Sickness from a medical point of view is a condition to be remedied.
From the perspective of human living, it has another dimension: it cuts us off from our normal living and contacts with people – it isolates us at home or in hospital. When recovering we are tempted to resume normal activities even before fully recovered. The social implications of sickness are significant. This is why we go to visit the sick, even though often we can do little to remedy the cause of the sickness. (Except, perhaps, falling into the temptation of recommending our own pet remedies or courses of action!). Job was not just smitten by terrible illness; he becomes isolated. In the time of Jesus, this isolation from community was also a significant factor. In particular cases people were “untouchable” lest we become unclean; or even had to warn people of their approach as unclean. Jesus enabled the sick person to resume place in community.
Simon’s mother-in-law had a fever. At the time, without our modern medicines, this could be terrifying, especially when the sick person became delirious, acting and speaking irrationally. The only way people had to speak of it was as if a strange (demonic) personality had taken over. In Luke’s version of the story of Simon’s mother-in-law, he says that Jesus “rebuked” the fever, as if speaking to an entity which could understand speech (Luke 4:38-39).
It is significant that Jesus restores her to her place in the community. Some are critical of this: back to her function as the servant of everyone! Mary McGlone (NCR online) points out that the verb Mark uses for “serving” is “diakoneo”. She says “That word hints that Mark may have used this story to introduce us to the first Christian deacon.” Mark uses this verb again referring to himself 10:45: “The son of man came not be served but to serve.” And again for the women who stood by the cross (15:41): they had “followed him when he was in Galilee and ministered to him.”
This transforms Job’s experience of life as “pressed service” to being the way to be a follower of Jesus, to being an incarnation of God’s love in the world. Paul too sees his service in similar light.
Sickness from a medical point of view is a condition to be remedied.
From the perspective of human living, it has another dimension: it cuts us off from our normal living and contacts with people – it isolates us at home or in hospital. When recovering we are tempted to resume normal activities even before fully recovered. The social implications of sickness are significant. This is why we go to visit the sick, even though often we can do little to remedy the cause of the sickness. (Except, perhaps, falling into the temptation of recommending our own pet remedies or courses of action!). Job was not just smitten by terrible illness; he becomes isolated. In the time of Jesus, this isolation from community was also a significant factor. In particular cases people were “untouchable” lest we become unclean; or even had to warn people of their approach as unclean. Jesus enabled the sick person to resume place in community.
Simon’s mother-in-law had a fever. At the time, without our modern medicines, this could be terrifying, especially when the sick person became delirious, acting and speaking irrationally. The only way people had to speak of it was as if a strange (demonic) personality had taken over. In Luke’s version of the story of Simon’s mother-in-law, he says that Jesus “rebuked” the fever, as if speaking to an entity which could understand speech (Luke 4:38-39).
It is significant that Jesus restores her to her place in the community. Some are critical of this: back to her function as the servant of everyone! Mary McGlone (NCR online) points out that the verb Mark uses for “serving” is “diakoneo”. She says “That word hints that Mark may have used this story to introduce us to the first Christian deacon.” Mark uses this verb again referring to himself 10:45: “The son of man came not be served but to serve.” And again for the women who stood by the cross (15:41): they had “followed him when he was in Galilee and ministered to him.”
This transforms Job’s experience of life as “pressed service” to being the way to be a follower of Jesus, to being an incarnation of God’s love in the world. Paul too sees his service in similar light.