MARK 1:29-39 MEDITATION - Part 2
Jesus is in the company of Peter, James and John. These three often accompany him in the most significant moments as Jesus prepares them for their special mission. We see them together with Jesus at the transfiguration and also in Gethsemani. They had already witnessed a miracle in the synagogue and now they trust him to heal Peter’s mother-in-law. They waste no time in informing Jesus of her illness, thereby implicitly showing their faith, but no specific request is made. The fever was a life-threatening illness. She lay ill, isolated from the social life of the home and society.
It is easy to overlook the ordinariness of this scene. Peter was the first leader of the early church and the first Pope of the Church. It is probably not out of place to see here an early affirmation of the primacy of Peter among the first disciples. He was a fisherman with family commitments and here we see him in his everyday family life. The first disciples were people similar to us in every way, with their work, their family commitments and their own problems. What brought them together and shaped them into a closely knit community which went beyond this ordinariness was being with Jesus - it was his presence that transformed their existence just as it can transform ours as we meditate and share the Word of God at home and in our home cell groups. This will not come about, however, if our relationship is only sporadic, reduced to a once-a-week encounter in church. We need to be constantly aware of the presence of the risen Lord and remain in his company on our journey through life
Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:4)
When this is the case we may well be in a state of pain and suffering but the healing power of Jesus will also be present and awareness of this healing presence in moments of suffering will allow us to experience joy despite our circumstances. When we trust in him he will also take our hand and lift us up above that which oppresses us. So let us hold fast to his presence in order to experience that healing which is so sorely needed. Although he uses the third person Brother Lawrence wrote of himself:
We must know before we can love. In order to know God, we must often think of Him; and when we come to love Him, we shall then also think of Him often, for our heart will be with our treasure.1
his prayer was nothing else but a sense of the presence of God, his soul being at that time insensible to everything but Divine love: and that when the appointed times of prayer were past, he found no difference, because he still continued with God, praising and blessing Him with all his might, so that he passed his life in continual joy. 2
And in the Fourth Conversation we read:
As Bro. Lawrence had found such an advantage in walking in the presence of God, it was natural for him to recommend it earnestly to others; but his example was a stronger inducement than any arguments he could propose. His very countenance was edifying; such a sweet and calm devotion appearing in it, as could not but affect the beholders. And it was observed, that in the greatest hurry of business in the kitchen, he still preserved his recollection and heavenly-mindedness. He was never hasty nor loitering, but did each thing in its season, with an even uninterrupted composure and tranquility of spirit. "The time of business," said he, "does not with me differ from the time of prayer; and in the noise and clutter of my kitchen, while several persons are at the same time calling for different things, I possess God in as great tranquility as if I were upon my knees at the Blessed Sacrament." 3
In this episode of the Gospel we have a striking image of humanity brought low by the power of sin and evil in the world. Sin and evil alienate us from God and healthy society; we are alive yet helpless, unable to enjoy life, unable to be ourselves and with the scars of the past that haunt us. Alive yet helpless, just like so many who feel stifled within, with their just ambitions and aspirations crushed and unable to attain that joy and happiness towards which we all tend. The crowds in this episode are about to discover that the presence of Jesus brings life: ‘I am … the life’ (John 14:16). Have we substituted true life with so many things that bring only a precarious satisfaction that lasts only as long as the situation lasts? This leaves us even more isolated and with an arid inner wilderness creating an even deeper sense of emptiness and helplessness than before. Let the words of Jesus ring our loud and clear ‘I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete’ (John 15:11). This is the joy that no person or circumstances can ever take away
‘lifted her up’. 4 This is one of many unobtrusive but clear pointers towards the resurrection of Jesus. The idea of rising or being lifted up is an ever increasing thought woven throughout the narrative of Mark. The fever was life threatening; Peter’s mother-in-law was snatched from the jaws of death, the ultimate of evils.
We know that Jesus came to identify with the whole of suffering humanity, to take upon himself the sins of all and take away its power to alienate and destroy all that militates against realising the potential of the new self in accordance with God’s plan. So far we have had the healing of individuals representing the universal healing Christ came to bring. We now have a widening of the vision of evil, its general and universal nature but also of that saving grace that comes through Jesus.
Now, at the doorstep of Peter’s house, we have the whole town coming to bring all those in distress and in need. It is interesting to note that Mark says he healed ‘many’, implying that not all were healed. 5 Here we see the tender mercy of God the Father in action through Jesus (John 14:10). It is this mercy of the Father that enables us to experience joy amidst suffering (1 Thessalonians 1: 6).
