GIVING AND RECEIVING

MARK 1:29-45

GIVING AND RECEIVING

           

“Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever…He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.” Mark 1: 30-31

Yeah, right.  Just what I want to do – jump out of my sick bed and start waiting on my son-in-law and his scraggly, road-crusty crony. 

On the surface this passage appears to be the typical Jewish Mother saga of martyr-ish behavior on the part of Simon’s mother-in-law.  You can just imagine her rushing to the kitchen to fix a big pot of chicken soup then ladling it up into huge bowls declaring “Eat! Eat!” as she laid the table to its groaning point.  And what caring mother would not do the same?  What passionate caregiver does not push past their physical limitations, putting their own discomforts on the back burner to give their all to what they perceive as a greater need?  This woman’s knees were understandably wobbly from being in bed but her heart was full of love and gratitude that overcame her prior ailment.

So who’s the beneficiary here – the giver or the receiver?  I say both.  And both Jesus and Simon’s mother-in-law are givers and receivers.  Jesus gave of his healing and she repaid in kind by being of service.  Both are practicing what is now taught as “the golden rule” – do unto others as you would have done unto you .Ah, this vicious cycle of giving and receiving.      Ain’t it wonderful??

Dear God, grant us the grace to be givers and receivers, and to do it again and again.

~ Lillian Alexander