Year B Epiphany 5
Mark 1: 14-39 / Isaiah 40: 21-31The Laborers in the Vineyard
21 Have you not known? Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22 It is he who sits above the circle of the earth,
and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;
who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
and spreads them like a tent to live in;
23 who brings princes to naught,
and makes the rulers of the earth as nothing.
24 Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,
scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth,
when he blows upon them, and they wither,
and the tempest carries them off like stubble.
25 To whom then will you compare me,
or who is my equal? says the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes on high and see:
Who created these?
He who brings out their host and numbers them,
calling them all by name;
because he is great in strength,
mighty in power,
not one is missing.
27 Why do you say, O Jacob,
and speak, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the LORD,
and my right is disregarded by my God”?
28 Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the faint,
and strengthens the powerless.
30 Even youths will faint and be weary,
and the young will fall exhausted;
31 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.Isaiah 40: 21-31
© The New Revised Standard Version,
(Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers) 1989In the name of God. Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
As beautiful as the Isaiah reading is, today we are going to focus for a while on the Gospel reading from Mark which comes from the very beginning of the book. The Gospel that we will use for most of the year is Mark, which is the earliest Gospel written, the shortest, and the one that both Matthew and Luke used as a resource when they wrote their Gospels too.
Our passage is from Mark 1: 29-39, but I’ve included a little more to put it in context.
14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”
Jesus Calls the First Disciples
(Mt 4.18—22; Lk 5.1—11)
16 As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19 As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20 Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.The Man with an Unclean Spirit
(Lk 4.31—37)
21 They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. 22 They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. 23 Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, 24 and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” 25 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” 26 And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. 27 They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, “What is this? A new teaching—with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” 28 At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.Jesus Heals Many at Simon’s House
(Mt. 8.14—17; Lk 4.38—41)
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 sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with 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.
A Preaching Tour in Galilee
(Mt 4.23—25; Lk 4.42—44)
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 Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.Mark 1: 14-39
© The New Revised Standard Version,
(Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers) 1989
The focus of the passage is the healing of Simon Peter’s mother in law; A passage from the daily life of Jesus Christ. Not one of the most memorable passages, nor the most loved in the bible. Almost unattractive material for a message when there are so many other more appealing places and homes and healings to consider. Capernaum, the place where Jesus was at this time, is referred by one ancient historian as only a “village”. [jos.] Simon and Andrew’s house is neither here nor there. And the mother-in-law remains yet another unnamed person within the gospels. Yet within the earliest written and the shortest of the gospels, Mark must have included this event purposefully as being equally worthy of reading and consideration as any other passage might be. And when we look at this passage in the light of it being at the beginning of Mark we can discover that the healing of Simon’s mother-in-law is both the first physical healing Jesus performed in Mark and that the nameless mother-in-law is the first woman mentioned. This little passage is an introduction, a little announcement, as to what we can expect, both in terms of Jesus going about healing people, as is so often illustrated throughout the life of Christ, as well as the presence and importance of women in the life and ministry of Christ. It is in this nameless mother-in-law that we see the first reflection of true discipleship, and it is to true discipleship that Jesus called people throughout the gospels.
The first striking thing about this little passage is the way Jesus comes into the house, takes the mother-in-law by the hand and lifts her up. Then the fever left her and next thing we know, straight away, she is serving the guests; waiting on them at the table. This is the woman who a moment ago had a fever, and then she is being the one who serves, and this is in sharp contrast to her son-in-law, Simon, who searches for Jesus in the early hours of the morning calling to his attention the clamouring crowd, but does nothing himself about them. The striking thing is the note right at the end of the passage about the mother-in-law, obviously completely healed, and serving in response to the presence of Christ.
The role of women in the Gospel of Mark is strikingly refreshing in a society and age where women were either the lowly or the outcast, because they are presented in the gospel as the very image of true discipleship. While the men in the gospel of Mark, and in particular the disciples, are portrayed as being slow to understand, slow to act, and slow to persevere, the women are presented as being able to listen, perceive, and respond. (All the women nod their heads)
The women are people like Simon’s Mother-in-law; the one willing to serve in response to the presence of Christ.
