Reflection on Mark 1:29-39

 

The Bible says that Jesus took Simon’s sick mother-in-law “by the hand and lifted her up” (Mark 1:31a).  Jesus took her “by the hand.”

I cannot tell you too often how important some of these little details are in the Bible.  There are other instances in the scriptures where Jesus does not take the person, “by the hand,” but rather just speaks the words and the person is healed.  That has a meaning in and of itself that I will not get into here.  Rather, I just want to point out that these little details have layers of deep meaning and should be taken seriously.

The first thing I think about when hearing that Jesus “took her by the hand” is how often we take children by the hand to deliver them from one place to another.  It is so natural that we do not even think about it.  When walking through the parking lot I take Isaac by the hand, to deliver him safely from the van to the store. I do not want him to wander off and get hit. And, he grasps me by the hand, trusting that he will be safe as we walk.

The Bible says that Jesus “took her by the hand.”  Jesus is taking her from one place to another so that she can be safe, and better, and healed.

I also think of the time that I was taken “by the hand” of the pastor in the dimly lit church where we sat.  At the time, I was really struggling with a lot.  I was struggling with some close relationships.   I was struggling over guilt and shame having to do with sin.  I sat in the partial darkness, confessing my reality to the pastor.  At one point, the pastor took me by the hand, and prayed with me.  He said to me while holding my hand, “Your sins are forgiven.  Now, be healed.”

I had heard that phrase many, many times before; “Your sins are forgiven.”  We hear it nearly every Sunday morning at the beginning of the church service.  And, though it is always true, our sins are truly forgiven, this time around with my hand in his, it was different.  It was as if he was walking with me from one place to another.  It was as if he was leading me from sin and the other struggles of life, to a new place of healing, forgiveness, and wholeness.

Jesus came to Simon’s sick mother-in-law, “took her by the hand and lifted her up” (Mark 1:31a). Jesus took her by the hand, took her from a place of illness and lifted her safely to a new place of healing.

This is an image that has very deep and very specific resonance in the scriptures.  We actually do not hear about people taking other people by the hand very often.  A little later in the gospel we see Jesus taking the hand of a young girl who had died bringing her back to life in Mark 5:41.  We also see Jesus taking the hand of a boy whose mind and body had been taken over by a spirit, making him foam at the mouth (Mark 9:27).  He too is brought back from the brink of death and is healed.  Then, famously In Matthew 14:31, Jesus stretches his hand out to Peter as the waters overwhelm him, failing to walk on the water.

But, the true bedrock underneath all of these stories of being “taken by the hand” can be found in a beautiful Bible passage from Isaiah 42:6-7.  In it God promises:

“I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness, I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness” (Isaiah 42:6-7). 

As you just heard, the Lord calls God’s people in righteousness, or by creating a “right relationship” with them.  And, that right relationship includes taking us “by the hand” and keeping us safe.  God is our parent out in the parking lots of the world.  God takes us by the hand to deliver us from one place to another in love and safety.

But, according to Isaiah, God takes us by the hand and delivers us into safety for a reason.  “I have given you as a covenant (or promise) to the people, a light to the nation, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness” (Isaiah 42:7). 

God takes us by the hand and saves us so that we can be a part of his life, which includes healing others, helping others to see and understand, bringing prisoners out from dark places, and showing God’s light and love.  In other words, God takes us by the hand so that we can be healed, and so that we can follow God in a life of healing and love.  We are taken by the hand so that we can serve.

And, that is where we again pick up the story of Simon’s mother-in-law.  Because, after Jesus lovingly takes her by the hand the Bible says that, “the fever left her, and she began to serve them.”  And, the type of serving described here is not Simon saying to his mother, “Great, you’re healed, now go get me a beer.  All of this worrying has made me thirsty.”  Rather, it is the same “serving” that the angels did at the end of the temptation story as they attended lovingly to Jesus.  It is the type of serving that is described in Isaiah in which God’s people are envisioned as helping those who suffer from bodily problems.  It is loving and serving those who struggle in the dark and need healing and guidance.  It is the sort of serving that Jesus showed Simon’s mother-in-law as he took her by the hand and pulled her up into health and wholeness again.

We need that sort of healing.  I mean it.  Taking a pill is one thing.  It can work.  It can heal.  But, it fails to make us whole.  Someone taking us by the hand while we take the pill: that is true healing and wholeness.  Someone walking with us through the illness is so powerful.  Jesus gives Peter’s mother-in-law just that.  He gives the gift of both the bodily healing (like the pill) and the hand that makes us whole again.  Jesus gives us that healing and wholeness.  And, we need it.

The world does not lack people who cry out to be made whole.  After Jesus healed Simon’s mother-in-law, the whole town shows up in order to be “taken by the hand, “ and “lifted up.”  The Bible says:

“That evening, at sunset, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. And the whole city was gathered around the door. And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons…” (Mark 1:32-34).

How great is that?  Not only does Jesus take us by the hand, but Jesus also takes the time to care for all of those others as well.  Is that not great!

But, what can feel not so great about it is that Jesus turns his attention to someone else.  Once while at the park, playing with the kids, I watched as a little boy had a full blown, lay down in the dirt screaming and kicking, meltdown because this mother dared help push another child on the swings.  Oh the horror!  He has a nice mother!

But, she was “his” mother.  We have a tendency to cling to those with whom we are close.  We have a tendency to put a claim on those who we love, and we refuse to share their love and their gifts.

This happens to Jesus as he goes away to pray, likely exhausted after helping all of those people.  The disciples hunt him down and declare:

“Everyone is searching for you” (Mark 1:37).

Jesus answers them, “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” (Mark 1:38).

The great thing about Jesus’ life-giving healing is that it is for everyone.  But, it is also the hard thing.  How many churches out there refuse to welcome people outside of their church to Jesus’ table?  How many churches out there refuse to welcome people who have sinned in ways that they deem as “too much”?  How many of us bristle when Jesus says, “love your enemy”?  How many of us are left struck by confusion when Jesus says that God sends rain on both the wicked and the good?  How many of us are happy to have Jesus as our savior, but do not even give a passing thought to sharing his salvation with others?

Simon’s mother-in-law was healed, and then “served.”  She was healed so that she could be a blessing.  Jesus’ blessings do not stop with us, rather they start with us.  Jesus’ blessed healing is like a bucket of healing and love being poured into our little Dixie cup.  It overflows, so we might as well start tossing that stuff over to others who could use it also.

We are given the gift of healing, to heal.

We are blessed, to be a blessing.

We are served, so that we can serve.

We are loved, so that we can be love.

Dan was a kid with special needs.  He loved Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.  You can see why I liked this kid so much.  Other people would make sure that he was amply provided with his favorite treat because the smile he gave back was worth so much more than the candy.  And, every time that he was given the treat in abundance, he would eat one and would then walk around, handing out all of the other pieces to surrounding people.  If you tried to tell him that it was all for him, he would get very upset and mad. 

He wanted everyone to be a part of the love.  He wanted everyone to be a part of the happiness.  He wanted to make sure that that everyone got a taste of the good life.  Just like his savior; he wanted everyone to be taken by the hand with a very real and tangible love; the love of Jesus Christ our Lord.