Sermon -- 5th Sunday after Epiphany (February 4, 2024)

MARK 1:29-39

JESUS CURES ALL THAT IS CORRUPT.

In the name + of Jesus.

     Jesus had gone to Capernaum and preached in their synagogue.  The beginning of St. Mark’s gospel gives us the theme of Jesus’ message: “The kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mark 1:15).  What comes to mind is that Jesus came to pay for the sins of the world.  Of course we would think of that!  John the Baptist had pointed to Jesus and declared, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29)!  But it is more than that.  Jesus does not bring a kingdom just for souls.  Jesus comes to cure everything.  That’s because sin has corrupted everything. 

     When Adam and Eve sinned against God, they brought a curse and corruption on the whole world.  The Lord had told Adam, “Cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field.  By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread” (Genesis 3:17-19).  The curse that God issued was not that Adam would have to work for a living.  Work is not the curse.  But now work is corrupted.  And the world in which we work is corrupted.  Adam was told that the ground would produce thorns and thistles among his crops.  He could expect scrapes and cuts, blood and sweat as he worked the fields.  Besides that, Adam also had to face the endless pulling of weeds so that they would not destroy the crop he toiled so hard for.  This corruption infiltrates our labors, too.  No matter how much you may like your job, there are days you want to quit because of the problems that pile up.  It has all been corrupted.

     The corruption of sin infects our very being.  Mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, we are selfish.  Physically, our bodies get sick and sore.  Our senses fail.  Our bones break.  Our skin breaks out in rashes.  Our organs do not function as they were designed.  And as we get older, it gets worse.  Recovery takes longer, if recovery comes at all.  When our bodies grow frail or when our health suffers, we are not able to be as productive as we want to be.  No matter how much you think to yourself, “I wouldn’t mind having a week just to lie around and watch movies,” go to a nursing home or the ICU and talk to people who are bed-ridden.  They would rather be active and busy.

     Jesus proclaimed, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mark 1:15), and showed us that he had come to cure all that is corrupt.  After preaching in the synagogue on the Sabbath, he went to the home of Simon and Andrew.  “Now Simon's mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her” (Mark 1:31).  This was in the days before penicillin and ibuprofen.  If you got a fever, it could be fatal.  We don’t know what caused this fever, either.  Was it the flu?  Did she have an infection?  That would have been even more terrifying.  Whatever it was, her illness was serious.  The fever corrupted her body, forcing her to be bed-ridden.  The family could only wait and hope that she would get better.

     Jesus cures all that is corrupt.  “He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them” (Mark 1:31).  Jesus’ healing was instantaneous and complete.  As soon as Jesus had made her whole, did you notice what Simon’s mother-in-law did?  She immediately put herself to work.  Work is not the curse.  Work is a blessing.  It fills us with purpose.  It allows us to bless our fellow man.  It provides a sense of accomplishment.  When our bodies are corrupted by sickness or weakness, work becomes a burden.  We must force ourselves to get up and do the bare minimum.  Just ask a stay-at-home mother who has the flu.  She does not get a day off.  Her body will tell her, “Stay on the couch and get the rest you need.”  But her children will be clamoring in her ear, “Mommm, can I have some juice?  Mommm, when will we have lunch?  Mommm, I have go to the bathroooooommm!”  She will drag herself off the couch because she has to do it and because she loves her children, but it will be a chore.  For a body corrupted by illness, any work is a burden.  But Jesus lifted the burden for Simon’s mother-in-law, and she immediately got up to serve them.  She was a good Mom.  She loved her family and their guests.  And since her body was no longer corrupted by a fever, she was eager to be active, productive, and helpful.

     Jesus cures all that is corrupt.  It is not just the curse of sin that is removed in the kingdom of heaven, it is everything that has been corrupted by sin which is cured.  This is what all the miraculous healings of Jesus reveal to us.  There will not be any fevers or bed-ridden patients in the kingdom of heaven.  Eyes will not grow weak.  Ears will not need hearing aids.  People will not need prescriptions or pain medication.  We will not even be annoyed by sniffles or a pesky cough.  Jesus cures all that is corrupt.