We learn here that suffering is not punishment for sin that come from God as Jesus, the Son of God spares no effort in liberating man from this oppressive situation. He is breaking the powerful chain of suffering and death and is inviting people once again to choose life rather than death (Deuteronomy 30:19). The liberation brought by Jesus here points towards that definitive liberation when there will be no more tears, no more suffering no more culture of death:
‘See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.’ (Revelations 21:3-4)
There is a clear alternation between the healing of individuals and the healing of the crowd: the man with the unclean spirit, Peter’s mother-in-law, the whole town only to return to the individual leper in verse 40. Jesus has time not only for the crowds but also and perhaps above all for the individual. He has time for you and I. Just let us seek him with all our heart.
Notice the very simplicity of the account, there is no exchange of words in Peter’s house, no real conversation is recorded, just simple basic actions. Actions speak louder than words.
Let us also notice the emphasis on service. The recognition and appreciation of the work of the Lord in Peter’s mother-in-law translates into service. Is it the same with us? All actions are carried out with a sense of immediacy. It is the immediacy of love, it is the immediacy of gratitude, it is the immediacy of enthusiasm, it is the immediacy of those who are led by the Holy Spirit.
The healing of Peter’s mother-in-law takes place on the Sabbath showing that the law was meant for the benefit of man, that human need takes precedence over the letter of the law. Jesus respects the Sabbath by worshipping at the synagogue but distances himself from the legalism of contemporary Judaism. He came not to abolish the law but to fulfil it.
We are also struck by the energy of Jesus: the first part of the day was spent worshipping and exorcising the man with the unclean spirit then he made his way to the house of Peter and then another healing and, after sunset, receiving the “whole city” with its many diseases. We do not know what time he went to bed but he must have worked well into the night as he did not begin until after sunset, when the Sabbath was over. Despite this he rose early in the morning when it was still ‘very dark’ (v. 35) to a lonely place to be in communion with the Father. This was his source of strength. The wilderness is the place of encounter, the place of no distractions, the place where there is no personal success or honour, the place of the divine presence, the place where we discover God’s will and plan for us. This was a vital necessity for Jesus as it was in the wilderness that John prepared the way for him, it is in such a place that the Father and Holy Spirit revealed their approval and it is here that he now comes to regain his spiritual energy, it is here that he finds the source of his power. A time of being alone in prayer is essential for tapping into the strength and power of God. He is not intent on fulfilling his own personal plan, but the plan of the Father and there is only one way of knowing the plan of God and that is by walking in his presence and listening. This is a clear lesson for us. He who was perfect needed the power of prayer, we who are riddled with imperfections and sin need prayer much more. The fact that we are here together around the Word and meditate on it is an indication that we are also aware of that need.
‘Simon and his companions hunted for him’. It was such an isolated placed that it was difficult to find him. He did not want any sort of distraction in these moments of intimacy with the Father. Let us also note how Simon (Peter) is singled out from the others ‘Simon and his companions’. The primacy of Peter is subtly but also very clearly indicated here.
The focus of the disciples is on the crowd still searching for Jesus, among whom possibly some of those who had not been healed. The disciples saw only the circumstances; Jesus was focused on communion with the Father and doing the will of the Father. What do we focus on? Do we focus our circumstances or on discerning the will of the Father for us while dwelling in his presence?
What would have been our reaction if we were told that everyone was searching for us? Would we have gone back with the disciples to bask in the glory and honour that would have been ours, the sense of importance that we would feel, the sense of power, perhaps? Jesus had discovered the will of the Father for him at that moment, the disciples had not. He had to spread the message. Do we feel that same need? Do we also feel called to the privilege and duty of spreading the message? Do we feel called to serve those in need?
Jesus was under great pressure from his disciples and the crowd. As he had healed 'many', but not all, perhaps they had gathered to get him to finish the job. This is what others wanted but his Father had other plans “Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.” Notice the independence of Jesus with respect to the crowd and his close circle of friends, his disciples. This independence is rooted in his dependence on the Father. So it is with us. Our true independence and freedom in our relations with others is not rooted in self-assertion but in our dependence on God. This is true freedom. We become free and independent to the extent we depend on the Lord and on his will and plan for us. Do we follow the crowd and circle of friends or do we follow God? That is the question.
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NOTES
1 Brother Lawrence 1(Nicholas Herman, c. 1605-1691), The Practice of the Presence of God, Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library, Ninth Letter p. 26, http://www.ccel.org/ccel/lawrence/practice.pdf visited 14 March 2025.
2 Ibid. p. 11, 12.
3 Ibid. p. 13.
4 Other translations have ‘she is raised up’, which is even more explicit.
5 Luke on the other hand says ‘each of them’ (Luke 4:40)
Mark 1:40-45 Meditation
Mark 1:29-39 Text and Questions
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