The Rev. Jimmy Abbott
Fifth Sunday after Epiphany
February 4, 2024
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 Jesus about her at once. Jesus came took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them” (Mark 1:29-31).

How typical, right? The woman is healed, and then right away she has to start making sandwiches. No rest for the weary. And that is one way to read it. In the ancient world, we know, that this was the woman’s role. And we know, that this has a long, shameful tail in western society. And it seems, it seems that Simon Peter’s mother-in-law fits right into this mold. She’s on her death bed, Jesus heals her, and right away it’s expected that she serves them. That is one way to read it. 

But there is another way. And I say all this with great trepidation. I am a man. And I think I pull my fair share at home, with the laundry, the dishes, the cooking, and the chauffeuring of a child, and I understand the joy of serving; the joy of welcoming others into our home, the joy of serving dinner to my friends, the joy of cleaning up afterwards. This is a long way of saying that before I offer any more interpretation, I do not intend to mansplain the Bible. 

“Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.” One way to read this is that Simon Peter’s mother-in-law is so overwhelmingly grateful, so happy that she’s been literally raised up from her death bed, that it’s her natural response to serve Jesus in return. That word, “raised up,” is the Easter word. That’s the same word that is used for Jesus being raised from the dead. And, perhaps most importantly, that word, “serve,” can also be translated as “ministered.” She “ministered” to them. It’s the same word that we have in English for “deacon.” She “deacon-ed” to them. 

This also sets her apart from all the other healing stories in the Gospel of Mark. Nowhere else does the person who is healed serve, or minister to Jesus in return. Imagine that. People who are blind can see again. People who are paralyzed can walk again. People with demons are given a sound mind. Jesus does all of that for them, and yet none of them do anything about it, except this nameless woman, Simon Peter’s mother-in-law. She ministers to him.

Later on in the Gospel of Mark, the male disciples will start bickering among themselves about who is the greatest among them. Jesus says, “whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” Peter’s mother-in-law is already showing us the way. The male disciples do not get it. Peter and Andrew, James and John, still think that greatness comes through power and authority, by being served. But Jesus is saying something else. Jesus is saying that Peter’s mother-in-law, by serving them, by ministering to them, she has shown herself to be the greatest among them. 

This is a long way of saying that this story about Peter’s mother-in-law, instead of perpetuating all those unhealthy gender stereotypes, might actually be subverting them. 

This theme will be picked up by the early church. The Virgin Mary is one who says yes to God, and bears Jesus as her own. In the Gospel of John, the first person that Jesus ever tells that he is the Son of God, is the nameless woman at the well. At the cross, it’s the women who remain with Jesus until the end. It’s Mary Magdalene who is the first person to see the risen Jesus on Easter morning, and she is the one who tells the men. In the Acts of the Apostles, we’re told that the first person to be baptized, to accept Jesus, in all of Europe is a woman. Women led churches in the ancient world. Even Paul says that in Christ, there is no male and female; that men and women have equal status in the eyes of God. If we’re paying attention, this Bible stuff is revolutionary. 

I know there is a lamentable history of the way that the church has treated and still treats women. More than anything, that is a manifestation of our sin and brokenness. That people like me still see that greatness is defined by being served, by gaining power,when for Jesus, ministering is the sign of greatness.

So when we go back to this story in the Gospel of Mark, I hope we can get a different perspective. And maybe it is just that the woman was expected to serve, but maybe there is more. It could be that Peter’s mother-in-law is first among the disciples because she has been their servant. It could be that Peter’s mother-in-law is the paragon of discipleship; that she gets it while those men don’t.

It could just be that what she’s showing us is the heart of discipleship, the heart of the good news of Jesus Christ. Jesus comes into our lives. And Jesus heals us, restores us, mentally, emotionally, physically. That is what God does.

So the question is up to us. How do we respond to God? And the Gospel of Mark presents us with two options. Will we take the gifts of God for granted? Will we take the healing, the grace, the mercy, and just continue on as if nothing ever happened? Or will we serve? Will we minister? Will we bend our knees, not just to God but to our neighbors in love? To serve as Christ has served us? This is not about men and women, this is about every human heart. And I can say, unequivocally, that my own life of faith has been strengthened by women and men who have served me spiritually. I am exceedingly grateful to be in a church with women as deacons, priests, and bishops. I have been honored to serve alongside women in leadership, in this parish and others. I know the dark sides of our history. But I pray, I pray that I would be more like Simon Peter’s mother-in-law. I pray that Jesus would heal me, restore me, raise me up, and that I would have the wherewithal to serve as I have been served.

Because at the end of the day, it’s not about us. It’s about Jesus, it’s about who Jesus is. Jesus will serve the poor and hungry by providing food in the wilderness. Jesus will kneel at the feet of his friends and wash their feet at the last supper. Jesus will stretch out his arms upon the cross and give himself away in perfect service, because he came not to be served but to serve.