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| Peter's House in Capernaum Mark 1:29-31 |
Jesus spent a lot of time in Capernaum, thus there are many Scripture references to choose from. Each day thus far I have used the stories we read during the pilgrimage but today I'm doing something different. Visiting Peter's house made me think of the story of Jesus healing Peter's mother-in-law.
It's a short story but powerful. Jesus went straight to Peter's house after teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum. Upon his arrival the others tell him that Peter's mother-in-law is "in bed with a fever." Jesus immediately goes to her, takes her hand and helps her up. The fever left her and she begins to wait on them.
I'm not sure what attracts me to this story, perhaps it is Jesus' immediate response to the news or perhaps it is Peter's mother-in-law's response to being healed. She just gets up and starts waiting on her guests. There is no fanfare, no wonder, no gratitude; just an acceptance of the gift of healing and going about her daily business.
Sure she waited on Jesus, but she was waiting on everyone. And this was expected; her role was to provide food, water and comfort to her guests. She didn't say, "there is the kitchen, help yourself. I've been ill for days and I'm still weak." Is that a sign that she was back to normal? If so, why didn't she or anyone else take the time to marvel at the quick recovery?
Were the disciples getting so used to the miracles of healing and forgiveness that they didn't think it was special anymore? How do you get used to that? When does it become an everyday occurrence that someone is sick one minute and then healthy the next? How is it that no one noticed the miracle?
Maybe that is the point, miracles happen everyday and we don't notice. We think that getting the job, or raise, our health, finding the lost keys, doing great at the presentation are OUR doing. We forget that we had help, we forget that we asked for these miracles and then we received them. We think we did it all by ourselves. Aren't we great!?
We fail to remember that we need Jesus in our lives. We fail to remember that He is the source of all light and life. When we forget all these things, we forget to take the time to be thankful. We forget to look for the miracles in our life, thus we don't see them. They become ordinary, boring, forgetful moments. Then we wonder where God is in our lives. We ask why hasn't He blessed us.
In those moments, we may lose hope. We forget that our response to those miracles should be to turn around and serve Jesus. Take a minute to look for God in the ordinary moments of your life. How have you responded to those miracles? What are you doing to serve Jesus?
I'm not sure what attracts me to this story, perhaps it is Jesus' immediate response to the news or perhaps it is Peter's mother-in-law's response to being healed. She just gets up and starts waiting on her guests. There is no fanfare, no wonder, no gratitude; just an acceptance of the gift of healing and going about her daily business.
Sure she waited on Jesus, but she was waiting on everyone. And this was expected; her role was to provide food, water and comfort to her guests. She didn't say, "there is the kitchen, help yourself. I've been ill for days and I'm still weak." Is that a sign that she was back to normal? If so, why didn't she or anyone else take the time to marvel at the quick recovery?
Were the disciples getting so used to the miracles of healing and forgiveness that they didn't think it was special anymore? How do you get used to that? When does it become an everyday occurrence that someone is sick one minute and then healthy the next? How is it that no one noticed the miracle?
Maybe that is the point, miracles happen everyday and we don't notice. We think that getting the job, or raise, our health, finding the lost keys, doing great at the presentation are OUR doing. We forget that we had help, we forget that we asked for these miracles and then we received them. We think we did it all by ourselves. Aren't we great!?
We fail to remember that we need Jesus in our lives. We fail to remember that He is the source of all light and life. When we forget all these things, we forget to take the time to be thankful. We forget to look for the miracles in our life, thus we don't see them. They become ordinary, boring, forgetful moments. Then we wonder where God is in our lives. We ask why hasn't He blessed us.
In those moments, we may lose hope. We forget that our response to those miracles should be to turn around and serve Jesus. Take a minute to look for God in the ordinary moments of your life. How have you responded to those miracles? What are you doing to serve Jesus?
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| The Sea of Galilee |
Thank you for reminding me to look at my life that way, Jamie. It's so easy too only give ourselves credit for our successes instead of seeing the hand of God in our lives. It gives me great comfort to know that Jesus is walking beside me as I walk through my life.
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