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Serving God and Sharing Good News |
Weekly Bible Notes
Fourth Sunday Before Lent - Year B
Liturgical Colour - Green
Introduction
The episode from the Gospel of Mark today is beautiful and
yet disturbing. There is a lovely story of Jesus healing
Peter's mother-in-law. We don't know anything about Peter's
wife, but at least we do know that he was married. Moreover
when Peter has a problem in his home he turns to Jesus for
help and finds the answer to his needs. Jesus is concerned
about the needs we have in our ordinary lives. he does not
heal the woman to grab attention it is just a sign of his
natural desire to help.
The funny part of the story can be seen when we are told
that when she was well she got up and served them. We can
almost hear Peter saying,
'How are you feeling then, better? Well go and get the
kettle on would you, and how about some sandwiches?'
But there is a serious side to the flow of events. Jesus
cares, the woman finds strength and she serves. So many
people simply recover from one illness and then move on to
tell us endlessly about their next complaint. She desires to
be well so that she can be of use. How many more people
would be healed if they sought health to enable them to
continue to serve others.
Opening Verses of Scripture Isaiah 40:31
Those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they
will walk and not be faint.
Collect Prayer for the Day — Before we read we pray
O God, you know us to be set in the midst of so many and great dangers, that by reason of the frailty of our nature we cannot always stand upright: grant to us such strength and protection as may support us in all dangers and carry us through all temptations; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen
Lord of the Hosts of heaven, our salvation and our strength, without you we are lost: guard us from all that harms or hurts and raise us when we fall; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Common Worship Shorter
Loving God, the light of the minds that know you, the life of the souls that love you, and the strength of the wills that serve you: help us so to know you that we may truly love you, and so to love you that we may truly serve you, whom to serve is perfect freedom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
God our Father, whose Word has come among us: may the light of faith,
kindled in our hearts, shine in our words and deeds; through him who is
Christ the Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy
Spirit, one God now and for ever. Amen.
First Bible Reading Isaiah 40:21-31
Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the earth was founded? He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in. He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing. No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner do they take root in the ground, than he blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.
"To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?" says the Holy One.
Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.
Why do you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel, "My way is hidden from the LORD; my cause is disregarded by my God"? Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. (This is the word of the Lord. All: Thanks be to God)
Second Reading 1 Corinthians 9:16-23
Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me. What then is my reward? Just this: that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not make use of my rights in preaching it.
Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings. (This is the word of the Lord. All: Thanks be to God)
Gospel Reading
Mark 1:29-39
As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told Jesus about her. So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them.
That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. The whole town gathered at the door, and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.
Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: "Everyone is looking for you!" Jesus replied, "Let us go somewhere else--to the nearby villages--so I can preach there also. That is why I have come."
So he travelled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons. (This is the Word of the Lord. All: Thanks be to God. )
Post Communion Sentence
Go before us, Lord, in all we do with your most gracious favour, and
guide us with your continual help, that in all our works begun, continued
and ended in you, we may glorify your holy name, and finally by your mercy
receive everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord.. Amen
Commentary
In the passage from Mark today we read about Simon, this is of course the apostle who would later be named Peter. So we know that Peter was married and that he had to live with his mother-in-law, however we have no evidence that this influenced his decision to leave home and follow Jesus. We know nothing of Peter’s wife, we just know that on this occasion the unnamed mother-in-law is ill. Jesus cares about her, heals her, her temperature drops and she serves them. It is stated in a very matter of fact manner that the woman is healed so that she can get back to doing what she does, looking after the men. Of course once one healing has been completed, inevitably the word gets round and we are told that in the evening people came and brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. Indeed we are told that the whole town gathered at the door, and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. Observance of sabbath law is reflected in the fact that people waited till the evening to bring their sick and deranged to Jesus. The sabbath ended at sunset, so such work was acceptable in the evening.
Inevitably the disciples must have thought with this episode, on the outset
of Jesus ministry, that they were on to a good thing. Here was somebody with
a real talent and if the healing power of Jesus was exploited in the right
way, then there was a way of making a real impression. Imagine sickness
being a thing of the past, everybody being made well and the disciples
starting off a divine sort of BUPA. But things soon fail to go according to
plan. Peter gets up next morning and finds Jesus not at all ready to go and
do more healing. Instead Jesus is off by himself and tells them that he must
move on to go and preach.
After leaving the town, Jesus went through all of Galilee
proclaiming the good news and expelling demons. Recovery from sickness and
freedom from demons were visible signs of the inner healing which Jesus
proclaimed. Yet he knew that our deepest need is not for health, but for
meaning and hope. Healings were not the purpose and Jesus would not spend
his time organising things efficiently for maximum healing benefit. We can
only imagine how people would have felt when Jesus stopped healing and went
off to preach. However I can guess that those people would probably have
felt very much like we feel when we seek God’s healing upon other people or
ourselves and they do not get well and it seems that God’s mind must be on
other things.
The visual aids of miracles and healings were carried out to
make plain the message that that illness is not something which God brings
about, it is contrary to his plan for us. They show that there is present in
this world another power which is opposed to God. When Jesus heals, he wages
war against the forces of evil which bring to us sickness and ultimately
death. The healing miracles are never an end in themselves, they are
pictures of what God is like, given to us to help us to discover the really
important message, that God cares and wants to liberate us from evil in all
of its forms.
The ministry of Jesus was one of confrontation. We like to be people of
peace and we often think of godly people as people of peace. We do well to
be reminded that the ministry of Jesus was not a ministry of peace. He
brought peace, but he did so by waging a constant battle against evil. The
Epistle to the Ephesians Chapter 6: 12 says ‘Be strong in the Lord and in
his mighty power, put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your
stand against the devils schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and
blood, but against the rulers the authorities, against the powers of this
dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Therefore put on the armour.’
Christians do not live in peace time, we still live in a world in which there is sickness and evil of many kinds. We must be prepared to be the hands of Christ and through us allow him to reach out and touch those whose lives need healing. It is only the compassion of Christ and the holy power of God which can bring wholeness to our broken world. Charles Royden
Meditation
Every time you make a choice, you are turning the central part of you, the
part of you that chooses, into something a little different from what it was
before. And, taking your life as a whole, with all your innumerable choices,
all your life long you are slowly turning this central thing either into a
Heaven creature or into a hellish creature -- either into a creature that is
in harmony with God, and with other creatures, and with itself, or else into
one that is in a state of war and hatred with God, and with its fellow
creatures and with itself. To be the one kind of creature is Heaven: that
is, it is joy, and peace, and knowledge, and power. To be the other means
madness, horror, idiocy, rage, impotence, and eternal loneliness. Each of us
at each moment is progressing to the one state or the other. C. S. Lewis,
Mere Christianity
I try to give to the poor people for love what the rich could get for money.
No, I wouldn't touch a leper for a thousand pounds; yet I willingly cure him
for the love of God. -- Mother Teresa, A Gift for God
Hymns
- Have faith in God 675 (Tune Carlisle)
- I will enter his gates 307 & Ascribe greatness 40 (Mission Praise)
- Tell out my soul the greatness of the Lord 86
- Lord I believe 736
- 770 - Go forth and tell! O church of God awake!
Prayers for Sunday and the week ahead
My God I desire to love thee perfectly, with all my heart which thou madest for thyself, with all my mind which only thou canst satisfy, with all my soul which fain would soar to thee, with all my strength, my feeble strength, which shrinks before so great a task, and yet can choose naught else but spend itself in loving thee. Claim thou my heart, fill thou my mind, uplift my soul, and reinforce my strength, that where I fail thou mayest succeed in me, and make me love thee perfectly.