There is the poor widow who comes to the temple and puts in two small copper coins while all the rich gave large sums, and yet the woman gave more than all the others.
There is the woman who came with the alabaster jar of ointment and anointed Jesus on the head in the middle of dinner and in the middle of the men’s self-righteous concern at the waste and comments that the money spent on the perfume could have been used in other ways.
There were the women who were at the cross, those who had followed Christ and provided for him, even when others had abandoned or left.
And the first to the tomb to care for the body of Christ after his crucifixion were the women, and it was to them that the first announcement of the resurrection was made.
All these women are presented in the gospel as the very image of true discipleship, making the right response to God and to Christ, and in many ways are the image of Christ himself through their actions.
Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all… [8: 34.] Whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all…. [ 10: 43 ff.] says Jesus in the Gospel of Mark; the one who lived and cared for the least, who took off his gown and washed the disciples feet, and who as the Son of God, was crucified as the servant for our sin.
In the Gospel of Mark, Simon’s nameless mother-in-law is the first servant of Christ and the first reflection of true discipleship.
In my first parish, when I was in Tenterfield, I drove once a fortnight over the boarder of NSW into QLD to the small town of Wallangarra to take a service of worship there. In the congregation were 6 elderly women, all of whom, except one, were married. Their husbands never came; only the women. Each fortnight they came, year by year, those 6 women, without their men.
True discipleship and servant-hood is in many ways a paradox, seemingly absurd, almost contradicting itself. It is as Jesus said about the first being last and the last being first. True servant-hood is hard to understand and often misunderstood. The person who doesn’t understand servant-hood will say that Simon’s mother-in-law served because she was a woman, her role in those days, or because it was her home and expected of her, when in fact her service is given in response to the presence of Christ and his hand upon her life. And the person who doesn’t understand servant-hood will consider that the perfume poured on the hair of Jesus was a costly exercise and not only could have been done far cheaper, but the savings used in some other way, when in fact her service is the right response to the presence of Christ and his hand upon her life.
The call to servant-hood is placed upon all who would be followers and disciples of Jesus Christ and it is a call to respond to the presence of Christ in our lives and to his hand upon our lives.
To serve and to be the servant disciple is costly in many differing and varied ways.
It is self-giving.
It is upside-down from the expectations around us.
It is often un-named and un-recorded.
It is not destructive, but nurturing.
It does not come to an end, but it is on-going.
It is about bringing light and life to someone, someplace, or something.
It is seemingly little, seemingly simple, but larger than life.
It may be unpopular and unpleasant, or it may be joy and satisfaction, but it will never loose its marks of servant-hood.
And true servant-hood is not random or unaware, but chosen and undertaken; it is a response.
It is being the servant disciple in response to Christ’s presence in our lives and his hand upon our lives.
If we have listened and read the gospels for years and have not yet heard that the Kingdom of God is not about the first, but about the last. Not about the proud, but about the humble. Not about the centre, but about the fringe. And not about the waited-upon, but about the servant disciple; if we have listened and read the gospels for years and have not yet heard that the Kingdom of God is about servant-hood, then we have not heard at all.
The example of the servant is there before us in Jesus Christ, who, just as he called his followers to serve, calls us too. It is all too obvious that our relationships need Christian servants, our homes, our church, our community, need people who will respond to the call. Will we be the discipleships who respond to Christ’s presence in our lives through service to one another and to Christ?
Let us pray.
O un-named mother-in-law,
who served Jesus Christ.
O woman who anointed Christ with perfume.
O women who provided for Christ’s needs.
O Christian servants,
men and women throughout the ages,
you teach us the task of true discipleship.
Holy Christ,
washer of your disciples feet,
wash us afresh,
that we will respond to your presence in our lives,
and become servants, one to another, and one to you.
Amen.