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Morning Devotion for the Season of Epiphany

January 11, 2023

Invitatory

I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

The Lord has shown forth his glory: Come let us adore him.

Reading - Mark 1:29-39

As soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.

That evening, at sunset, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. And the whole city was gathered around the door. And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.

In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. And Simon and his companions hunted for him. When they found him, they said to him, ‘Everyone is searching for you.’ He answered, ‘Let us go on to the neighbouring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.’ And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.

Meditation - Winnie Smith

The “they” in this text are Jesus and his first disciples, Simon (also called Peter), Andrew, James, and John. These men’s call narratives last barely a paragraph: Jesus sees them, tells them to follow him, and they do. Their willingness to go, without hesitation, is remarkable. It is also fitting for a Gospel known for its fast pace and nonstop action. Unlike its longer, more verbose counterparts, Mark is a short sprint through the life of Jesus. It barely gives the reader time to react, much less pause and reflect on stories told. But I think, at least for today’s portion, we must pause and reflect, because only in doing that do we recognize the power of Jesus’s ministry and God’s work.

The group travels to Capernaum, where Jesus performs a miracle in the synagogue by driving an unclean spirit from a man. Then we come to today’s appointed text: the group arrives at Simon’s mother-in-law’s house to find her in bed with a fever. Jesus immediately heals her, and she begins “to serve them.” That’s it - that’s the whole story. It is simple, but I find Simon’s mother-in-law’s response remarkable. She does not sit in awe of Jesus’s power. Nor does she weep with joy, or thank him and his friends for visiting her. She simply gets up and begins to serve them. She responds to action with action. She thanks God by serving God.

Next, many sick and possessed people are brought to Jesus for healing. “And the whole city was gathered around the door.” Jesus seemingly spends much of the night ridding these people of diseases and casting out demons, and in the morning he gets up and goes, alone, to pray. Jesus, after being surrounded by people, after doing these amazing miracles, needs to be on his own and to pray. He is probably exhausted, and could just as easily have gone to bed. But instead he prays, because he knows that without God, he would be powerless. His response to his own miraculous abilities is to thank God for them. 

We want to think that in these miracles the change happens in the healing or the removal of a demon. A person is healthy again, and that is worth celebrating. This is true, but it is one-dimensional. We should be amazed and grateful for Jesus’s healing touch, but we are transformed when our behavior in response to those miracles changes. Simon’s mother-in-law and Jesus do not respond to miraculous experiences by saying “okay, great,” and moving on. The former responds with action, by showing gratitude through service and honoring her guests. The latter responds with direct thanks to God through prayer. When was the last time you responded in such a way? When was the last time you prayed to God not because you wanted something, not because you were angry or frustrated, but because you were grateful? Using Jesus himself as a model, let’s endeavor to be more aware of the good God is doing in our lives and to pause, no matter how busy we are, to offer our thanks. Doing so will change us for the better.



The Lord's Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven,

     hallowed be thy Name,

     thy kingdom come,

     thy will be done,

         on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

     as we forgive those

         who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,

     but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

     and the power, and the glory,

     for ever and ever. Amen.