“Everybody’s Got the Fever”

Mark 1:29-39

Providence United Presbyterian Church

February 8, 2009 (Ord 5B)

Rev. Dr. Mary Jane Hitt

&= nbsp; About ten years ago, I went with a group of Duke Divinity School students on a tr= ip to the Holy Land. We were the= re to work, but we were also there to do all the things Christian pilgrims do when they visit the land of the Bible. &nb= sp; So we went to many of the places we read about each Sunday, including Capernaum, where today’s lesson takes place. Capernaum is one of the most beaut= iful locations in all Israel. Located in the Galilee, it is well watered and lush with flowers and trees. And great efforts have been taken = to preserve the Biblical significance of the place, which was the location of = much of Jesus’ ministry.

&= nbsp; Capernaum was also the place where Simon Peter lived, and in today’s lesson we = read that one day, after teaching in the synagogue, Jesus went across the road to Peter’s house to get a bite to eat.&= nbsp; Now Peter’s house is one of the sites that archaeologists have= carefully uncovered and preserved. The remains of the walls that separated the various areas of the house are clea= rly visible now, but there is one quite unusual feature to this historic site.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> A church has been built on a stilt= -like structure right over top of the ruins of the house, and the central portion= of the church – the place where the Communion table is located – h= as a glass floor. The priest and t= he congregation can see through the floor to the remains of Peter’s hous= e, below.

&= nbsp; Now there are any number of reasons why Peter’s house warrants such attention. The simple fact th= at the ruins of the home of one of the first disciples has been identified and pre= served is in itself important. But t= here is more, as we read in today’s Gospel lesson. Peter’s home was a place whe= re Jesus and his band of followers spent time, and it was the site of his first recorded physical healing. Yo= u will recall that when Jesus went home with Peter following services at the synagogue, they found Peter’s mother-in-law sick in bed with a fever. And Jesus went to her,= and took her by the hand, and lifted her up.&n= bsp; Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.

It’s just a simple= story, isn’t it? – just a couple of verses – but it is a very important story – a story that is central to the Christian faith. It’s not just a story about Peter’s mother-in-law. It’s a story about us, as well.

* * * * = *

Everybody’s got the = fever;

that is something you all = know;

fever isn’t such a n= ew thing,

fever started long ago. . = . We’ve got the fever!

* * * * *

I am reminded of a 19th century prayer written by Cardinal John Henry Newman and often read at graveside services. It begins= like this:

O Lord, support us all the day long,

until the shadows lengthen and the evening comes,

and the busy world is hushed,

and the fever of life is over . . .

Isn’t that what li= fe feels like a lot of the time?   Everybody’s got the fever. We’re all burnin= g up with fever – with anger and anxiety and fear – about so, so many things.

·         The economy is spiraling down into unknown territory, with lost jobs and lost homes and lost hope. In just the last week, I’ve = read the stories of two different men who, in total despair over lost jobs, have taken their own lives and those of their families. We cannot imagine their acts of violence, but we can imagine their despair. We’ve got the fever.

·         The war in Iraq is beginning to wind down, b= ut the war in Afghanistan is getting ratcheted up. We are grateful for sons and daugh= ters who have answered the call to serve their country, but this so-called “war on terror” really is beyond anything our nation has undert= aken in the past. We desperately w= ant to believe that it will make us safer, but we don’t feel very safe, do w= e? We’ve got the fever.

·         It is becoming more and more evident that our nation’s health care system is broken. Many struggle to get the medical c= are they need. People cut back on= food in order to pay for medicine. We know the health care system is sick – we know that powerful forces st= and in the way of a real fix – and we don’t know what to do. We’ve got the fever.

·         The world around us is changing at lightening speed. Our own community is becoming more diverse, our society more technological, and our culture less traditionally religious. And = change is hard. Sometimes we just wa= nt to hunker down and pretend everything is as it used to be. But we can’t. And we’ve got the fever.

·         Our personal lives face the challenges of li= fe that come to all people. We l= ose people we have loved, as death and divorce and ill health and mental illness and estrangement and alienation take them from us. We feel lonely and afraid. We’ve got the fever.

Like Peter’s mother-in-law, we lie on our bed= s, sick with fever in the morning, fever all through the night. No, it’s not just a story ab= out her. It’s a story about us, as we= ll.

* * * * *

Everybody’s got the = fever;

that is something you all = know;

fever isn’t such a n= ew thing,

fever started long ago. . . We’ve got the fever!

* * * * *

So what do we do about o= ur fever, you ask? What are we supposed= to do with all the anger and anxiety and fear that burn us up, morning and night? Should we just drag ourselves out of bed, flushed and burning up with a temperature of 104, and pretend everything’s okay? Should we just resign ourselves to the fever, until it kills us? Or is there another way?

Let’s look again a= t the story. Peter’s mother-i= n-law was in bed with a fever, and what happened? Jesus went to her, and took her by= the hand, and lifted her up. Then= the fever left her, and she began to serve him and the others who were with him.

Now I will admit that I = used to think this story was the epitome of sexism. A woman is so sick with a fever th= at she takes to her bed. Then Jesus = heals her, and what’s the first thing she does? She hops out of bed and heads righ= t to the kitchen to fix the guys some supper.&n= bsp; I probably wouldn’t do that, if you get my drift! But a closer look at the story mak= es it clear that the author of Mark’s gospel wasn’t just telling a ca= sual little story about the role of women in ancient Israel. By including this story in his gos= pel, he was drawing a picture of discipleship made possible by the grace of God. This unnamed woman, know= n to us only as Peter’s mother-in-law, was healed from her fever – f= reed from the confines of her sick bed – in order to reach her full potent= ial as a child of God. Jesus, who= came as the servant of all, raised her up and set her free to serve, as well.

And that is what God wan= ts to do for us, too. God wants to hea= l us of the fever of our own lives – to free us from the anger and anxiety= and fear that keep us in bed when we should be up doing something about the problems our world and our community and our families face. The economy is tanking and people = are hungry? Wars are raging and p= eople are dying? Health care is inadequate and folks can’t afford their medicines? Our world is changing and a lot of people have given up on church? People are brokenhearted and lonely? We’re not going to be agents of God’s healing power in any of these circumstances if we ourselves are stuck in bed with a fever.

Like I said, this is not= just a story about Peter’s mother-in-law.&n= bsp; It’s a story about us, as well.

* * * * = *

Everybody’s got the = fever;

that is something you all = know;

fever isn’t such a n= ew thing,

fever started long ago. . . We’ve got the fever!

* * * * *

        &= nbsp;   It’s true. We’ve all got the fever, but God has the cure. = May we open ourselves to the divine healing presence, so that we might be lifted u= p to be the people we were created to be, in service to an all-so-feverish world= .

   &= nbsp;        Thanks be to God. Amen.