Thoughts for the Day

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.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

Mark now kick-starts his account of Jesus and his work. After his teaching in the synagogue the previous day and the healing of a man, we now get a really beautiful, homely, incident. Jesus returns to Peter's home, and find that the latter's mother-in-law (so Peter was married or a widower!) has a fever. Jesus may well have been tired after a busy day, yet he stops to heal her, and as if to prove how well she is she gets up off her bed to serve her guests a meal. By evening the sick of the whole town arrive at their door asking Jesus to heal them, which he does.

We often use the term "time out" to refer to children who have had a melt-down over not winning at a board or computer game. To them it can seem like the end of the world, but if we adults can't encourage them to see that winning and losing is all part of life, then they will make particularly unpleasant adults in the future. "Time out" can also mean sitting on the "naughty step" or "going to your room" in order to calm down.

But for Jesus "time out" was a way to refresh his spiritual batteries and his power. We know that before each great act in his life he spent time with God in prayer, and throughout the three years of his ministry healing left him depleted in power. Look at the story of the woman with a haemorrhage (Mark 5.24-34) where this is mentioned. So it is that the next morning Jesus gets up early to find quiet space to be with God in prayer.

We too need to refresh our spiritual batteries as often as we can by spending quiet time with God.

Heavenly Father,
help us to find time to be with You,
time to praise You,
time to thank You,
time to confess to You,
time to listen to You,
and time to request of You
May we also learn to be consistent
in finding time to be with You.
Amen.