February
4th, 2018 “Re-reading
the Text” Rev. Heather Jepsen
Mark
1:29-39
This morning we are continuing our
reading in the gospel of Mark and I want to point out how often we are tempted
to misread or simply gloss over the Biblical texts. When we look at passages we are familiar with,
like these verses from Mark, we often only see the lessons we already know. This week, I want to challenge you to re-read
the texts and to find new meaning in familiar stories.
We
pick up right where we left off last week.
In fact, in our readings all the events from last Sunday and this Sunday
are occurring within the same 24 hour period.
You could say that this is a “day in the life” of the Markan Jesus. The day is the Sabbath, and as we read last
week, Jesus went to the synagogue to teach.
While there, Jesus was faced with a man under the spell of demonic
possession. Jesus healed the man,
demonstrating his power and authority, and the gathered crowds were amazed.
In this morning’s reading, Jesus’ day
continues on. As soon as they leave the
synagogue the disciples head to the home of Simon and Andrew and while there
Jesus heals Simon’s mother in law. There
is a lot going on here that we might miss in a simple reading of the text.
From what we know about the culture at
the time we can probably assume that this woman was a widow. After her husband’s death she moved in with
her daughter and her daughter’s husband, that’s Peter, and Peter’s brother,
Andrew. In ancient Israel, a
mother-in-law was a handy addition to any household as she would carry most of
the burden for keeping things tidy and keeping everyone fed. Daughters and wives are busy with babies but
mothers-in-law can ground the whole family.
In our text for today, Peter comes home
to find that his mother-in-law is ill.
She is in bed with fever, which in those times was not a symptom of
illness but rather an illness in and of itself; and one which was frequently
thought to have been brought on by evil spirits. That’s why the text says the fever “left her”
like it was a demon. If there is
sickness, or a demon in the home the men should not enter it. To do so they would risk not only getting
sick themselves, but they would risk the stigma of ritual uncleanliness which
would then prevent them from going back to the synagogue.
Jesus does not fear illness or ritual
unlceanliness and so he chooses to enter the home. This is a very intimate gesture on his part,
for only a family member would enter the home of a sick person. Jesus crosses social and religious
boundaries, and comes to the woman’s bedside taking her by the hand. To touch a stranger that was ill is
absolutely unheard of. Jesus touches the
woman, and immediately the fever leaves her and she is healed.
And this is where something amazing
happens, the woman is healed and she immediately gets out of bed and serves
them all, friends and family. Now I am
sure there are quite a few women here who might be a bit taken aback by
this. In fact, the reason this story is well
known is because it has a tendency to offend women. Who wants to get straight up from their sick
bed and get to work waiting on people? What
woman wants to get well only to turn around and wait on a bunch of men? In our modern culture this looks a lot like
sexism. We are thankful Peter’s
mother-in-law was healed, but couldn’t the men get their own sandwiches?
This is a perfect opportunity for us to
re-read this familiar text. If we dig
deeper, we find that the Bible has something more to offer us than simply
reinforcing gender stereotypes. The Greek
word that is translated as “serve” in the NRSV is diakonei. Now, this is a
very important word in the gospel of Mark.
Diakonei, doesn’t just mean to
serve someone, it means to minister to them.
The same word is used earlier in Mark 1:13 where the angels of the Lord
minister to Jesus in the desert.
So, Peter’s mother-in-law rises from
her sick bed, to minister to the guests in her home. And she ministers to them, by serving
them. This is significant because in her
act of service she becomes the first model of discipleship. Later in the gospel of Mark, Jesus will teach
his followers that the greatest among them must be the servant and again the
word used is a derivative of this word, diakonei. This is the model of discipleship. Jesus teaches that “the Son of Man came not
to be served, but to serve”, and again the word used is diakonei.
So where we might see a reinforcement
of gender stereotypes, the Bible is actually bending the gender rules. Here is Jesus at the home of his disciples,
and his disciples, all men, have yet to behave like disciples. They have not acted like servants and they
are not modeling true discipleship. By
contrast, Peter’s mother-in-law is the first person to serve others, the first
person to model true discipleship. It is
a woman who first understands what it is Jesus asks of his followers, and not
the men surrounding him.
In
fact Peter’s mother-in-law is the first in a series of women who will become
the hidden heroes in the gospel of Mark.
