Raise me up Lord

I must confess that I have a particular fondness for the Isaiah passage: “have you not known, have you not heard, has it not been told you from the beginning.” I used it to emphasize students in a cell biology course of the importance of making connections between topics. Have you not known that the membrane is made of lipid and protein? Has it not been told you from the beginning of your major in biology that…. Etc. At the end of a semester a student came to my office with two questions. The first was about her senior honors thesis which we agreed on after a discussion about the tedious experiments she wanted to do and the likelihood of not getting a lot of productive information. What did I know, today she is head of the pathology department at University of Vermont Medical School? The second question was: “that line you use so much, have you not known, etc., is that from scripture?”  Yes, I confessed from Isaiah. She smiled and said, I am Roman Catholic, and we don’t read the bible much. I said, I am Episcopalian and we read four selections every Sunday. Surprised, she agreed they did too.

Once aware that Simon’s mother in law is ill, Jesus took her by the hand and lifted her up…and she began to serve them. We know Jesus can heal. Last Sunday we read the preceding verses telling us that Jesus healed a man at Capernaum on the Sabbath, in the synagogue.  That man had an unclean spirit and recognized the authority of Jesus, crying out, what have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, you are the Holy One of God.”  Simon’s mother in law is not said to have a demon, only to be ill with a fever. They are not in the public eye of the synagogue but in a private home, among friends. In public and in private: he is still the Holy One of God.

In the synagogue the man is healed by the spoken word, in the home it is by a touch, reaching out to take her hand. Love takes different shapes at different times. Love sometimes requires a scream: get out of the street to one of our children chasing a ball. OR a gentle whisper, I am here, to one facing a very serious treatment.

Is it significant that Mark does not mention how others reacted to the healing in the synagogue while at the home the whole city came out to be healed? How do we deal with “demons”?

Last week a young couple walked into my office. I had never seen them before. They were visibly shaken, filled with fear, wearing rosaries around their necks. They told me that they experienced dark shadows following them, and during sleep, she would feel someone touching her and wake with bruises. He said that this was such a disturbing experience that he was afraid he would hurt his wife while he tried to fight off the demons. We talked about prayer, the power of love to overcome darkness, that Christ wants us to be well and will always respond to our prayers. They continued to say they prayed all the time and things did not improve. After a couple of repetitions of this conversation about the love of God and the effect of prayer, I said, well, if this is not working, you might consider seeing a doctor. The young man leaped to his feet, took the hand of his wife and walked out of the office and building and got in their car and left. His only response was NO MEDICINE.  I felt badly that I had frightened them by mentioning a medical approach to the problem. 

I don’t think of demons as personified beings but I do believe there are forces that work against the good…in myriad forms. There is force of doubt, shame, fear, denial…all of which have the potential to make us sick, withdrawn, unwilling to take the risk of being who we are. They distract our attention, they interrupt our work, they raise questions that cause us to doubt ourselves and our intentions. 

In Feb 4 issue of Christian Century, the writer reflects on this text of Mark and concludes thusly: “It is interesting that Jesus doesn’t allow the demons to speak. It can be hard to tell the difference between an angel whispering the truth to us and a demon twisting the truth to confuse and limit us. Sometimes it’s best not to listen to them. But it is always helpful to look into the shadows of our souls and try to identify them accurately.”

When are we sick organically and when are we sick spiritually or mentally? How do we know? To whom do we go? I submit to you that wherever we go, whether to a therapist, physician, or priest God is present.  I think it is a mistake to trust too much in science to diagnose and treat our various maladies, or to explain all the unpleasant things that happen to our bodies and minds. In some ways there was a clear advantage to being healed by the touch of Jesus in a day when the other options were less attractive.

How significant is it that Simon’s mother in law ( I wish I knew her name) recovered and got up and served them?

What is our response to healing?

Healing of memories is a slower process than most physical ailments we experience. Healing can be a process that takes time, patience, encouragement, courage, and a friend. As Jesus reached out to take the hand of Simon’s mother in law and lift her up, so God through therapists, physicians, nurses, family members, and friends takes our hand and helps us forward. It is not an easy journey but it is a holy one.

None of us got where we are alone. We all had help of one kind or another. We had the advantage of friends or family or physicians or therapists, companions that walked with us form the darker corners to the lighter places, those who laid roadmaps along the way, those who cheered us on in some decision and encouraged us on the chosen path. There were those who remained silent when they were dubious of our choices, and those who silently held us through the healing tears of repentant reconciliation.

Blessed are the spiritual companions that walk with us to wholeness. They lift us up as on eagle’s wings.