“Rooted in Discernment: Moving Forward” by The Rev. Stephanie Kendell

I hope this week you are keeping healthy and warm. As I write this, it has just started snowing and a light layer of fresh snow covers the ground. It’s beautiful. And in a few minutes a footprint, a bird wing, or a stroller track will make its mark reminding us all that we reset each day multiple times, but the Spirit keeps moving forward. I hope you have found ways to continue moving forward this week be it with a dream, a breath, or just one foot in front of the other. Whatever it is that got you here to today, we give thanks. And we hope that the momentum of the spirit continues to carry you and that we will see you Sunday in worship at 11am online.

This week our text comes from Mark and it’s a story that is found in three of our four gospels. And while they each vary slightly in action, one thing that remains is that Jesus heals. In these past few years healing is something that I pray for often. How about you? But healing comes in many forms and one’s healing often affects more than just the one who is sick. Today’s scripture talks about the unknown and unseen mother of Simon’s wife who Jesus heals. But as you read this scripture I invite you to wonder about the other people who are in this family and community and what this healing means to them?

29 Immediately after [Jesus and the disciples] left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30 Now the mother of Simon’s wife was in bed with a fever, and immediately they told Jesus about her. 31 Jesus came and lifted her up, taking her by the hand. Then the fever left her, and she ministered to them.

Mark 1:29-31 (Year W)

Have you ever had to take care of someone who is ill? How did it affect your body and your emotional state? How do you think that the healing of Simon’s mother-in-love affected those who were there to witness it? Our scripture says that when she got up, she ministered to the Disciples. Do you think she had to say anything?

In this season of the pandemic, I want to be sure that we don’t confuse our faith in the healing power of Jesus with the faithful and good ministry of our healthcare workers, the vaccines, and other lifesaving and life-giving work of medicine. But it also doesn’t have to be an either/or situation. We can keep each other safe by getting vaccinated, wearing our masks, and social distancing, while also trusting that Jesus is at work in our mind, body, and spirits helping us to not only heal in full, but to bring new sources of life and eventually to live again. Our faith in Jesus teaches us that in every moment there is a chance to reset like freshly fallen snow and move forward in this life and the next. And like Simon’s healed mother-in-love, what a gift it is to share that ministry of new life with those in our midst.

Shalom Y’all
Rev. Stephanie