Peter's mother-in-law: more than just a joke

“Then the fever left her and she waited on them…”

--Mark 1: 29-39

How often have I heard a homilist (or jokester after mass) comment with some sense of irony on this brief passage about Peter’s mother-in-law.  Countless times I have heard the wry note that this poor woman must get off her death bed to wait on the men. Isn’t that the way it always is! The poor woman can’t even take a sick day! Heck, the implication goes, Jesus only healed her because the men wanted her to fix them something to eat.

            And yes, there is humor to be had here, especially on Super Bowl Sunday.  Therefore, before I go to far, let me first say: men –get your own darned chips! And make your own queso. And when it’s time for the game to start, ask your wives (and mother-in-laws) if they’d like to come sit down and watch the game with you --while you wait on them. 

And maybe during the half-time break, instead of watching Justin Timberlake undress anyone, maybe you’ll take a break and ponder the day’s readings.  There is much to consider her, definitely much more than a simplistic little joke about gender stereotypes.

Hearing these three readings together (Job, 1 Corinthians & Mark) I was left with a picture of our call to serve.  First there is that reading from Job 7:1-4; 6-7 that reminds us of the misery and emptiness one feels when suffering alone.  Job (perhaps like Peter’s mother-in-law) loses hope in his suffering. He even senses that he “shall not see happiness again.” Struggling with a long and seemingly meaningless illness one can lose hope (by golly, some of us lose hope after a couple of days with a cold or a sore throat! And some of wonder whether we will ever see happiness again when the guacamole runs out before the chips!!! Aargh! The horror—the horror…  Why is this happening to me? Why has the Lord turned against me? And why have the Patriots just called another time out???  Please Lord, don’t let Tom Brady have a wardrobe malfunction?

Then there is the reading from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians (9:16-19; 22-23) in which he proclaims that he makes himself “…a slave to all… becoming all things to all, to save at least some…” and this he does “for the sake of the gospel…” that he too might have some share in it.  What does that tell us? Well, here’s what it says to me: It’s not about you [Herman Sutter]!  It’s not about whether you look good in the eyes of the world or whether you seems successful or even whether you get a fair share of the chips and queso!  It’s about the gospel of the Lord. It’s about spreading that gospel in whatever way and however best you can. And that may look different every time, and with every different person you meet (and serve).  Sometimes you will need to be weak, and sometimes you will even need to be a slave in order to serve the Lord’s gospel. But why? Because, as Jesus says near the end of Sunday’s Gospel reading, “For this reason have a I come…” This is the reason we are here. This is our mission. Our vocation. Our call from the Lord: to preach the gospel.

  And when the Lord touches us, when He takes our hand, we no longer want to lie in bed, we no longer want to bemoan our sufferings, when we feel His touch, our soul responds; and I think that is what Peter’s mother-in-law is an icon of. Wen Jesus touches her, she immediately gets up and serves. Like Paul, she becomes a servant for the Lord, that she too may have a part in His gospel, and in the spreading of His love.

So, when you hear someone make a joke out of this verse from Mark’s gospel, perhaps you will remember –it’s a lot more than that.