Mind Meld of A Different Kind

MARK 1:29-34
After Jesus left the synagogue with James and John, they went to Simon and Andrew’s home. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was sick in bed with a high fever. They told Jesus about her right away. So he went to her bedside, took her by the hand, and helped her sit up. Then the fever left her, and she prepared a meal for them.

That evening after sunset, many sick and demon-possessed people were brought to Jesus. The whole town gathered at the door to watch. So Jesus healed many people who were sick with various diseases, and he cast out many demons. But because the demons knew who he was, he did not allow them to speak.

All About Ego

Authority. Most of us have a problem with it. My ego shifts into high gear when I am placed in a position of submitting to someone’s authority. So does yours. That’s what egos do! None of us like to submit, though some hide the struggle better than others. Perhaps this is why Mark leaps into the subject of Jesus’ authority before the end of chapter one!

The authority Jesus holds over the Law and the Prophets gets exhibited in the way he teaches, “with authority.” He exercises spiritual authority by casting out demons. Later, just past Sabbath (sundown), Jesus demonstrates his authority over bodies and those diseases that attack them.

The issue I think Mark wants his readers to confront at the beginning of his Gospel, is not Jesus the healer, but Jesus the person with authority.

Authority over what happens inside my body means he also has authority over what I do with my body. So Mark reports not just the mother-in-law healing, but what she did with her renewed health. Healed, this woman immediately fulfilled her responsibility.

Sometimes I lament that I would do a better job of serving God, if only he would grant me better health. In reality, this is only a cop out. God insists that I serve him using whatever physical health he has chosen to give me. If God hasn’t given me some aspect of physical health, then it is my responsibility to fully serve him within the boundaries my body presents. The same goes when he adds to my health. In either case, he’s in command.

The question I must resolve is an ego one, not physical. Will I accept and submit to his authority? Does he have final authority to define truth (teaching with authority)? Does he have final authority in the way I experience spiritual freedom? Does he have final authority with my body and how I use it to fulfill my responsibilities?

Father, forgive me when I think about your relationship with my body primarily in terms of what health you give me. With your guidance, I will reshape the way I think. I will submit my body to serve you in any way you determine. And in whatever circumstance you providentially place me, I will fulfill my responsibilities.