     When word got out about Jesus’ healing of Simon’s mother-in-law, the reaction should not surprise us.  “That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons.  And the whole city was gathered together at the door.  And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons” (Mark 1:32-34).  Who could blame them?  Our health care industry is a multi-billion-dollar business.  We pass over large sums of money to keep our bodies healthy or to restore them to health.  Imagine having Jesus available to cure whatever ails you with his healing touch!  The people of Capernaum did not let that opportunity pass them by.  Jesus even released people from the demons that oppressed and possessed them.  Jesus refused to let the devil have people he had come to redeem.  Jesus cures all that is corrupt.

     After a busy night of tending to the diseased and the demonic, Jesus got up early to find some solitude.  He spent time in prayer with his heavenly Father.  The townsfolk had plans for Jesus.  They did not want to lose the blessings of health and well-being.  Jesus, however, had different plans.  He told his disciples, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out” (Mark 1:38).  While Jesus’ miraculous healings give us a glimpse of the perfection in the kingdom of heaven, those healings did not save anyone.  No matter how debilitating or life-threating their diseases were, no matter how great the relief was that Jesus supplied, these miracles were only a temporary fix.  Every one of those people Jesus cured ended up dying.  Jesus had cured ailments, but sin still corrupted their bodies.  The only way to provide a total cure for death is to take away sin rather than symptoms.  This is exactly why Jesus came to us.

     Jesus cures all that is corrupt, and he did it by taking our corruption into himself.  The Bible declares, “(Jesus) himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.  By his wounds you have been healed” (1 Peter 2:24).  Jesus took on a human body so that he could redeem us from the corruption that has infected our human bodies.  Bearing our guilt, Jesus’ body was nailed to the cross.  He bore, body and soul, all that our sins deserve.  By giving his body into death, Jesus willing went where our bodies are destined to go because of our sins.  By rising from the dead, Jesus also has demonstrated the glory that will come to our bodies.

     Jesus cures all that is corrupt.  God the Father loves what he has created.  He did not discard his creation because it was corrupted by sin.  Instead, he sent Jesus to redeem it.  Jesus redeemed it by his death and resurrection.  Jesus took up the full curse of sin.  The curse of sin was consumed, and death remained in the grave.  But Jesus was not abandoned to the grave.  His body did not see corruption.  Jesus rose from the dead renewed.  He conquered death and can never die again.  This same freedom from sin, death, curse and corruption is given to all who believe in Jesus.  Through your baptism, you have been put to death with Jesus and are raised up a new creation. 

     Jesus cures you of corruption.  Your sins do not condemn you any longer.  You have been pardoned of every offense.  You are children of God, although it does not look like it or feel like it right now.  Right now, we still experience this broken world.  We still suffer with broken down bodies that become more feeble and frail as we get older.  Eventually, they wear out.  But just as Jesus did not enter his glory until he rose from the dead, that is how it will be for us, too. 

     When Jesus comes again to judge the living and the dead, he will bring the complete and permanent cure for everything that was corrupted by sin.  Jesus will raise us up from our graves with bodies that will be incorruptible.  As St. Paul wrote, “the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.  For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality” (1 Corinthians 15:52-53).  In other words, we will be forever free from everything that corrupts our bodies.  There will never again be broken bones or torn ligaments.  There will be no Parkinsons, Huntington’s, Lou Gehrig’s, or Alzheimer’s disease.  There will be nothing to mend or medicate, and there will never again be death or decay.  For, the Lord Jesus will transform these lowly, corrupted bodies of ours to be like his own resurrected, glorious body.  And Jesus will bring us to the Paradise of God which will be pristine and perfect, and permanently so.

     And when the heavenly kingdom finally comes in all its fullness, guess what we will do?  St. John described it: “(The saints) are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple” (Revelation 7:15).  Even in heavenly glory, there will be service to do.  There will be great joy in being productive and active in God’s presence.  We will not have to contend with thorns and thistles, with demanding customers, unreasonable expectations, or failed equipment.  Nor will we get tired, sore, frustrated, or bored.  There will be nothing to corrupt our bodies, wreck our service, or ruin our day. 

     Jesus cures all that is corrupt.  Our minds and hearts will be in perfect harmony with God’s will.  Our mouths and hands will be dedicated to the good of others, and the words and actions of others will be continually blessing us.  Our bodies will be strong and robust—“for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31).  And the new heavens and earth will be a holy place for God’s holy people.  Jesus cures all that is corrupt; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.