I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent

 

 Now He arose from the synagogue and entered Simon's house.  But Simon's wife's mother was sick with a high fever, and they made request of Him concerning her.  So he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her.  And immediately she arose and served them.  

When the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them.  And demons also came out of many, crying out and saying, "You are the Christ, the Son of God!"  And He, rebuking them, did not allow them to speak, for they knew that He was the Christ.

Now when it was day, He departed and went into a deserted place.  And the crowd sought Him and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from leaving them; but He said to them, "I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent."  And He was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.

 

- Luke 4:38–44 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths.  And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority.  Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon.  And he cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Let us alone!  What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth?  Did You come to destroy us?  I know who You are -- the Holy One of God!"  But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!"  And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him.  Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, "What a word this is!  For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out."  And the report about Him went out into every place in the surrounding region.

 

  Now He arose from the synagogue and entered Simon's house.  But Simon's wife's mother was sick with a high fever, and they made request of Him concerning her.  So he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her.  And immediately she arose and served them.   From this passage and 1 Corinthians 9:5, in which Peter is called Cephas, tell us that Peter was married and had a family.  His family home became a "headquarters" for Jesus' Galilean ministry.  My study bible cites St. Cyril of Alexandria regarding Christ's rebuke of Peter's mother-in-law's fever:  "That which was rebuked was some living thing unable to withstand the influence of Him who rebuked it, for it is not reasonable to rebuke a thing without life and unconscious of the rebuke.  Nor is it astonishing for there to exist certain powers that inflict harm on the human body."  So once again, in light of St. Cyril's commentary, as in yesterday's reading, this healing serves as another example of Christ's power and authority.  

When the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them.  And demons also came out of many, crying out and saying, "You are the Christ, the Son of God!"  And He, rebuking them, did not allow them to speak, for they knew that He was the Christ.  Again, these healings and exorcisms confirm Christ's power and authority.  We note how the demons know Him, but are muzzled by Christ and are subject to His permission and commands.  Again, the word rebuke is used for what are living and oppositional forces.  My study bible also points out the diversity of Christ's healing miracles.  With Peter's mother-in-law, He simply stood over her and rebuked her fever with a word.  In the case of those who are sick with various diseases who are brought to Him, He heals by touch, laying His hands on every one of them.  These healings are immediate and complete, but others are gradual (Mark 8:22-25), or they require the cooperation of the person healed or of their loved ones (Luke 8:54-55).  But all of Christ's miracles manifest His redemption of ailing humanity.  And in the case of healing by "rebuke," it is clear His power and authority work to oppose forces that oppress human beings.

Now when it was day, He departed and went into a deserted place.  And the crowd sought Him and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from leaving them; but He said to them, "I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent."  And He was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.  My study bible notes for us that Christ's primary mission was to preach the kingdom.  It says that miracles and healings testify both to the truth of the message and the identity of the Teacher (see 5:24).  This same pattern holds true in the Church (Acts 4:29-30). 

