Mother in Laws

Sermon: Mk. 1:29-39
Feb. 5, 2012

Mother-in-Laws can be controversial characters. A lot of jokes are made about them, but what would we do without them. We married men appreciate that they had daughters. Witness today’s Gospel which just casually tells us that Simon Peter had a mother-in-law, so he must have had a wife and probably children.

The main theme of today’s gospel is healing. One of those healed is Peter’s mother-in-law. Often times we think of healing, whether directly from God or indirectly through the medical professions, as being exclusively physical healing without reference to the other elements in a person’s life.

The kind of healing that Jesus brought to his ministry was holistic, healing the whole person. I have a model for that. It is called bio-psycho-social-spiritual. Bio refers to those disorders which are primarily physical, such as genetically inherited ones, a fractured hip, a viral infection. Psych means psychological, those disorders which have a mood component, such as depression, those disorders which are complicated by our thinking process, maybe our beliefs about certain things. It isn’t so simple that we can divide illnesses cleanly into those that are biological from those that are psychological from those that are social from those that are spiritual. Many, if not most, have maybe all four components intertwined.

Depression is a good example, as evidenced by this fictional case. Here is a young woman, who may have a proneness to depression, perhaps genetic, but it has never really been triggered into a serious mood swing, until she gives birth to her firstborn. The hormonal changes result in post-partum depression, a common occurrence. Add to that the environment; she lives in Michigan during the winter where many people suffer from SAD, seasonal affective disorder, because of the lack of sunshine. These things alone could account for a serious depression, but then her mother dies, a major disruption in her social support network. The resulting grief pushes her over the edge into a whale of a depression.

Clearly in such a case all the relevant areas of a person’s life need to be seriously considered for engagement if recovery is to occur. Medication, counseling, strong social support and assistance, as well as the sacrament of anointing are examples of a holistic or bio-psych-social-spiritual approach to recovery.

Where does the spiritual fit in? It is that element in our lives which unites, which gives meaning, which pulls it all together into a unity, so we are able to devote ourselves to something greater than ourselves and in return we benefit. Prayer, Bible reading and worship life are often a major part of it.

So, how did Jesus heal? You think he stopped and said I’m going to heal holistically, body, mind, soul and family relations? No, that would not fit His times, but he did heal holistically, if I understand the Scriptures.

Let’s look at today’s story. After synagogue Peter invites Jesus and the other three Apostles to his home for dinner. Did he warn his wife and mother- in-law he would do this? I doubt it, knowing what we know about his impetuosity. A major social catastrophe is about to happen, because the woman in charge is in bed with a fever and the great teacher along with a bunch of other guys comes to her home for dinner. Jesus sizes up the situation and does what is needed. He heals the key person, who is able to do what she does so well and what she wants to do. She serves them all.

Then the whole town, it says, like a mob gathered at their door and he spent a long time healing people and driving out demons. But he slipped away before sunrise to a quiet place where he could pray. He looked out for himself by tending to his own spiritual needs, preventive wellness, if you will. When Peter finds him and tries to coax him back because he says people are looking for him, Jesus says he must go to the neighboring towns so that He could proclaim the message there also. Healing is secondary to His primary mission, which is to establish the reign of God on earth, a kingdom of justice, peace and love. His healings were impressive, especially the physical healings, but notice that He didn’t do away with all sickness. I doubt that he even healed all those He came in contact with him. For one thing, they needed to believe and many did not. For another, spiritual healing was more important to him than the physical. Often, he would say, when he healed blindness or paralysis or deformity, go and sin no more. He was healing people of their selfishness, their hatreds, their dishonesty, in addition to their physical illnesses. Of course, that kind of healing requires faith and repentance on the part of the person.

So when and why does He heal even today? He heals when he is moved by compassion, just as He did when he walked the earth, when he sees suffering and wants to alleviate it. If you notice, most of the time, if we are given the context, that suffering is also affecting other people, usually family. The son of the widow of Naim, Lazarus, the brother of Martha and Mary, the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law are examples.

It is no accident that we have our monthly healing service today, the Sacrament of Anointing, after the main service. Anyone feeling the need for healing, whether the disorder is physical, psychological, social, spiritual or all four intertwined is encouraged to be with us.