It is women, in the gospel of Mark, who most frequently present the
correct response to Jesus’ message.
There is the widow with her two coins, the woman who anoints Jesus’ feet
with costly nard, the women who gather at the cross, and the women who will
come to the tomb Easter morning. In
Mark, it is the nameless women behind the scenes, who will get the message that
Jesus is preaching; whereas the disciples of Jesus will frequently be confused. In the gospel of Mark, it is the women who
are the model of true discipleship and not the men. Definitely worth a second reading!
As our passage for today continues,
Jesus continues to push the boundaries of what people expect. At sundown, when the Sabbath is over, folks begin
to gather outside Peter’s home. Words
has spread about that morning’s events in the synagogue. Many who are sick or possessed come to the
home, and many are healed there. Once
again we have the chance to read closely and discover something new in this
text. When we read this passage we
assume that Jesus healed all who came to him, but the text specifically says
“many” were healed. Many is not
all. Perhaps Jesus was unable to heal
some who were gathered, or perhaps they were unable to accept healing
themselves. It’s a point that is easy to
miss and worth a second reading.
Early the next morning, before the
other disciples rise, Jesus gets up and heads out into the predawn hours for
some alone time. The writer of the
gospel tells us that Jesus prayed but they don’t say what Jesus prayed
about. Here is another place where we
might find our assumptions challenged by a re-reading of the text. Because we have a tendency to conflate the
four separate portrayals of Jesus in the four separate gospels, we often put characteristics
of one Jesus on top of the others. With
a quick reading, we assume that Jesus, in confidence of his status and place,
simply retreats to rest, pray, and connect with God.
But,
just like with the last section, if we dig deeper we find hidden cues in the
text. Jesus goes out not into the light
but into the darkness. In fact, the
writer tells us that it is very dark. Jesus goes out not into a comfortable garden
but into the deserted place. These cues the
writer of Mark offers are meant to draw us into a more sinister setting. This dark deserted space is not to a place of
comfort, but is much more like the place of temptation in Mark’s gospel. This is not meant to be read as a time of
contemplative prayer, rather this is meant to be read as a time of
wrestling.
Remember
in Mark’s gospel we will find Jesus at his most human, and I imagine in this
scene he is trying to determine his next steps.
What does his healing power mean?
Maybe Jesus was wondering why he was only able to heal “many” people and
not all who had gathered there? Perhaps
Jesus is wondering how he should respond to his sudden fame? In Mark’s gospel Jesus is constantly trying
to understand who he is and he is constantly wrestling with his identity. Perhaps that is why he is always telling the
demons who call him the “Holy One of God” to be quiet. Rather than a moment of peaceful solitude,
the writer of the gospel of Mark wants us to see this prayer time as a time of
wrestling in the darkness.
It appears that Jesus comes to answers
in his time of prayer, and he decides that he will be the only one to determine
his future path. The disciples come
looking for him later that morning and they are angry. Again, without re-reading and studying the
text we miss the author’s point. The
disciples aren’t simply looking for Jesus, rather they hunt him down. The
Greek verb katedioxen which is used
here means to pursue in a hostile sense.
This is the same verb used when Pharaoh’s army is chasing after the
Israelites. When we re-read this text we
get a better sense of the disciples misunderstanding and anger. They are mad at Jesus for not being in the
house and mad at Jesus for not responding to the needs of the crowd. These are no meek and mild followers, these
folks are angry and frustrated. I
imagine they are wondering just what exactly they signed on for.
Jesus responds that he will not be
controlled. Only he will determine his
future and he has decided that the message he has to share must spread beyond
Capernaum. Jesus and the disciples head
out into the neighboring regions to keep stirring up trouble, offering healing
and hope, and announcing the kingdom of God.
As we review these familiar stories in
the gospel of Mark, I hope that you’ve had a chance to gather a deeper
understanding of the Biblical texts. So
often we get bored or even offended by these stories and that is because we are
missing the clues the ancient authors have left us. There is wonder and power in the Scriptures
and they have the ability to strike us anew each day if we study them and treat
them with respect. From the surprising leadership
of women in the gospel of Mark, to Jesus’ limited healing ability, from Jesus’
own wrestling regarding his own identity, to the anger and confusion of the disciples,
there is often more in the Bible than first meets the eye. Amen.
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