A lot of people right now are pondering what the future will look like once this pandemic is over. Will our economy rebound? Will businesses be able to rebuild? Will schools return to normal? Will the church survive? The world is sick…both literally and figuratively. And we don’t know when healing will come. Perhaps the world isn’t so different from Jesus’ day. We read in Mark about all the people who were sick or demon possessed. And they all come to Jesus around sunset. This is certainly not the only story of sick people coming to Jesus. But, in Mark, it is the first time it happens. And the story is linked with another healing story where Jesus enters the house of Simon Peter and Andrew to find Simon Peter’s mother-in-law deathly ill. And Jesus’ healing of Peter’s mother-in-law really sets the stage both for the other healings about to come and for the entire scope of Jesus’ earthly ministry.

So, let’s dive in a little deeper to this very first healing story in the gospel of Mark. I want to look at three words in the text and their deeper meaning. The first word is the word translated as fever. The word does not really have a different translation than that, but there is an implication here that Simon’s mother-in-law is very ill…possibly at death’s door. Today, a fever does not usually mean significant danger. But, in Jesus’ day, they didn’t have fever reducing medications or antibiotics. So, having a fever was often quite dangerous. It is important for us to know this for a couple of reasons. First, understanding how serious the illness was helps us to realize how miraculous the healing was. Jesus didn’t just take away some sniffles and a headache. Simon’s mother-in-law was near death and Jesus healed her. That leads us to the second reason it is important for us to know how ill she was and also to the second important word for us to look at.

Mark reinforces the graveness of her illness by the word choice he uses to describe Jesus’ healing. He writes, “He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up.” The word I want to look at is the word translated as “lifted up.” This word is more directly translated as “raise up” and is used to talk about being raised from the dead. Peter’s mother-in-law was near death and Jesus came and raised her from the brink. I’m reminded of the end of the passage we read from Isaiah 40. The prophet writes, “He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless. Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted; but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” God has the power to raise us up from even the most dire of situations and Jesus displays this power all throughout his earthly  ministry. This is great news for us, but before we get into the implications of this I want to look at one more word in this text.

The third word comes in the second half of verse 31. Jesus raises Peter’s mother-in-law up and then the test says that “Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.” Some folks see this passage as proof that a woman’s place is to serve men. But a closer look at the original Greek tells a different story. The word used by Mark for serve is the word diakonos, a word from which we get our word deacon. And it is the same word that Jesus uses when he tells his disciples that he came, not to be served, but to serve. The word can also be translated as “to minister.” Peter’s mother-in-law did not immediately begin to wait on Jesus and the others because it was her duty or because it was her designed role in society. She began to serve out of gratitude and love. She served with the heart of Jesus, who gave of himself for others all throughout his life and ministry. She served because it is what we are all charged with as followers of Christ, the great servant king. She served them because she wanted to give back some of the life and love she had been given. Isn’t that the same sort of generous living we are called to? It is certainly the sort of attitude that Jesus showed all throughout his life…and is in fact the same thing he shows immediately following this encounter.

Because that evening, following the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law, the whole city gathered at the door and brought to Jesus all of the sick and possessed in town. That had to feel overwhelming. I couldn’t find any real data to say how large the population of Bethsaida was, the town where Simon Peter lived, but it was just outside of the town where the feeding of the 5,000 takes place. So, we can imagine that there were probably a lot of people waiting to come to Jesus and watch him heal the sick and possessed. I picture it kind of like a Beatles concert in the mid-60s, where the fans are all pressing to get as close to the band as possible and are screaming and jumping up and down. Jesus’ healing prowess had become renowned. So, a large crowd surrounds the house where Jesus is staying. And maybe Jesus could have shut the door and tried to ignore them. Or maybe he could have sent them away…it was sunset after all and they’d be wanting to go to bed soon most likely. But Jesus doesn’t do that. He serves, just as Simon’s mother-in-law had served him after being healed.

So who are we in this story? Are we Simon’s mother-in-law? Are we the disciples who are with Jesus? Are we the crowd that comes to be healed? Perhaps we are all of them in some ways. Like Simon’s mother, we need healing. It may not always be physical healing. Perhaps we need mental healing or emotional healing or spiritual healing. Whatever it is that ails us, Jesus comes to us and takes us by the hand and raises us back up. We are also like the disciples who were with Jesus. We are simply watching from the sidelines what Jesus is doing and are amazed. I find myself in that place quite often. As a pastor, I desire to bring about change and growth in this church and in the lives of each of you. Yet it is more often the case that I see amazing things happen that I had nothing to do with. And I can’t do much except sit back and watch in amazement at what God is doing through God’s people. And we are also like the crowd. We come because we want something out of it. We come because we’ve heard about the amazing things Jesus has done and we want to experience it for ourselves. Maybe we are desperate for healing or forgiveness. Maybe we truly want to know Jesus. Or maybe we just come to see what the hype is all about or simply to experience it all for ourselves. Jesus draws people to himself. He drew each of us in at some point. And now we’ve become part of the family.

So, if we can relate to all of the main characters in this story, then what message are we to take from it all? I want to suggest two quick things. First, no matter how rough life gets or how demoralized and down we become, Jesus can raise us up. Peter’s mother-in-law was at the brink of death and Jesus raised her back up in an instant. Jesus can raise us up as well. Though we may grow weary and faint from time to time, Jesus will raise us up on wings like eagles and give us strength so that we can soar. And not only that, but we are raised up with a purpose. Simon Peter’s mother-in-law was raised up and immediately began to serve…not out of duty or design, but because it was her calling. Hospitality was her gift and when Jesus healed her, in gratitude, she sought to use that gift for the benefit of others…namely Jesus and the disciples with him. What gifts do we have that we can use in gratitude to God when God heals us or helps us or lifts us up after we’ve fallen?

I want to close out this sermon with a poem I found from Deborah Ann Belka called “To Be That Eagle.”

I wish I were that eagle,

that knows how to soar

who waits so patiently

to rise up with the Lord.

Then I would discover,

how to spread my wings

and in His power I could . . .

conquer what life brings.

I would have the wisdom,

to be able to discern . . .

how to fly over the clouds

not faint in my concern.

Then I’d have His strength,

and be fit for any flight

for I would trust the Lord

and put my faith in His light.

But, for now I’m His sparrow,

and He’s teaching me to fly . . .

soon I’ll mount like an eagle

and I will soar forever high.

May we seek the Lord and his healing touch! And may we be raised up to soar like an eagle and to accomplish the purpose that God has set out for us…to serve God and others as Christ himself served us. And may we find in Christ a new strength and an immense sense of gratitude and wonder. And may all of that lead us ever back to our loving and wonderful Lord. Amen!