[Propertalk] 5 Epiphany b 2018 - part 1 b

[Robert P Morrison]

Here's the "second" part of the "first" part - which Propertalk turned
down. I think the whole sermon can be pieced together now!

	Bob

	 She could have lain around, moaning a bit, or limping, or flexing
her limbs to see if they were getting their strength bac. She could
have played her former sickness for sympathy. Or she could have …
but she didn’t. She simply did what she could with the abilities and
circumstances that had been restored to her. No fuss. No slacking off.
As far as we can tell, no one said to her, “Are you sure you feel up
to it?” And that’s the gift of Jesus – bringing people to the
place where they can recognize and apply all the skills with which
they’ve been blessed; that and offering them a renewed appreciation
for and outlook on life. Maybe life in Simon’s home was restructured
from that point on? Did his mother-in-law follow in Jesus’ crowd of
friends as did so many others who were healed? Again, we don’t know.
But she WAS renewed. 

	 Did everyone recognize this at the time? You can bet that the answer
is “No!” There must have been all sorts of reasons why hordes of
people converged on Jesus that evening. Some may have been tired of
being unable to do what they’d been longing to do. Some may have
regretted not being enthused about their work, but were they fed up
also that they were unable to do whatever it took to put food on the
table and fresh straw on the floor. Some may have felt that they were
at a peculiar point in their lives and couldn’t see the way forward.
They must have hoped for some sort of enlightenment that would bring
relief to their troubled lives. 

	 There are always as many reasons for people coming to see Jesus as
there are people – and then some! It’s the same today as it’s
always been. People come here, and to worship spaces all over town, or
the State, or the world; people come perhaps because they’re not
sure what they’re doing there, but feel drawn to find some sort of
enrichment for their lives. Or, like Simon’s mother-in-law,, someone
else may Jesus to us and to others, perhaps without our even asking
for His Presence. 

	
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