The many ways in which Christ heals must make us pause to answer questions why this is so.  After all, He is the Christ.  Presumably He could heal all with a word.  Perhaps the means by which He heals also have to do with the particular ailments that afflict the different people who receive healing in the Gospels.  After all, each one also depends somewhat on the individuals concerned.  There is first of all no healing without faith, or at least the capability of faith.  Some healings take longer or are done in steps, in which case we also witness the growth of faith in the person being healed, such as with the man born blind in John's Gospel (John 9).  Jesus first makes a paste of mud and His own saliva and applies it to the man's eyes, but then He tells the man he must walk to the pool of Siloam and wash -- quite some distance away in Jerusalem.  There is a parallel to this time it takes for the healing, and the steps of walking to the pool (the name of which means Sent), and that is in the development of the faith and the capacity to testify of the formerly blind man as He is questioned by the religious leaders.  Some healings are performed via the faith of the friends of the afflicted, such as for the paralytic who was lowered down to Jesus through the roof of the place in which He was preaching (Mark 2:1-12).  At first Jesus tells the paralytic that his sins are forgiven; we can conclude that it is through the faith of his friends that this healing of sin has happened.  But then the scribes present reason in their hearts that no one but God has the authority to forgive sins.  And in response to what He knows of their hearts, Jesus tells the paralytic, "Take up your bed and walk."  Thus, through this strange and seemingly roundabout process, healing includes the friends of the paralytic, the scribes, and the paralytic as well.  In yet a third example, Jesus heals the centurion's son in John 4:46-54 in such a way as to convey that neither time nor space are obstacles to healing, but in the meantime it is the desperate centurion's faith that has been tested and rewarded by finding the precise time of his son's healing.  Each unique expression of Christ's power has meant that not only healing but also faith was involved.  Each healing impacted the faith of those present in particular ways and worked upon their particular needs -- even the doubts of the scribes were responded to through Christ's healing miracles.  So every healing has a story to tell, and each one also involves the impact on and evolution of the faith of those involved, even friends, loved ones, and bystanders present.  It's important that we understand how deeply faith is involved in each healing, as in today's reading Jesus says, "I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent."  Jesus' primary mission of healing is not simply about putting right our physical ailments, but about faith in the presence of the kingdom of God.  For this is where true healing begins and this is what true healing and salvation rely upon.  No healing takes place without faith first; but all healings involve faith, and its shoring up, deepening, and restoration.  They all teach the presence and work of the kingdom of God.  Indeed, again in John's Gospel, the people ask, "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?"  And Jesus answers them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent" (John 6:28-29).  Ultimately, when we really study the Gospels quite closely, each sign is not so much about healing as it is ultimately about faith.  Christ comes to kindle faith in the world, to preach the kingdom of God, to remind us of God's presence with us.  This is the mission for which He is sent, for which we remain the recipients, and we must remind ourselves that it is for our faith that He has come, and through our faith that He saves and heals.  We may be said to be healed when our physical body is working well, but the ongoing nurturing of faith is the substance of health in body, soul, and spirit.

Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or do evil, to save life or to kill?

Now it happened that He went through the grainfields on the Sabbath; and as they went His disciples began to pluck the heads of grain.  And the Pharisees said to Him, "Look, why do they do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?"  But He said to them, "Have you never read what David did when he was in need and hungry, he and those with him:  how he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the showbread, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests, and also gave some to those who were with him?"  And He said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.  Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath."

And He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand.  So they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him.  And He said to the man who had the withered hand, "Step forward."  Then He said to them, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or do evil, to save life or to kill?"  But they kept silent.  And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand."  And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.  Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.

- Mark 2:23-3:6

Yesterday, we read that Jesus went out again by the sea; and all the multitude came to Him, and He taught them.  As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office.  And He said to him, "Follow Me."  So he arose and followed Him.  Now it happened, as He was dining in Levi's house, that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him.  And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, "How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?"  When Jesus heard it, He said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."  The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were fasting.  Then they came and said to Him, "Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?"  And Jesus said to them, "Can the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them?  As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast.  But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.  No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; or else the new piece pulls away from the old, and the tear is made worse.  And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined.  But new wine must be put into new wineskins."

Now it happened that He went through the grainfields on the Sabbath; and as they went His disciples began to pluck the heads of grain.  And the Pharisees said to Him, "Look, why do they do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?"  This isn't lawful because it was considered to be a form of work, a violation of the Sabbath-rest.  My study bible says that "'Pharisaism' is a very real danger for all.  Ruler for religious practice are not bad in themselves, but when adherence to those rules triumphs over mercy and human need, the practice leads people away from God, not toward Him."

But He said to them, "Have you never read what David did when he was in need and hungry, he and those with him:  how he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the showbread, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests, and also gave some to those who were with him?"   My study bible explains that "Abiathar was appointed high priest during David's reign (1 Sam. 23:6-11).  His father, Ahimelech, provided David and his men, who were starving, with holy bread intended for priests only (1 Sam. 21:1-6)."

