When reading the Gospels, it sure seems like lots of people needed medical attention. Jesus is often called the miracle healer. We often read that sick, crippled or distraught people sought him out. Sometimes friends of those suffering interceded for the sick ones. We even hear that Jesus healed people without even being asked. Being sick is the pits!
This winter our country is experiencing a major influenza outbreak. Disease is rampant, so is cancer and heart disease. While there are many underlying reasons for illness like transmission of germs due to poor hygiene, poor hand washing or fat loaded diets, some illnesses might come about because our inner health has been compromised. Some of these “inner germs” might be jealousy, envy or greed which can be just as unhealthy as real germs, they can make a person sick and in need of healing.
I’d like to meet Sarah, the mother-in-law of Simon Peter. She has a healing story to share with us:
Welcome to my home here in Capernaum. My name is Sarah. My house felt rather empty after my husband died but lately that is not the case. I now have a full house since my son-in-law Simon, my daughter Elizabeth and their children have moved here from Bethsaida. They moved here in hopes that his fishing business will grow. Capernaum is being called an up-and-coming city, a good place to grow a business. I am glad they decided to move here especially since Elizabeth is my only child. My husband had always hoped for another child, a son, but that was not to be. So now that Elizabeth is married I have a “son”.
Just a bit about Simon. He is a little rough around the edges if you know what I mean. He has a big mouth, sometimes he is quite rude and a bit hard headed. He smells like fish all the time. He is not my type at all but he has a special charm to him. He’s honest, caring and likeable enough. Simon has an engaging smile. Elizabeth seems to be happy so that’s all that matters. Like I said they have moved in with me. It has been quite a change in my life style, it’s a big adjustment and not an easy one. I thought in a few weeks things would begin to settle down into a rhythm but then Simeon met Jesus.
Two weeks ago, Simon came home and told Elizabeth and I that he had left his boat and nets, giving up his business to follow that stranger, Jesus, from Nazareth. The nerve! I’m very upset and concerned. What about my poor daughter Elizabeth and the children? It’s bad enough that Simon is rarely home and when he’s here so is Jesus and some other men. They talk all night long and the neighbors are complaining. Simon seems to have forgotten he is a married man with responsibilities. He has yet to father a son. If he abandons Elizabeth with no sons, she will suffer the shame and disgrace I have carried my whole life. She will be considered a burden, a social outcast with no status and no self-esteem. A woman without a son is a person without merit.
Since Jesus doesn’t have a place to live in Capernaum, Simon invited him to stay with us. We have a small area that is curtained off. Jesus stays in that little room and sleeps on an old cot. He is a good guest; he never complains or causes any trouble. He eats what we serve and sleeps little. Actually, he is an early riser. I know this because sometime I sneak a peek behind the curtain early in the morning to see if he’s still sleeping.
Jesus doesn’t speak too much usually only to Simon and his friends. These conversations are interesting to hear. Sometimes Elizabeth and I eavesdrop from around the corner when Jesus and the men are talking. I can see why Simon wants to spend time with this man. But religious talk about God and the meaning of life has its time and place. That time is on the Sabbath! Everyday there are lots of important things to do. Just a couple of days ago I gave Simon a piece of my mind, hoping that he would come to his senses. He just ignored me and said, “There’s nothing to worry about. You’re a woman, how can you understand these things. Just leave me alone.”
It seems that every time Jesus comes into the house, my nerves are on edge. How do I tell him that he is disrupting my family life? Hospitality is very big in our culture, it’s a religious duty one must offer. So, I put on my “happy face”, the smile I have been taught to always have no matter what I might be feeling inside. I think that Jesus might sense my distant disposition but he accepts and respects my wish in silence.
Then I get sick! I didn’t think it was too serious so I kept doing all my usual household tasks. However, the low-grade fever did not dissipate even when I used all the tried and true methods I have used in the past. Instead it grew worse. Not only did I have a fever but my head throbbed and my body ached to the point where I was bed-ridden. Such an embarrassing thing for a strong, competent woman like me. As luck would have it there were lots of people in town that day, crowds from the neighboring towns had come to see Jesus.
Most certainly loud-mouth Simon would come home with lots of house guests, expecting a ready-made evening meal. Elizabeth knew her husband well and so she was hustling and bustling trying to get everything ready alone. All I could do was to call out instructions from my bed since I was too weak to get up to help her. I felt dejected, helpless and humiliated. I prayed with my tired heart, “Lord, God of Host, please help us, please send Jesus back where he came from, back to Nazareth!”
Soon I heard lots of voices and noises outside the house, people were arriving. I closed my eyes, my head was throbbing and I felt awful. I heard Simon’s loud, boisterous voice as he entered the house expecting a big welcome home. I told Elizabeth not to tell Simon I was in bed but he sensed that something was wrong when he entered the house. He did not come into see me. Thank goodness, I did not want company. But suddenly, even with my eyes closed, I knew that Jesus was there by my side. I thought if I kept my eyes closed he might leave the room without disturbing me since I was asleep. No such luck, instead he sat down on the edge of the bed without saying a word.
I didn’t know what to say or do. My heart began to race and I experienced a warm soothing feeling encompassing my body. This warm feeling was very different than the intense fever. Jesus rested his hand on my forehead and I felt a refreshing coolness wash over me. My head stopped throbbing, my body no longer ached, and the fever dissipated. My long-held repressed shame and anger were quieted: neither of us had spoken a word.
I experienced a newness of life, an energy of life I had never known pass from Jesus to me. When I opened my eyes, I realized the source of life was in this man sitting beside me on my bed, this Jesus from Nazareth. He looked deeply into my eyes and heart and he let me look deeply into his. I sensed a change in my being, an unnamed joy filled my heart, soul and body. I felt a surge of love, trust and faith I had never experienced before. Jesus took my hand and helped me to sit up and leave the bed. Although I was still a bit woozy I left the bedroom and began to serve him the newly discovered energetic love he had given me. I know now that I will serve him the rest of my life.
How will I continue to serve him? My house will become a center of service, a welcoming, hospitable place of healing and hope. I have found the meaning of life and it has nothing do with having money, status or sons. The meaning of life has everything to with love and placing oneself at the service of love.
Sarah found healing for both her physical ills and spiritual ones. Jesus raised her up from the bed and in doing so he erased her shame, worries and weaknesses. She realized those “inner germs” weakened her immune system. Could her fever have been caused by all that pent-up shame, worry and grief she carried? Possibly. We know today that stress and unmitigated anger can lead to diseases such as heart disease, cancer or hypertension. Jesus offers healing not only to physical ailments he also heals our attitudes and social customs. As Sarah learned healing leads to wholeness, a willingness to serve others out of love.
NOTES
Delivered (preached) February 3, 2018 at Spirit of Christ Parish in Roseville, Minnesota
Fourth Week in Ordinary Time, Year B
Sarah narrative adapted from “Reading Between the Lines, The Hidden Wisdom of Women in the Gospels” by Martha E. Driscoll, OCSO (Liguori Publications. 2006)
References: Matthew 8:14-15, Mark 1:29-31, Luke 4:39
Image: The Voyage of Life, Old Age by Thomas Cole in 1842