Twelve Hangry Men

This is a Gospel reflection for tomorrow, August 31, 2016. 

Gospel LK 4:38-44

After Jesus left the synagogue, he entered the house of Simon.
Simon’s mother-in-law was afflicted with a severe fever,
and they interceded with him about her.
He stood over her, rebuked the fever, and it left her.
She got up immediately and waited on them.

At sunset, all who had people sick with various diseases
brought them to him.
He laid his hands on each of them and cured them.
And demons also came out from many, shouting, “You are the Son of God.”
But he rebuked them and did not allow them to speak
because they knew that he was the Christ.

At daybreak, Jesus left and went to a deserted place.
The crowds went looking for him, and when they came to him,
they tried to prevent him from leaving them.
But he said to them, “To the other towns also
I must proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God,
because for this purpose I have been sent.”
And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.


I love it when we get a glimpse into the personal lives of famous people don’t you? Have you ever seen a celebrity at Disneyland with their kids just being a mom or dad? My friend just told me yesterday that she enjoys seeing Philip Rivers in mass with his wife and all seven of his children. I love True Hollywood Stories because we get to hear details about celebrity’s regular ordinary lives from their closest friends and family. Each of these scenarios make a bigger than life person seem more down to earth and real.

Today’s gospel has an element of that in it when we learn that Jesus and his friends went over to Peter’s house after synagogue. Every Sunday evening my friends and I go out to eat at one of three places: Tiger! Tiger!, for our favorite beer and French fries, Saigon Star for our favorite Vietnamese comfort food Pho, or RK Sushi because everyone knows that sushi cravings are by far the most irresistible. And I know that lots of people either do brunch or donuts after church on Sundays. Jesus and his peeps seem to have a similar tradition and in this case they went to Peter’s house. Now it is safe to assume that they were significantly hungry because, A. They were guys, and B. Jews fasted for the Sabbath from sundown the night before. Imagine the disappointment when they got to Peter’s house and their cook (Peter’s mother-in-law) was sick in bed!! Twelve Hangry Men = recipe for misery!!!

Perhaps they had a flashback to the wedding feast at Cana when they ran out of wine and Jesus stepped up to the plate and saved the party. Perhaps they remembered when Jesus fed 5,000+ people until they were full. Perhaps they weren’t thinking at all and were being whiny little babies because they were hungry. Whatever it is that motivated them, the story says, “they interceded with him about her.” What a lovely little detail about the intercession of saints! We can also intercede with Jesus on behalf of others. Yay! The next thing Jesus did was, “rebuked the fever, and it left her.” I can’t help but to think that Jesus had some fun in situations like this. How did he rebuke the fever? What words did he say? Did he wag his finger at it like a Jewish grandmother? Did he say, “talk to the hand, fever, peace out”? I don’t know why my mind thinks like this, but it’s fun to imagine the fever-rebuking scene.

After the fever left her it says, “She got up immediately and waited on them.” Wow. Really? She had been sick with probably malaria and she didn’t even wait a minute before feeding her precious baby boys?? But Jesus knew that her own personal dignity was fulfilled in her vocation of serving her daughter’s family which meant Peter and all his friends too. He not only restored her physical health but he restored her purpose in life. How many times do we feel insignificant and like we don’t matter? Jesus wants to heal our feelings of unworthiness by allowing us to use our gifts in service to others. Only when we give ourselves away, can we start to understand our own worth. Peter’s mother-in-law found her worth in cooking food for them and that’s why she got up immediately to serve them. I hope my vocation and my purpose will get me up and out of my funk (fever) immediately, with out delay so that I might serve others and in that service, I will find my self worth. Easier said than done, but perhaps our friends and family will intercede for us and Jesus will rebuke the hell out of our said funk. 

When family dinner was finished, at sunset, it says, “ALL who had people sick with various diseases brought them to him.” I wonder how many people we are talking about here? But he laid hands on EACH one and healed them. Imagine if Peter’s mother-in-law had not been able to feed them, then ALL might not have been healed. Our gifts and talents ripple out into the world in ways we may never even know about, but this story helps us to see that if we look at it deeply. 

The next interesting detail is when Jesus drives out demons and they start shouting, “You are the Son of God.” Jesus silenced them because let’s face it; the last thing he needed was demons proclaiming him as the Messiah. That’s just one big P.R. nightmare and he needed it to stop. 

It seems that Jesus spent all night healing because at daybreak, he needed to go somewhere alone to pray. Even the Author of Salvation needed his own prayer time. Don’t skip over this extremely important insight. We need solitude, we need prayer, and we need to get away. Jesus shows us that here. 

Of course people wanted to keep him around so they tried to stop him from moving on, but he had to keep moving, to keep preaching the good news to others! How often do we get stuck in complacency? How often do we make ourselves comfortable right where we are? Raise your hand if you absolutely love change??

Catholic Faith 9 Students (Gold 6 & 5, & Block 7), please post your overall response to this reflection on the discussion board in Schoology due by the end of class today.   

JOURNAL ABOUT THESE QUESTIONS SEPARATELY IN YOUR NOTEBOOK/JOURNAL (these do not need to be turned in, but are for you own personal growth)...
Today’s gospel has so much for us to reflect on. What calls you out of yourself immediately and motivates you to share your gifts with others? How is your prayer life right now? Do you have any friends or family that you can intercede for in prayer? Are you stuck in complacency? Do you need to move out of that place and onto another in order to spread the good news? Where will you and your family go after church this Sunday to share a meal and quality time together? What “fever” do you need rebuked out of you?