Jesus for You and Me: Mark 1:29-39 - Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany

²⁹As soon as [Jesus and the disciples] left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. ³⁰Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. ³¹He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.
  ³²That evening, at sunset, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. ³³And the whole city was gathered around the door. ³⁴And 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.
  ³⁵In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. ³⁶And Simon and his companions hunted for him. ³⁷When they found him, they said to him, “Everyone is searching for you.” ³⁸He 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.” ³⁹And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons. (NRSV)

Kite Festival 2011 Crowds by Mr.TinDC on flickr. CC BY-ND 2.0

After a year in this pandemic, it is a tremendous relief that the long-awaited Covid-19 vaccinations are finally making it into peoples’ arms. 

But the process of vaccinating the public has been slow and frustrating. In some parts of the country, people have waited in their cars for entire days for vaccinations they never received. There is no clear-cut answer to the question, “where do I sign up?” They say, “go online,” but many of our neighbors, don’t have computer access. Some have been fortunate enough to get vaccination appointments, only for those appointments to be canceled because they ran out of shots. All told, the vaccination process has not been what we’d call “fair,” and many are being left behind.

We witness a similar situation in today’s Gospel reading. Jesus is in Capernaum, where he heals the mother-in-law of his disciple, Simon Peter. By evening, the people brought to him “all who were sick or possessed with demons. And the whole city was gathered around the door.” However, the Scripture says that Jesus “cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons.” Many…but not all. 

Eventually, Jesus withdraws from the crowds and goes to sleep. The following morning, he awakens before dawn, goes out to a deserted place, and prays. Simon Peter and his companions were “hunting for him,” because there were many more sick people for Jesus to cure, and many more demons to cast out. But Jesus departs Capernaum, taking the twelve with him. 

It’s not hard for us to imagine how they must have felt, that Jesus left them behind. But I want to look at the situation from Jesus’s perspective, because the situation he faces in Capernaum is one he’ll face throughout his ministry. 

Once word gets out that Jesus can heal the sick and cast out demons, people soon turn out by the thousands. They press in on him from all sides. Meanwhile, the demons are heckling him. Don’t think for a second that Jesus was unaffected by all of this. His compassionate sorrow for these children of God would’ve been excruciating. 

Right now, we live in the painful tension between unmet human needs, and the limitations of what we can accomplish. Can we ever take back what Covid-19 has taken from our children, in terms of their education and their irreplaceable childhood milestones? What can we do about our fellow Christians who haven’t set foot in their church sanctuaries for a year, who cannot access online worship? Will there be rest and refreshment for frontline workers who haven’t stopped working since the pandemic began? What about people who want and need to work, but can’t because they’ve lost their jobs and businesses? What about residents of long-term care facilities who’ve been locked in their rooms like prisoners? What would Jesus do in all this?

At no point does Jesus deny his body’s need for rest—or his soul’s need for time with his heavenly Father. He always needs God’s guidance and strength to fulfill what he came to do—from Capernaum, all the way to the cross. 

I can’t imagine it was easy for Jesus to leave all those desperate people in Capernaum behind. But why does he go? Because people in the neighboring towns needed to hear the message, too. So they would not be left out or left behind. 

Every Christian, at some point in their lives, will feel as though Jesus has left them behind. I will never understand why Jesus gives some people miracles, while others are seemingly left to suffer and die. But there is an affirmation here; a promise that cannot be ignored: Jesus loves all the people of the world—and it’s not what he does for them in Capernaum or Galilee that ultimately counts. It’s what he does at the cross that counts. The one who has God-given authority over disease, death, and demons will die on the cross. There, he will destroy them once and for all. There, he sets God’s children free. Somehow, in the mysterious ways of God’s grace, Jesus will make this victory of love a reality for all people. 

We don’t know what happened in Capernaum after Jesus departed, but what if the people Jesus cured and healed did as Simon’s mother-in-law did? What if, out of gratitude to God, they took care of their neighbors in need? Jesus was one person; but what if even a dozen persons loved the people as Jesus loved them? This is where you and I come in. 

We who have been blessed in any way by the graciousness of Jesus have a responsibility to share it with others. Faith active in love is what keeps the joy of the Lord alive, even in times like these. 

Remember: Jesus isn’t just a personal Savior. Jesus is the world’s savior. Keep him to yourself, and his love will grow dim. Love the neighbor Jesus loves, and Jesus shines brighter. Even though you can’t single-handedly cure cancer, lift someone out of poverty, or wipe out Covid-19, anything you do for someone out of love banishes the evil away. Faith active in love is no match for all the suffering and evil we see in the world. 

When you’re anxious about tomorrow; when you’re feeling bitter about the world and its ways; when you see a world of suffering and your heart breaks; when your spirit is exhausted, you must do as Jesus does. If Jesus couldn’t go a day without prayer, you most certainly cannot. Life is found in Christ alone. Outside of him, there’s only death. Look to Jesus, and his grace will be your strength. 

Prayer is God’s way of awakening you to both give and receive God’s love as you go about your day. No matter how daunting the day may be, you can be certain that God’s love is waiting for you. We who have been blessed in any way by the graciousness of Jesus have a responsibility to share it with others. Healing is what happens when Jesus’s love is shared in relationship. Faith active in love is what keeps the joy of the Lord alive, even in times like these.