And He said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.  Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath."  There is a similar saying in rabbinical literature:  "The Sabbath has been given unto you; you have not been given unto the Sabbath."  Jesus, however, says my study bible, "puts what He teaches into practice, interpreting the Law with authority.  Only God can say He is Lord of the Sabbath."

And He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand.  So they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him.  And He said to the man who had the withered hand, "Step forward."  Then He said to them, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or do evil, to save life or to kill?"  But they kept silent.   A note tells us, "Jesus is motivated by compassion.  He does not deny Sabbath traditions, but teaches that it is more important to do good on the Sabbath than to maintain the strict observance of Sabbath rest.  The religious leaders are motivated by zeal for the rigid performance of rabbinic tradition; for them outward performance is more important than doing good.  The two perspectives are incompatible."

And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand."  And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.  Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.  My study bible tells us, "In their anger and self-deception, the Pharisees believe that in order to serve God, they must collaborate with their enemies, the Herodians, to murder the One who is the true Servant of God."   The Herodians were members and supporters of the royal court of Herod Antipas, allied with and serving as part of the Roman government.

In this time of Lent and its association with fasting rules, we may well think of what it is to be healed.  One purpose of fasting is, of course, for our own healing, on many levels.  Fasting practices are designed to cut away externals, the things we think we need that we don't really need, in order to focus in on what is truly good for us, what truly feeds us.  It's to get in touch with who and what we really are, and where our heart lies, how our lives are going.  We focus in on Christ, and our relationship with God.  There is a commentary by St. John Chrysostom that, despite his setting in the 4th century, really brings home the purpose of the fast.  In a sermon, he preached that his well-heeled flock should put the servants to rest for awhile, and get out of the fuss and fire and grease spitting everywhere in the kitchen, put away the fancy utensils and all the elaborate preparations of this elegant food or that, and just basically give it a rest for awhile, to put it into our language.  Resting, in this context, is really to get in touch with God, and thereby we see what it is we really need.  This is why rest is for wholeness, and the point of a Sabbath-rest.  So, we can take all these rules as rules that are essentially for our health and well-being, on every level.  However, my study bible points out that when zealous preoccupation with the rules becomes a kind of idol, and the whole focus, then we are headed for trouble.  It really doesn't matter how good the rule is, in that case, as my study bible puts it:  "when adherence to those rules triumphs over mercy and human need, the practice leads people away from God, not toward Him."  If we remember that the purpose of every religious rule is really for our health and well-being, on so many levels -- from our basic root in spiritual reality to our psychology to our physical body -- then the goal is what becomes essential, and not the legalistic rendering of the rule itself.  Hence, Jesus' words:  "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath."  As Son of Man, and fulfillment of the Law, He is Lord of the Sabbath.  His restoring a man to wholeness is the "whole" point.  So, once again, as we are in the middle of Lent, let us consider what prayer is, what our focus is now in this time, as we prepare for Easter.  Can you cut away the extraneous, and focus in on what He would want for your healing?  Let us keep in mind that so many of the things that we think we want aren't really for our healing.  We don't really need all the things we think we need because we're surrounded with expensive luxuries available in stores, or because our brother and sister have it, or because it would be socially impressive, or all the different reasons why we think we need what we need when we focus in on the outside.  What we need is what we find we need in that relationship of love to Creator.  Wholeness comes, essentially, from love, and even in our weakness we may show the perfect strength of Christ.  We may simply need to come to understand that we are loved as we are, a healing powerful as any other.  But take time to remember, the purpose is for healing.  We find it as we center in, cut away the distractions and the externals and all the things we chase after, drop the things that give us so much anxiety for a moment if we can, and come to Him.  He is the Lord of the Sabbath, the place of all restoration and healing, the One who gives us the right perspective we need.