Show thanks through service to others

February 5, 2006 -- Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

By Fr. Michael Stubbs

	Fr. Mike Stubbs

When a person is released from the hospital, we ordinarily expect that person to take it easy for a while, to recuperate, before returning to the usual daily routine. Otherwise, they may suffer a relapse. But that is not what we see happening in Sunday's gospel reading, Mark 1:29-39.

After Jesus heals the mother-in-law of Simon Peter, the text says that "she waited on them." We can interpret her action in several ways.

First of all, we might suppose that the gospel mentions the mother-in-law's waiting on Jesus and the disciples as a sign of her full recovery. She is now strong enough to return to work. In that regard, it would resemble Jesus' command after an even more dramatic miracle that the little girl he has just raised from the dead be given food to eat. "He gave strict orders that no one should know this and said that she should be given something to eat." (Mark 5:43) A dead person can't eat. It's proof of the miracle.

Another possibility would suggest that the mother-in-law's waiting on them serves as a simple gesture of gratitude towards Jesus. It is very likely that she felt grateful to Jesus, but that does not preclude us from finding an even deeper meaning in her action, the reason why the gospel mentions it.

Perhaps we can see in the mother-in-law's actions a model for us all to follow. Her story tells us that service of others is the proper way we respond to what Jesus has done for us. It is how we show him thanks. Through our contact with Jesus, he restores us to wholeness, just as he restored Peter's mother-in-law to health. We then are equipped and obligated to serve others as he has served us. In fact, the Greek verb used in this passage is often used in the New Testament in connection with Christian ministry. The word "deacon" derives from it.

The mother-in-law's example of service points to Jesus' later teachings on the subject. "If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all." (Mark 9:35) "Whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant. and whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Mark 10:43-45)

It is significant that Jesus ties service of others to his death on the cross. Whenever we serve others, it often requires a sacrifice on our part.

Similarly, when Jesus cures the sick, there is a hint of the resurrection.

Frequently, as in the case of Peter's mother-in-law, Jesus grasps the sick person by the hand and lifts him or her out of the sickbed. Jesus' action anticipates our resurrection on the Last Day, the ultimate healing, when Jesus will restore us to physical and spiritual wholeness. He will lift us up out of our graves, to glory. And then we will thank him forever in heaven.

(Fr. Stubbs, a priest of the Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas, has a master's degree in theology from Harvard.)