Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany (Year B)
Upon leaving the synagogue, Jesus entered Simon’s and Andrew’s house with James and John. 30Simon’s mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told Jesus about her.
31Jesus went over to her, took her by the hand and helped her up, and the fever left her. Then she went about her work.
32After sunset, as evening drew on, they brought to Jesus all who were ill and possessed by demons. 33Everyone in the town crowded around the door. 34Jesus healed many who were sick with different diseases, and cast out many demons. But Jesus wouldn’t permit the demons to speak, because they knew who he was.
35Rising early the next morning, Jesus went off to a lonely place in the desert and prayed there. 36Simon and some companions managed to find Jesus 37and said to him, “Everybody’s looking for you!”
38Jesus said to them, “Let’s move on to the neighboring villages so that I may proclaim the Good News there also. That’s what I’ve come to do.” 39So Jesus went into their synagogues proclaiming the Good News and expelling demons throughout the whole of Galilee.
Other Readings: Isaiah 40.21-31; Psalm 147.1-11, 20c; 1 Corinthians 9.16-23
Gathering Prayer:
Jesus, light of the world, let your bright star stand over the place where the poor have to live; lead our sages to wisdom and our rulers to reverence. Hear this prayer for your Love’s sake. Amen.
A New Zealand Prayer Book (adapted)
There’s a good deal on in this passage and most of the items get a lot of attention:
Peter’s married but we don’t know the spouse’s name (verse 30).
Jesus heals Peter’s Mother-in-law and we don’t know her name either (verse 31).
Peter’s Mother-in-law goes “about her work” after she’s been healed (verse 31).
Jesus heals multitudes of people (vv. 32-34).
Jesus rises early to go off to “a lonely place in the desert” to pray (verse 35).
And that’s generally where we stop.
In recent years, a lot of attention has been paid to the unnamed women in this Lesson. And rightly so. It’s one of the areas we’re sensitive about — unnamed women, children, outcasts, “others,” etc. — not only in the Bible but throughout history. It seems that women’s names are only mentioned under special circumstances, e.g., Mary the “Mother of Jesus”; Mary from Magdala, the “Apostle to the Apostles”; and the rest.[2] While some people might want to just brush this under the rug because, “That’s just the way it was,” it doesn’t change the fact that women’s voices and their experiences have purposefully been squashed throughout history. But like all prejudices that continue for generations, sometimes voices are quieted and we aren’t aware we’re doing it. That doesn’t make it any less wrong, however. In fact, I think it’s those unintentional prejudices that need to be called out the most. “That’s just the way it is,” or “It’s always been done this way,” are excuses for doing the right thing.
While we could focus on the other items in the list above, I want to turn our attention to what struck me about today’s Lesson. In verses 38 and 39, it states that Jesus wanted to move on to other locations to “proclaim the Good News.” Now, your favorite translation may state that Jesus went to other places to “preach.” The Greek word used here is κηρύσσω (kēryssō) and it means just that, to “proclaim” or “preach (announce).” What intrigued me is the addition of “Good News” in the Inclusive Bible. Why would they add that? The answer is found earlier in Mark’s telling of the story of Jesus.
The first verse of Mark’s Gospel states, “The beginning of the Good News about Jesus [the] Christ…” (Mark 1.1; CEB; adapted).[3] The Greek word translated as “Good News” is εὐαγγέλιον (euangelion) and it means “gospel” or “good news.” It was generally associated when there was a new Roman Emperor. For example, when Tiberius became emperor during Jesus’ life (he was the emperor when Jesus was crucified) — messengers were sent out to proclaim the “good news” (εὐαγγέλιον, it’s the same word). They would arrive in a Roman occupied community and say something like —
“Greetings! We bring you good news! Tiberius has become the Lord of the world! He’ll bring peace and salvation to the realm! He demands your loyalty and allegiance! Hail Caesar!”
The heralds make a declaration about something that had happened which changed the world — Tiberius was now in charge. It didn’t matter if people believed it or not; that’s the new reality.
Mark is claiming the same thing. He’s proclaiming the “good news,” the εὐαγγέλιον, that Jesus is the world’s True Ruler.
Later on, Jesus makes a similar statement. “The time promised by God has come at last!” he announced. “The [Realm] of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News (εὐαγγέλιον)” (Mark 1.15; NLT; adapted).[4]
I think, then, that the Inclusive Bible is correct in stating that Jesus came to “proclaim the Good News.” And that Good News was that God’s Realm had finally come, mystically somehow, through Jesus’ own life, death, and resurrection. The great thing about this is, just as Mark stated at the beginning, God’s Realm started with Jesus’ life. It was then implemented at his resurrection and fully established at the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE.
For Jesus, then, the Gospel is the coming of God’s Realm “on earth as in heaven.” I submit that this is still the Good News. That God’s Realm is filling our realm like yeast fills dough. One day, the world will be so saturated with God’s Realm that the two will become one (Revelation 21).
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In the Love of the Three in One,
Br. Jack+, LC
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[1] Scripture quotations marked (TIB) are taken from The Inclusive Bible. Copyright © 2007 by Priests for Equality. Used by permission.
[2] The 2016 movie, Hidden Figures, is about a group of black women mathematicians and engineers — Katherine Goble Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson — who worked at NASA during the space race and were instrumental in the successful launch and landing of Friendship 7, the first American manned orbital spaceflight.
[3] Scripture quotations marked (CEB) are taken from The Common English Bible. Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible. Used by permission.
[4] Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation, Inc. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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