Wednesday 4 December 2024 The Revd Jenny Mills,

After leaving the synagogue he entered Simon’s house. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked him about her. Then he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. Immediately she got up and began to serve them. As the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various kinds of diseases brought them to him; and he laid his hands on each of them and cured them.  Demons also came out of many, shouting, ‘You are the Son of God!’ But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Messiah.

Reflection

Two of my favourite films when my children were little were Shark Tale and Bee Movie. One tells of a shark hiding his real identity just to fit in and the other a bee who makes a connection to the human world and saves the bees. Both are stories that can be taken at a variety of different levels. Both have real challenges to us in society as well as entertainment.  

When I first read this story, I felt my feminist sensibilities bristle as Jesus heals a woman who then got up and fed everyone! Why did those around her let it happen? I read again, and also read the rest of the chapter, and the context is Jesus busy healing, teaching, getting a radical reputation; she was part of the story about his actions in healing and restoring her to her rightful place. His actions brought wellbeing and new hope. Reading again I see the significance of his coming from the synagogue (as a faithful Jew), and him showing that his love and healing extends to all – from those he had never met, to those alongside whom he journeyed. This text, like the films, is full of so much. 

So often we can encounter a text and make a swift decision about what it means or use it, read at a surface level, to criticize, condemn, justify or persuade. The joy of the biblical texts is their depth, complexity, structure and purpose, we have something to learn from them all. Each text speaks at a variety of levels. 

Approaching texts with our ears, eyes and hearts open, taking time to listen, reflect and respond allows for greater learning and better understanding. Context and meaning enriches our reading – not ‘did it happen like this’ but ‘what does it mean’ – leads us to exciting and interesting places and allows us to develop a deeper appreciation of texts, stories, ourselves and God. 

Prayer

Loving God,
as we approach the texts and stories of the Bible, 
help us to appreciate all that is in them and how it can speak to us. 
Help us to look beyond the obvious and allow our preconceptions to be challenged and our prejudices to be confronted.
Then, as we open ourselves to your Word, may we sit with, be immersed in, and changed by, the words we encounter. And then go on, inspired to live and love in your name.
Amen.