February 4 Isaiah 40.21-31 *Mark 1.29-39 “Love Heals” – (Super Bowl
Sunday) Pastor Jacqueline Hines
+++
Our scripture this
morning is packed with action everywhere you turn. Faithful worshippers are
going into the synagogue. When they leave the synagogue they stay busy, sharing
God’s word and healing people.
The first verse tells
us “As soon as they left the synagogue, “they” -that is – Jesus
and his disciples whom he had just called together earlier in chapter one – [slide # 1 two disciples with
Jesus] “entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with
James and John.” [slide # 2 two disciples
together]
They left
the house of worship and crossed the threshold into a Christian home. Two
brothers lived in this house. They happened to be Simon and Andrew, disciples
of Jesus. They were not the only ones who lived in the house. Simon’s
mother-in-law lived there, too. We can assume that Simon’s wife lived there,
too. It is reasonable to assume also that one could often hear the pitter
patter of little feet and the squeals of happy children in the house with all
the others. In a multifamily house it was no surprise that at least one of them
was sick. [slide # 3 woman
sick in bed]
When
they told Jesus that his disciple’s mother-in-law was sick with a fever – it
could have been the flu. There may have been an epidemic in the area like we
are experiencing this winter - verse 31 tells us this happened: Jesus came to
her, and that is what we do. When people are sick, we come to them. Then Jesus
took her by the hand and that is what we have learned to do as we have followed
Jesus. We touch the sick, with encouraging words, with warm hands, with hot
meals, with beautiful flowers. Then Jesus lifted her up and that is what we do.
[slide # 4 Jesus lifts her…] We lift one another up, we help each other in
every way we can. We wash clothes, we do errands, we stir pots, we vacuum
floors, we wash faces, we give hugs, and we pinch cheeks.
After
Jesus did all that, verse 31 says, “Then the fever left her,…” when we do good
things, good things happen. Healings happen, prosperity happens, favor happens.
When we do good things, loneliness subsides, depression decreases, danger takes
a dive. When we do good things, we reap the good we sow. The good we do and the
good that is done in us and around us affects every area of our life – our
mind, our body, our soul – which is our will and our spirit –which is our
relationship with God.
That is
why the scriptures tell us to worship in spirit and truth. We do not want to
just show up as just another warm body and just go through the motions. We want
to worship with our all our heart mind, soul and spirit. God wants a real relationship
with us; we ought to be honest about how real a relationship we have with our
God.
There
is a special hip hop dance move called the wave [slide # 5 ] It resembles our connection to God; the Holy Spirit moves powerfully
like a wave of electricity from one to the other and back again. That is what
the Holy Spirit does with us. We are the conduit of God’s healing and helping
power. [slide # 6 electric plug]
When
the fever left Simon’s mother-in-law, she began to serve them. She was back to
doing what she did best, serving the hungry crowd that gathered in her home.
Word
got around that people were being healed because of Jesus. The next thing you
know people were at Simon’s door, hoping to be healed, too. We do the same thing.
We research the internet for which hospital has the most five-star reviews and
which doctor has the most successes. There is always a reason for choosing the
medical care we choose. It may be convenience or cost, reputation or referrals,
friendly manner of the doctors or a fancy office. We have our reasons.
The
crowd that came to Jesus had their reasons. He healed them. The word the gospel
of Mark uses for “heal” is the Greek word “Therapeuo” [slide # 7 therapeuo =
therapy] which is kin to the words “therapeutic” and “therapy”.
A
healer is one who attends therapeutically, who cares for someone in a
therapeutic manner, who uses a variety of therapies to save someone from
physical or emotional distress. A healer is a servant, even a slave, bound to
the Hippocratic Oath to do no harm, which was inspired by God 400 years before
the birth of Jesus. In one source, the Greek word for “therapy” is associated
with the word “worship” and humble submission to God, which is also a way to
get some healing.
Most of
us have had some type of therapy. You may have had physical therapy, vitamin
therapy, massage therapy, cognitive therapy, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, antibiotic
therapy or other medical or behavioral therapy.
Being
in therapy means to be in the process of getting healed, being served, being
cared for. At times, whatever Jesus did or said made an immediate difference.
At other times, the cure would come in stages. Jesus was known as a healer.
You
remember a man who ran up to Jesus and asked for mercy. He was a believer. He had
faith in Jesus as the son of God. That man got mercy and more. Jesus called him
and asked him an awesome question, “What do you want me to do for you?” What
more can anyone ask for? If Jesus called you aside and asked you, “What do you
want me to do for you?,” what would YOUR
answer be? [slide #8 what do you want?]
Many
came to Jesus for a healing touch, a therapeutic intervention. They did not all
go away with a body that never got sick again, but I believe they were a whole
lot better with Jesus than they would have been without him. I believe their
faith was stirred and strengthened until they could see important ways to
improve their health. I believe Jesus looked into their hearts and spoke a
truth that served as a prescription for more satisfying relationships, more
meaningful goals, and a healthier lifestyle.
One woman
in the bible who had been traumatized and kidnapped by a bunch of men, was protected
by Jesus. Protection healed her. Then he warned her, “go and sin no more.”
Speaking
to another woman in the bible who was divorced five times, Jesus encouraged her
to worship God, to show up, not only nonchalantly with her body in the pew but
with an intention to have a pure relationship with the living God. The truth Jesus
spoke to her set her free and she brought others to be healed and helped as
well. Healing did not turn them into saints, but they did become followers, [slide # 9 lamb following
Jesus] which means they were willing to learn and
grow as Christians.
We do
ourselves a disservice when we expect our healing of heart or body to be easy
or perfect. We do ourselves a disservice when we doubt our worth because we are
not as healthy as the perfect people those perfect commercials tell us we can
be.
Jesus
our healer, never promised perfect health on earth, and those who were healed
and cured were just like you and me, living a life with ups and downs, with
plenty of headaches and heartaches that they were wise to bring to Jesus who
never left them empty-handed. We are never left empty-handed either.
Verse 34
says that Jesus not only healed people, he cast out demons, [slide # 10 Satan wrestling…] those evil influences, those messengers of Satan. The Jesus in us helps us
to shut out and shut up the thoughts in our minds and the voices in our ears
that seek to steal, kill, and destroy our blessings. Jesus takes the wind out
of Satan’s sails. After a while, Satan does not even dare to whisper his
negativity and doubt into our lives.
Sometimes
the enemy is stronger than we are, but with time and a few doses of Jesus’
healing in our lives, we become stronger. [slide # 11
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus]
Dove
Award winner, Natalie Grant [slide # 12 Natalie Grant] has a song that has captured my attention these days because
it helps us Christians keep our perspective on healing.
Her
song is a prayer: [slide # 13 pray (purple)]
Help me want the Savior more than the saving
Help me want the Giver more than the giving
Oh Help me want you Jesus more than anything.
So, may this be our prayer, to want the
healer more than the healing, to want Jesus more than anything. Amen. [slide # 14 Jesus still
heals]
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