Healed to Serve

 

Last Wednesday the gospel was about Jesus healing Simon’s mother-in-law who was sick with a fever.  The story goes “He approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up. Then the fever left her and she waited on them.”

I have to be completely honest here, this passage always got stuck in my craw. He healed her so she could wait on them. Here get better, it’s time to make us dinner, we’re hungry sort of thing. I regarded it as a bit misogynistic in feel. Or sexist to use more current terminology. Get better, get up and wait on us.

But then I was scrolling through a social media feed and I happened to catch a homily on this passage from Father Arnell during the mass from St John the Evangelist cathedral in downtown Cleveland. His homily blew my mind, it was quite brilliant and opened Pandora's box seriously. I looked at this passage in a way I had never considered before. I looked at healing in a whole new light, with a whole new purpose.

He shared the message the day before about Jesus exercising an unclean spirit from a man, sharing the message that if we want God to reside in us be enthroned inside our body, because our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, or the temple of God then this temple must first be cleansed. Whatever is residing in our body that is unclean must be driven out, and we can do that now through the sacrament of reconciliation.

What should reside in our hearts is not love of money, or hatred, or jealousy, but the love of God. Not these things that are not pure, not of God.

So the first action of Jesus is often to drive away evil, unclean spirits so that God can fully reside in us.

So in the story of Jesus healing Simons mother-in-law he asks us to notice what she offered in return as a response for her gratefulness. This gratefulness for being healed, cleansed. She began to serve. Here’s the big aha moment.

From healing to service. Healing to service.

It’s not just about us and God. Our desire to be holy should not be self-serving. Once we are healed inwardly our mission should then be turned outward, to love and serve others in  heartfelt gratitude. Wanting to share that gift with the world, how could we keep it to ourselves?

But let’s go back to this healing. For a moment.  How can we serve in the true manner God calls us to serve if we are unclean, or have unclean hearts, parts of our hearts that are hardened. This is the work, the daily work of our hearts. To be constantly searching our hearts, giving over to Jesus to heal those rough patches, those parts we want to hold onto maybe for prides sake. Maybe we feel justified to hold onto anger, or resentment or envy, jealousy. But the point of healing is just that, a cleansing of all that is not holy, not serving God.

Now I didn’t say it was easy, but it is necessary.. which is why Jesus left us the Holy Spirit. He know us, he knows our humanness and he knows our  brokenness and inclination toward sin.  We need to call on the gifts of the Holy Spirit in order to have any chance at holiness.