Terrific...!
She’s all better! And.... then she serves them dinner.
One minute, she’s
lying in bed with a fever, the next minute, she’s fetching drinks and dishing
out food, hoping she’s got enough for all these hungry followers of Jesus who just showed up!
Where is the “good
news” for Simon’s mother-in-law?
This does seem
awkward to us… but look closely at the passage and we find something else going
on. The word Mark’s Gospel uses for “serve” is the Greek word diakonos, which means “to wait tables.” Okay.
So?
Everyone in
Mark’s church and in the churches who share his Gospel who heard this story, when
they heard the Greek word for “service”—diakonos
– their ears would have
perked up and they would have looked at each other with a knowing look. Because
the word diakonos was an important
word among those early Christians. Diakonos gives us the name for the
Sacred Order of Deacons.
(“Hi, Kevin! How
ya doin’?”)
To “deacon” for others meant much more than waiting tables, even if that was included. (Notice how Deacon Kevin sets the table for us at the offertory before Holy Communion!) Mark’s description of serving another opens up what is meant by "deacon." Way back in the first chapter of the gospel, Mark used the same word to describe the way the angels ministered to Jesus after his forty days of prayer, fasting (and temptation!) in the wilderness. And Jesus uses the word “diakonos” to describe his ministry when he says: “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many.”
Jesus described
his own life and ministry on earth as service -- diakonos. Jesus told his disciples that were not going to big shots
on top of the heavenly heap, but that they were to be deacons for God. Their
work for God would be menial. The disciples’ service to others would be
difficult. Yet, the life of service Jesus described as a life of diakonos, a life of being a servant
minister, is at the heart of Jesus’ ministry, the disciple’s ministry, and ours
as well.
Which puts what
happened in Mark’s Gospel in a whole new light. Simon’s mother-in-law had a
life-changing encounter with the Messiah. Jesus came into her house and touched
her. In Jesus’ life-changing touch, Simon Peter’s mother-in-law was healed, made
whole, and returned—reconciled!—with her family and community, and out of a
loving response to a loving God who loved her first, she took up the life of
service.
Way before her
son-in-law would be handed the keys to the kingdom, she taught him what it
means to learn and do the work of Jesus… through diakonia… through
service.
You know, way
before there were priests in the church, there were deacons. And even before
the Apostles would learn how to be apostles, there were people doing diaconal
service.
For those of us
who have felt the touch of Jesus in our lives, we find ourselves alongside
Simon’s mother-in-law in this story. Mark describes Jesus going to her,
touching her, and healing her in the past tense. Jesus took her by the hand and
lifted her up and the fever left her. These are all described as actions that
are over and done with.
But Mark said
that Simon’s mother-in-law served them using a different verb tense—the
imperfect tense. This imperfect tense means that she began “deaconing,” has
continued to deacon, and, as far as we know, is out there “deaconing” still.
The imperfect
tense refers to an action that is begun but not completed. This one shift of
verb tense means that she began to serve them and continued to serve them. Her
service was not a one-time, over-and-done-with action, like cooking a meal.
Simon’s mother-in-law began to serve Jesus and his followers. But the meaning
of her actions was transformed by Jesus’ healing touch. She did not serve and
minister to them because of some duty. She served out of love. Simon’s
mother-in-law became as much a follower of Jesus as any of his disciples.
Simon’s mother-in-law was not ordained – no one was, at this point. Yet The
Gospel of Mark describes her using language that makes her the first deacon in
Christianity. She was the first person to have their ordinary diakonos, or service of others, transformed
into servant ministry.
Are you looking
for a life-changing encounter with God? Perhaps it has been a long time since
you have felt that healing touch. If so, you have come to the right place.
Right now, right here, you can put your trust in Jesus to begin your own
life-changing journey, as you discover the grace, mercy, and love God has for
you.
And in
discovering that grace, mercy, and love, you will discover the blessings of God
in service.
The
Early Church called persons ordained deacons to care for the physical needs of
the congregation. Both men and women were ordained as deacons. This order of
ministry takes the care and compassion of the church into the community and
brings the needs of the community to the attention of the church. And you know,
in the history of the church, there were deacons way before they invented the
office of priest. And, looking at Peter’s mother-in-law, shows us that diaconal
work was done way before the apostles were commissioned!
For
the church to be the Body of Christ that God means it to be, we don’t just need
deacons or priests and a bishop here and there—as important as our jobs might
be, we aren’t the whole church. No, God needs more students, nurses, educators,
engineers, scientists, plumbers, policemen, pharmacists, librarians, moms,
dads, grandparents, and so on, people who are set on fire by the power of the
Holy Spirit to learn and do the work of Jesus. And in God’s economy, the work
of deacons and priests, and even lay ministers like the altar guild and vestry
members, and sextons, administrators, and musicians, is to support and build up
and encourage the ministry of all the baptized. The ministry of deacons,
priests, and bishops does not let the rest of the Body of Christ sit back as
passive consumers of faith. Every one of us has our own unique way to live into
this call, according to the gifts the Holy Spirit has given us.
The Gospel
invites us to follow the example of this early disciple, Simon Peter’s
mother-in-law. After we have come to know Jesus and have experienced the
forgiveness and healing he offers, we are called—motivated! -- to respond to
the love God has shown us by sharing that love with those around us. And, as
you share God’s love, you are living into your own vocation as a minister of
the Gospel as a teacher, attorney, real estate agent, artist, musician, salesperson,
mechanic, doctor, volunteer, parent, grandparent, spouse – whatever, all
learning and doing the work of Jesus as baptized people of God!
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