“And he arose and left the synagogue and entered Simon’s house. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they appealed to him on her behalf. 39 And he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her, and immediately she rose and began to serve them.
40 Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to him, and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them. 41 And demons also came out of many, crying, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.
42 And when it was day, he departed and went into a desolate place. And the people sought him and came to him, and would have kept him from leaving them, 43 but he said to them, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.” 44 And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.” (Luke 4:38-44)
If the illness of Simon Peter’s mother-in-law had happened today she probably would have been suspected of having the Omicron variant and placed in quarantine because of her high fever.
The Lord Jesus had just come from the synagogue where He taught and freed a man from an evil spirit. He then went to the home of Simon and Andrew together with James and John probably to share a meal (Mark. 1:29). It was customary that the people share the Sabbath meal immediately after the synagogue service.
Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed and ill. They asked Jesus to help her.
Jesus went to her, took her hand and helped her up (Mark.1:31). Jesus’ act of healing Simon’s mother-in-law was personal, simple and yet powerful. He rebuked the fever and the fever left the woman. Immediately she rose and began to serve them.
Three (3) weeks ago I had the symptoms of the Omicron variant of COVID 19. But last week after taking some medicines, fruit juices and resting, my antigen test and everyone else’s in our household showed negative results. We thank God!
God has endowed our bodies with the means to fight diseases. God has also given us physicians, vaccines and medicines to help us. Our fellow Christians surround us with prayer and encourage us. We hope that healing will happen in a short time but sometimes healing will take longer. Or it may not happen at all as in the case of St. Paul and his thorn in the flesh.
But in all circumstances we give thanks to God and continue to serve as the Lord enables us (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
The people wanted Jesus to stay but He had a greater mission. He came to bring healing not just to our physical bodies but more importantly He came to heal our broken relationship with God. Disease and death will come to us but through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross we are redeemed and we are reconciled with our Creator. By grace through faith in Jesus we are assured of eternal fellowship with our loving God.
Prayer: Thank you, dear Jesus for coming into our homes. You give personal attention to the needs of our body, mind and spirit. Teach us to respond by loving and serving our fellow human beings. Amen.
Reflection: The restrictions on social interaction by COVID 19 can worsen feelings of loneliness especially among the elderly. Think of someone who may need human interaction today. How can you reach out to him/her?
Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash