Balance. Wouldn’t we all like to live a balanced life, with adequate time for family, work, and play? We’d like to have an active social life, but also attend to our emotional and spiritual needs. 

 

But it’s easy for life to get out of balance. Work can get crazy, and family needs can be overwhelming. Things we don’t expect—like a dangerous pandemic—can throw the most organized lives out of whack. 

 

Jesus knew what it was to face insistent demands for his time and attention, but still find ways to nurture his soul. In today’s text, Mark describes three episodes that portray “a day in the life of Jesus”—a day that happened to be the Sabbath. Together, these stories underscore the balanced life that Jesus lived and modeled for those who follow him. 

 

 

 

As we have seen in previous lessons, the gospel of Mark depicts Jesus as launching into his public ministry with gusto, teaching and healing wherever he went. [DD] As a charismatic teacher who could heal the sick, it’s only natural that “his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee” (v. 28). 

 

Mark portrays a full Sabbath day that begins with Jesus teaching in the Capernaum synagogue, segues to an afternoon meal, and ends with a late-night healing session at Peter’s house (vv. 21-34). The next story follows hard on its heels, taking place early the next morning (vv. 35-39). 

 

As Mark tells it, Simon Peter and his brother Andrew were the first two men Jesus called as disciples, followed by the brothers James and John (vv. 16-20). The four of them earned their living by netting fish from small boats they sailed across the Sea of Galilee. [DD] 

Having left their fishing career behind, the eager disciples would have followed Jesus to the synagogue and heard him Jesus teach “as one having authority, and not as the scribes” (v. 22). They would have watched as he healed a man everyone believed to be possessed by an unclean spirit (vv. 23-26). Surely the disciples would have been as astounded as the others who saw Jesus saying and doing things beyond their comprehension. [DD]

 

Wouldn’t we?

 

Despite his newfound fame, Jesus remained calm and went about his work. After leaving the hubbub of the synagogue, he and the four disciples walked the short distance required Simon Peter’s home. No doubt they looked forward to some quiet time and a restful meal, but on arriving they discovered that Peter’s mother-in-law had been taken ill with a fever. [DD]

 

The family quickly turned to Jesus. With no outward to-do, “He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up.” The fever disappeared, we read, “and she began to serve them” (v. 31). Lunch at last! [DD]

Someone else, having gained similar celebrity status, might have focused on his or her own wants, but Jesus remained concerned for the needs of others. Fevers are not uncommon, and Peter’s mother-in-law’s condition was probably not life-threatening. Yet, Jesus took the time to heal her.

 

Mark is also careful to add that “she began to serve them.” Jesus did not command this: out of gratitude as well as custom, she began to serve (diēconei, the rood word of “deacon”). In doing so, Peter’s mother-in-law showed more insight than the competitive disciples, and became the first person said to serve Jesus. 

We all face the likelihood of illness, whether serious or merely aggravating. We can’t always count on immediate physical healing as a direct work of Jesus, but all of us who come to faith in Christ do experience the spiritual healing of forgiveness and hope. Do we respond with service, or do we go about our business as if nothing has changed?

 

 

 

As word spread, crowds of supplicants rolled in to seek a curative audience with Jesus. If we had been there and had suffered from a problem infection or loss of sight, we would likely have done the same: underserved people naturally seek help when it is available. Those who participate in free medical clinics serving poverty-stricken areas learn quickly that residents will start lining up the night before to receive medical or dental treatment that they otherwise couldn’t get. 

 

In this case, Mark notes that people waited until sundown, when the Sabbath officially ended, to bear their sick friends to Jesus. Rabbinic laws designed to enforce rest on the Sabbath did not allow people to carry burdens or to walk more than a limited distance. [DD] As darkness fell, though, “they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons,” so that “the whole city was gathered around the door” (vv. 32-33). Capernaum was more of a village than a city, but that could still mean hundreds of people gathered about, all seeking access to Jesus. 

 

Jesus responded to the mass of human need with both patience and compassion. The text does not say that he healed everyone, but “he cured many who were sick with various diseases,” and he “cast out many demons” (v. 34). 

 

Ancient people commonly believed that certain maladies, especially mental illnesses, were caused by evil spirits that could enter a person’s body and cause trouble. Mark and other gospel writers shared this worldview, and Jesus worked on the level of the people, speaking the vocabulary that was familiar to them and overcoming their most fearsome threat. [DD] 

We may no longer attribute illness or other trouble to demons, but we still face troubling and fearful times. Do we believe Jesus has the ability to help us overcome and move on? If we have experienced a sense of divine comfort or encouragement, how did we respond? 

 

As Jesus saw avenues for service in daily life, so we are called to “lifestyle service,” always being open to that person who needs a helping hand, a comforting word, a challenging witness. 

 

 

 

Finding ways to serve Jesus actively is important, but so is serving our spirit. Without proper preparation, our service may be active, but ineffective. In today’s text, Jesus models two habits that undergird effective service: time with God, and time to rest.

 

After a long day of ministry and probably a short night of sleep, Jesus arose “a great while before day” and went out to pray in the quiet countryside (v. 35). [DD] Jesus knew the importance of taking a breather from the crowds and even from his disciples. Quiet time apart from the demands of others not only refreshes the spirit; it opens a window for conversation with God. [DD]

 

Does it seem surprising that Jesus—who Trinitarian thought holds co-equal with the Father and the Spirit—should find it important to pray? During his life on earth, Jesus voluntarily took on the form of humankind, including our human limitations. He grew tired, weary, even cross at times. He felt a sense of distance from the Father. Even Jesus found strength and encouragement as he prayed from the heart, expressing concerns and seeking guidance. [DD]

 

The disciples had yet to understand this. They tracked Jesus down and tried to bring Him back to Capernaum, where more sick people were undoubtedly waiting. “Everyone is searching for you,” they said (v. 37)—but Jesus knew that he could not stay and become the resident healer of Capernaum or any other town. His mission was bigger than that. As much as Jesus felt compassion for those who suffered, he had to remain focused on the larger picture.

 

So it was that Jesus called the disciples to go with him into other towns through the region “so I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do” (v. 38). It was the message Jesus was preaching—that the Kingdom of God had come near and that all could come into relationship with God—that was most important. Miracles of healing, feeding, and other mighty works had their place as metaphors of the message, and they served to bring draw people in so they could hear his words of forgiveness and challenge, but Jesus did not become incarnate in order to gain fame as a miracle worker for a few short years. 

 

Jesus came to proclaim the message of good news to all people. Some took offense at the open and forgiving spirit that led him to hang out with tax collectors, prostitutes, and other folk that the religious elite classed as “sinners,” but Jesus knew the kingdom was for them, too. 

 

Following their leader, the first four disciples grabbed their travel cloaks, said their goodbyes, and followed Jesus down the road to other towns and villages throughout Galilee. Mark says he went about “proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons” (v. 39). The disciples were there to assist him, and to learn from him.

 

Jesus knew what his mission was, and he knew how to keep his physical, emotional, and spiritual batteries charged so that he could do the work he had come to do. 

 

What is our calling? Do we have a clear sense of how God wants us to live and serve in Christ’s behalf? Following Jesus’ pattern of observing human need and spending quiet time in prayer will surely help us find our role in kingdom work.