Simon’s mother-in-law doesn’t stop there. … Oh no, this radical disciple of God goes even further. Because after the news of her being raised from near death makes it around the village -- maybe through Facebook or Instagram or thanks to the locals down at the coffee shop or post office -- the entire town shows up at her doorstep. … The ENTIRE town!
Everyone is peaking in and trying to get a look, and then the inevitable happens, right? … Well, when word gets out that there is a healer in town, soon everyone in town who is sick or who is possessed by demons is brought to Jesus to be cured. … And guess who is right there to serve them all. … That’s right: Simon’s mother-in-law. She’s never left her post. … And I can’t even imagine the work of taking care of the entire town. … But she did it … because she recognized Christ’s healing for the miracle it was and was transformed into a radical disciple.
Now, again, let’s put ourselves in the shoes of Simon’s mother-in-law. … How many times have we received the Holy Spirit’s gift … and either looked the other way or acted indifferently. How many times in our lives have we recognized that the Lord delivered on something we’d asked for or carried us through a trial … and then we got the miracle ... and we go right back to our old ways? … Radical discipleship. Radical Smipleship, right? … I got what I wanted. That was what I was hoping for, after all.
Well, not Simon’s mother-in-law. She was saved and immediately turned to serving her Lord and her neighbors. … All of her neighbors.
And this is why I love this particular passage in Mark. Because in the story about Simon’s mother-in-law, Mark cleverly foreshadows what’s to come. … An even bigger demonstration of what radical discipleship means. … Jesus’ radical discipleship.
So, we know the rest of the story. … Upon entering Simon and Andrew’s home, and despite the fact that Jesus has been traveling and teaching all day, he immediately goes to the mother-in-law’s aid. … He doesn’t ask whether she’s worthy of being healed, how she got sick or whether she did something to bring this upon herself. … Nope, no questions ask, he reaches for her hand, raises her up and restores her life. … Did you get that key part? … No questions asked.
Now, ask yourself? … Is that what I normally do? … When called upon to help someone, anyone. … A complete stranger. … The mother-in-law of a friend. … Does any of us act without question? … Do we look to raise them up and restore their salvation? … Or do we first question whether we want to get involved, whether we want to bother with helping? … Truthfully, I’m afraid of my own honest answer.
Let’s recall the passage again and notice that Jesus never asks for a single thing in return for saving Simon’s mother-in-law. He doesn’t expect money or food or lodging, not the least of all to be served. … No, that service comes from the mother-in-law and is given freely … out of her radical discipleship … but never because Jesus expected it.
But the story doesn’t end there, right? … So, Jesus finishes up this miracle, and then just a short while later, the news makes its way around town. ... There’s a healer at Simon’s house! … And he has brought Simon’s mother-in-law back from the brink of death! … In our family, we call that telegraph, telephone, tell-a-Grandma … because when my Mom knows something, the entire family is going to know! … I’m sure it worked that way in ancient Israel too! … So what happens when everyone finds out? People from all over town converge on the house. So many that they crowd around the door.
But what does Jesus do? … Remember now, he’s been traveling; he had the gig at the synagogue; he came to Simon and Andrew’s house thinking that maybe he was going to cut lose for a bit, but he ends up having to perform a miracle. … A pretty full day, by anyone’s standards? … And, now the entire town is on the doorstep looking for their miracles too. … And Jesus does not disappoint. He probably could have told them all to go home for the night and come back tomorrow. But not Jesus. … He just goes about his work curing those “who were sick or possessed with demons.” … And finally, after all of that work, he makes one last stand and forbids the demons to speak, essentially creating a safe haven for the people in the village.
It doesn’t tell us in Mark, but I’m really hoping that Jesus got to crash at that point.
The next day, in the quiet of the morning, Jesus gets up and sneaks out of the house.
So, Jesus sneaks out of bed, and out the door of the house and then probably out of the compound and finally out of the village ... to a deserted place. … And what does he do? He doesn’t do anything decadent for himself. … He prays! … He prays! … Always the good disciple, the radical disciple ... he prays!
So he’s praying along, a few quiet moments between him and his father. … Some solitude. … But then what happens? … Right! … They find him! … Gawww! … Jesus is there praying, a little sabbath time. .. And who shows up but Simon and his companions. … Not JUST Simon! But Simon AND his companions! … And what were they doing? They were HUNTING down Jesus! … Then, to make matters worse, Simon and his companions tell Jesus that “Everyone is searching for you!” … So it goes from bad to worse for Jesus. … Not only has Simon and his companions found Jesus, he finds out that EVERYONE else is looking for him too!
But, ultimately, like Simon’s mother-in-law does earlier in the story, Jesus looks at his buddies and answers: “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.” … And with that, Jesus stands up and proceeds throughout Galilee, proclaiming the Good News in their synagogues and casting out demons. … There will be no rest here, not for Jesus.
And not for those of us who say we follow in his footsteps. … And that is the radical discipleship to which I am referring. … Are you familiar with it? … Are you a radical disciple?
Ask yourself how many times after you have prayed, and God has delivered … … You know he saw you through that trial or carried you through your storm. ... And then what did you do? … Was your first response to immediately serve the Lord and your neighbor, as Simon’s mother-in-law did? … Or did you rush out into the village to shout that Jesus had healed you. Or maybe our modern day equivalent would be to turn to Facebook to shout that you’d been healed. … Or, were you like Simon’s mother-in-law who simply served her Lord and all the other guests in her home. … The entire village as a matter fact!
So, friends, I ask you … just what is your idea of radical discipleship?
And then, conversely, what happened the moment Jesus was called into action, even after the long day of traveling and teaching at the synagogue, what did he do? … He jumped in to heal Simon’s mother-in-law. No questions asked. … And then what? … The entire village came to him and he healed all of them. … And then what? … A weary Jesus wakes and sneaks away for a few quiet moments, but Simon and his companions soon find him and tell him that everyone else is looking for him too! … And even after all of that … what is Jesus’ response? … He looks at Simon and his companions and says, “Let’s get moving. We have so many more people who need to hear the Good News and so many more people to heal!”
So, again, I ask you, what was your response the last time someone needed you? … What was your response? … Was it to joyfully say, “OK?” ... as we know Jesus did. … Or did you have something more important to do. Or you were just done giving of yourself for that day. ... Was that Jesus’ response? … We know that answer.
So, again, I ask you just what is your idea of radical discipleship?
I encourage you that as you leave today, to spend some time considering what it means to be a radical disciple of Christ. Ask yourself if you’re living not even to the lofty standards of Jesus’ example, but just to the humble example of Simon’s mother-in-law. … Do you know what radical discipleship is? … And are you practicing it?
And that is the Good News for this Sunday. ... Amen.
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