Hearts to Love and Hands to Help

February 9, 2003

The Rev. Dr. Anthony J. Godlefski, Pastor

Montgomery United Methodist Church

Mark 1: 29-31

²⁹As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. ³⁰Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told Jesus about her. ³¹So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, good morning! I want to tell you a story about the Sunday lunch that almost wasn’t. I wonder how many people here have a ritual, a special meal time after church. Maybe you gather with family and friends, relax and share food together. Or maybe you go out to IHOP or Dunkin’ Donuts. Or maybe you’re by yourself and you just take that lovely, peaceful time on a Sunday to enjoy a meal. It’s a sacred time.

I remember as a little boy, we’d go to church every Sunday morning, and I’d be in the car with my mom and dad. We’d go to the bakery and buy bread for the week, and we’d stop at the cemetery and pay our respects to those gone on to the Lord, and then we’d go home and share a special meal together – sacred memories for me. They’re wonderful things. Maybe you have them, too.

Well, we Christians didn’t invent the after-church lunch. It’s been going on for a long time. Let’s see what happened in today’s scripture about the Sabbath lunch that almost wasn’t. As you remember from last week’s scripture, Jesus was going to the synagogue and he preached the sermon that day. There was a demoniac in the front row, a fellow possessed by a demon. The evil spirit was shouting out through this guy, and Jesus simply said, “Be still. Silence! Come out of him.” And the man was thrown on the floor and he writhed around, the spirit came out of him, and he was a calm, healed man again.

Wow! What a service! After the service, at the 6th hour (which is 12 noon in their system), they had a meal. The Bible says that they went to the house of Simon. Simon, as you know, later became Peter. Jesus changed his name. He was the impetuous one. He probably said, “Wow! What a great service! Jesus, come to my house for dinner. And you, too, John, and you, too, Andrew, and you, too, James. Come on over to my house, because my mother-in-law is the best cook in all of Galilee. She won’t mind.”

And they said, “Okay!” So they all left synagogue that morning, and they went over to Simon’s house. When they got to the house, there was a problem. You see, Simon’s mother-in-law was ill. She had a fever.

I want to point out something, here. Simon went on to become Peter, one of the most powerful preachers of Christianity ever. Do you know the name of the man that sat and wrote Peter’s words and stories down? It was St. Mark! He was the scribe for Peter. So what do we have here? We have a first-hand account of what went on in the life of Jesus! Isn’t that amazing? It was Simon Peter’s mother-in-law who was sick. It was told right from the source. Isn’t that exciting? I think it’s exciting. I know I don’t get out much, but I think it’s exciting, don’t you?

Anyway, there was a problem. Simon Peter’s mother-in-law was ill with a fever. What’s the significance of a fever? Fever was pretty common in those days, and it was probably pretty scary. She was burning up with a fever. On the one hand, we might say that’s simply the medical diagnostic that she had, but I wonder… what is a fever? A fever is an internal battle, isn’t it? It’s an internal battle between the good, the healing forces, and the invading forces. The heat that comes from a fever is the result of that battle. It’s the good forces trying to overcome the not-so-good forces. It’s sort of like the negative thoughts and the doubts and fears that we feel invading our minds in battle with the faithful thoughts and loving thoughts, and they’re crashing into one another. There is a conflict going on inside of Simon Peter’s mother-in-law. And she’s sick.

Can we identify with that? Is there an internal battle going on within us? One set of ideas competing for attention over another, fears competing for possession of our minds -- but God’s love and faith winning out. She had a fever. And immediately they told Jesus. Good move! First really, really good move. Immediately they told Him that there was a problem.

What is the significance here? The significance is that no problem is too small for Jesus. He dramatically healed the demoniac in the synagogue, but He also cares about what goes on in each of our houses. “Lord, there’s a problem. Please care.”

