"Help For The Hurt" - Mark 1:29-39 - February 6, 2000

Whenever I receive a letter from my mother I usually skip the first paragraph because I already know what she has written. My mother, like most normal people in their late 70’s always writes about her arthritis and my father’s bad hip. Once she has reminded me of their health problems she then gets on with the real news.

It doesn’t matter where you go or who you talk to, what dominates conversations are everyone’s physical ailments. Colds, flu, bad backs, migraines, bad knees, etc., are what pains us and makes us feel bad. We hear people say things like; "Heard Mary was in the hospital....that cancer of hers coming back?" "You know Joe was off work for three days, that darn flu bug is really going around."

We pastors are expected to know about the status of everyone’s health problems. After all, we get paid to visit the sick. To prove it we print the names of those who are hospitalized in our bulletins and news letters. And of course, there is nothing like good old pastoral care that can help make a person feel better or lift their spirit.

One church I served used to post the "Medical Report" in the staff lounge. Each day it was updated by the church secretary so that the minister responsible for hospital visitation would know which hospitals to visit. After being on that multiple staff for a year I suggested to the senior pastor that the list be moved to a more obscure location. The staff lounge was also a work room and many people passed through there during the week. It turned out that people’s medical problems became a source of gossip since they were posted in a public place. The pastoral staff discussed the issue and all agreed that the health problems of the congregation were a private matter. We then moved the report to a more secure location.

Like most churches we pray for the sick and those who are hospitalized. This in my opinion is very appropriate. On the other hand, I often struggle with the nature and detail of the medical condition of someone in the congregation since many are embarrassed and very sensitive about their heath problems.

When it was reported to Jesus that Simon’s mother-in-law had a fever he visited her. Simon was one of his closest disciples and no doubt Jesus knew her personally. He went to her and "took her by the hand and lifted her up." In Matthew (8:14), Jesus "touched her hand." And in Luke (4:38), he "stood over her and rebuked the spirit." How Jesus relieved the woman of her fever is not the issue since we have three distinct methods. The issue is that the woman was sick and Jesus visited her. End of story.

The woman apparently felt better since she continued her domestic chores. There can be no argument that the personal visit of Jesus made a difference. I believe, however that although Simon’s mother-in-law was cured this was not the primary focus of the story nor was it how Jesus understood his mission.

Jesus frequently told those who were healed by him to say nothing to no one. The last thing he wanted was to be known as a miracle worker. Unfortunately the people of his time, including the disciples forced the issue. "For that evening they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. And the whole city was gathered around the door." It gets much worse. For the next day, after Jesus had escaped to a deserted place the disciples hunted him down.

Jesus was being pressured to be the ER Doctor of Galilee. He was being treated like the person in charge of triage in a MASH unit. "Everyone is searching for you," the disciples told him. No wonder he escaped to a deserted place. This was an overwhelming task, to heal the whole society of their diseases. Jesus withdrew from society since it was distracting him from what he was really about.

It is Jesus’ response to this pressure that reveals the true nature of how Jesus understood his mission. "Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also, for that is what I came to do." What was the message? "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news."

It was preaching, spreading the word about the kingdom of God and proclaiming the good news of salvation for which Jesus directed his energy. People were healed as a result of his one on one encounters. But, many more were healed because of his proclaiming the good news.

Of course people were cured as Jesus healed them. But, every one of them happened along his journey. He didn’t go around looking for sick people to cure. They emerged along the way. What he did do was move around from place to place proclaiming the good news. And one of the reasons he continued to move from place to place was because he didn’t want to become famous for his acts of healing.

I’m no different than anyone else. When I am sick, I want God to heal me. About a year ago I developed a severe pain in my left heal. It was difficult to walk. My doctor told me that preachers and teachers who stand for prolonged periods of time often experience such problems. I have been doing stretching exercises, taking medication and I wear a special jell pad in my shoe. It just never seemed to go away. My doctor wanted to know what kind of stress I was living under. "What stress?" I asked. "everything is fine." But the pain persisted. It persisted until I finally accepted the fact that perhaps I did have some stress and needed to find some peace.

What I am saying here is that the condition of our spirit is a higher priority than our physical condition. Like Jesus, I needed to escape to a deserted place. By that I mean reducing the stress in my life, giving myself permission to rest and take breaks. The pain is just about gone now. It seems to have left as mysteriously as it appeared. There was a hand reaching out to me but it took a long time for me to grab it.

We can’t expect to be lifted up until we are willing to grasp the hand of God that reaches out to us. It is a hand that is attached to the man who says, "your sins are forgiven." It is a hand that is attached to a hand who says, "my peace I give to you." It is a hand that is attached to a man who gives us assurance, unconditional love and the gift of grace. In Jesus there is help for our hurt.

Society is sick, not physically but spiritually. We are filled with "unclean" thoughts, emotions and behaviors. What we need is a change of heart. We need to turn from the contagious germs of greed, selfishness, pride, arrogance, prejudice, indifference and hate, just to name a few. What enables us to make that turn is the good news. The good news sets us free and liberates us from the germs of guilt, shame, despair and hopelessness that are affecting our spiritual health.

Mark is telling us that to be disciples is to be "proclaimers" of the word. The masses need and want to hear the good news. They want hope, comfort, forgiveness, grace and peace. But, to be proclaimers of the word we first need to be "receivers" of the word. For just as Jesus went to Simon’s house he also comes to our house. He also extends a hand to us and wants very much to lift us up.

Today after worship we will once again conduct the annual meeting of the church. Ironically it is a time when we are acknowledging our "ecclesiastical" statistics of the previous year, i.e., baptisms, new members, marriages, deaths, etc. At least there is no record of all our "healings."

Like Simon’s mother-in-law, perhaps we as a Church have a fever too. Whenever someone is sick we are concerned with their vital signs, whether or not they have a temperature. What are the vital signs of the Church? Where is our temperature spiking?

I suggest that first of we are feverish because of the members of our congregation who do not take their commitment to the Church seriously. They opt to do alternative things on Sundays rather than worship. Secondly, our blood pressure may be high because of the fact that although we are faithful we still experience problems in our lives. And, our hemoglobin may be low too, since within our community there numerous people who are not a part of the community of faith.

What will it take to bring restore the vital signs of the Church and make her well again? It will take the same thing it took for Simon’s mother-in-law. It will take the word of God and the outstretched hand of Jesus.

When the word of God is continued to be proclaimed, those who have not heard the good news will have an opportunity to hear it. Those who have separated from the Church may need a visit, like the woman it our story. And what about the fact that the faithful still suffer? Those are the times we need to let go and grasp the hand of Jesus to pick us up.

Dr. Keith Wagner, St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, Sidney, Ohio