Now, listen to what happened. The Bible says, “He came to her, and He took her hand.” The Bible does not say, “He said, ‘Be ye healed’ and she was healed.” It doesn’t say that. It says He came to her and He took her hand. What a beautiful gesture that is.

Would you do this with me? In a moment, I’m going to ask you to turn to someone near you and simply take his or her hand in both of yours, sort of shake someone’s hand for a second. Take just a moment to bless the person, to say a little prayer for them. And then I’m going to ask you to turn to somebody else and do the same thing. And see what that clasp of hands with a prayer feels like.

[Congregation holding hands and blessing each other.]

No words could describe what just happened, but if I could try…To hold the hand is to say I respect you. I care about you. I care about what you’re going through. I wonder what it is that you need praying for – I’ll pray for that. I am with you. That’s what that says.

Can you imagine now the hand of Jesus reaching out to the hand of that woman with the inner conflict and holding her hand: “I understand. I am with you.”

Do one more thing for me. Put your own hands together and close your eyes for a second. And this week, when you put your hands together and pray, picture one hand being your own and one hand being the hand of Jesus, comforting you, understanding you, saying “Yes, I will help. Amen.”

So then what happened? The Bible says, “After that, He took her by the hand and lifted her up.” I love that! He took her by the hand, prayed for her, and then He lifted her up. I’m not going to ask you to do anything like that! That’s what Jesus did.

What does that symbolize? It means that He was an external power source for her. Yes, He put her in touch with her internal power, with her internal resources. But He is an external power source, too. He is a higher power that can give us the strength to do the things that we cannot do on our own. That’s what that symbolizes. He lifted her up.

And the power of Jesus can lift you up, too. Just reach out for it, and there is a power available to you that we cannot have on our own. It’s a beautiful thing.

And then what happened? Hear now the good news about this luncheon that almost wasn’t: It says, “Immediately, the fever left her, and she began to serve them.” It was a happy ending! The fever left her, and she got up, and the meal began. It’s great stuff.

You know, maybe some of you are questioning Jesus’s motives here a little. If she was the best cook in all of Galilee... The man that could break the bread and feed the five thousand could have whipped up a little lunch for the gang, don’t you think?

But what did He do? He gave her the opportunity to serve! A heart to love, and hands to serve. She was healed, and what did she decide to do? She decided to do something good. She decided to do something to help. She decided to do something to make a positive difference in the world. She served them, and Jesus gave her the opportunity to do that. Isn’t that great?

Isn’t it wonderful that Jesus not only heals us from within and blesses us and gives us a life to live and a direction to follow, but He gives us something to do. I don’t know what it is for you. Only the Holy Spirit will be able to tell you that as you walk through your week. God has something special for you to do, to live out the blessed inner blessing of Christ.

Hey, if there had been a TV camera there and it had zoomed in on Simon Peter’s mother-in-law, the reporter would have asked, “Now that you’ve been healed, what are you going to do?” Does she say, “I’m going to go to Disneyland?” No, she doesn’t say that. She says, “I’m going to do something with my healing. I’m going to help. I’m going to serve.”

And how about for you and for me? When we’re healed, when we’re saved, when we’re blessed, when we’re touched by the Lord, when our lives are better because of some touch of Jesus, what are you going to do? “I’m going to serve. I’m going to help. I’m going to heal, somehow, in Jesus’s name.” That’s our task – that’s our divine opportunity. Friends, that is stewardship in action. The Bible could have said, “She simply rose up and was well from that time on” and stopped there. But it didn’t. It said, “She rose up and she was a hand to help.” What an opportunity! What a good thing! What an extra blessing for us, too!

Won’t you consider that for your own life? Won’t you let Jesus heal the inner conflict? Won’t you let Him touch your hand and say, “I understand”? Won’t you let Him lift you up? And then, won’t you say, “Yes, Lord, I’ll help, too.”

It’s a wonderful opportunity, and it’s there because God loves you. I do, too. Have a blessed week. Amen.