If you’ve ever seen the “Lord of the Rings” movies, or even better, if you’ve read the books, you know that there is a magical substance known as Lembas bread. This bread was made by elves and it had otherworldly qualities. The bread was very nutritious, stayed fresh for months when wrapped, and was used for sustenance on long journeys. The recipe of lembas bread was a closely guarded secret, and only on rare occasions was it given to non-elves. Like other products of the Elves, it was offensive to creatures corrupted by evil; the wicked Gollum refused outright to eat it. Just a little corner of the bread could sustain someone for days and a loaf could keep someone alive and active for months. Anyone who consumed this bread was amazed at its incredible power and richness because it so far exceeded it’s physical size.
The word of God is very much like that enchanting Lembas bread. Just a little portion can sustain our spiritual life and teach us incredible things about God and ourselves. Take our gospel for example, which is just a little portion of Mark’s whole gospel and an even smaller fraction of the entire bible. St. Mark compresses life-changing events and priceless lessons into just a few sentences. Today, we hear three short paragraphs that summarize what was an incredible amount of preaching, healing, and teaching.
In the first paragraph, Jesus heals the mother-in-law of Peter. Something that might grab our attention is how personal this healing is; Jesus takes her by the hand and helps her up. He does this quietly, in the privacy of the home and not in front of a massive audience to gain fame or praise. Notice how she immediately gets up after Christ restores her, and begins to care for the whole group. Her healing is not just for her own good but also benefits others.
In the second paragraph, we see this gift of Jesus cannot be kept secret. People hear how he can heal and more importantly, they sense he has an immensely compassionate heart. Because it was the sabbath day, the Law would not allow people to carry anything, even a sick or dying person, until nightfall. We can only imagine the impatient excitement of this village, among the healthy and the sick, as they waited for sunset. As soon as the sun goes down, Mark tells us that the people brought to Jesus All who were ill or possessed by demons. And he cured them. Here we see the hunger people have for a savior who can set them free from the physical and spiritual maladies that afflict them. This might make us wonder why we aren’t more excited to come into this church and to receive the same Lord in the Eucharist. The same person who healed and helped all these people!
Finally, in the third paragraph, after what must have been an exhausting day, Jesus gets up early the next morning to pray. Many times, when we get busy, or at least what we think is busy, prayer is the first thing we get rid of. Many times we think of prayer as a luxury, as something that we will get to if we have time. How revealing that Jesus, who is probably the one person who could afford to skip a day of prayer, makes that the first, non-negotiable part of his day. Prayer is where he gets the strength to heal, preach, and teach. Prayer is how he stays connected to the Father. Prayer is where he receives what he needs from God to turn around and then share with the people he is sent to. Prayer is Jesus’ Lembas bread! This third paragraph challenges the mindset we all fall into, even me as a priest. We are never too busy to pray! And if we want to give something worthwhile to the people around us, be they friends, family, co-workers, or anyone else, we need to be nourished, healed, and inspired by daily prayer.
From these paragraphs, we see three principles emerge from Jesus’ example. These patterns must be integrated into our own faith and the way that we live each day. The first characteristic is that Jesus never separated words from actions. He was not just a fancy talker, a smooth salesman that failed to deliver. Jesus taught a message of mercy, love, and holiness and he demonstrated it in the way he treated each person he encountered. He was utterly consistent in this regard and that is why his words had such power: they were reinforced by his actions.
The second principle on display is that Christ did not separate soul and body. He knew that healing what ails a person’s body could also prepare their soul for the gospel and healing their spirit often took away the ailments of their bodies. While he taught that those who are sick, hungry, persecuted, and suffering could find happiness and peace, he did not see these afflictions as something good or desirable in themselves. In other words, what we see in the life of Christ is a concern for the health and well-being of the whole person, both body and soul.
The third principle had to do with heaven and earth; Jesus never separated the two. There are those who are so concerned with heaven that they forget all about earth and become impractical, naive, and out-of-touch with reality. On the other hand, there are those who are so concerned with earth that they forget about heaven and reduce happiness and goodness to material things. The dream of Jesus was a time when God’s will would be done “on earth as it is in heaven” and earth and heaven would be one.
The whole point of our life, the key to our eternal happiness comes from learning to integrate the lessons of today’s gospel and making those principles part of our daily living. Let us try honestly and fervently to make our words consistent with our actions. Let it not be said about us that we are big talkers in our faith with nothing to back it up. May we also care for both body and soul in regards to ourselves and others. Finally, let us never lose sight of the fact that we are meant to be present to this world but our ultimate goal is heaven. Jesus pulls these three ideals together through his example of prayer and service; he shows us how to make them part of our lives. So stop procrastinating, stop making excuses. Receive the Lord, here in the Eucharist and talk to him in daily prayer. He will show you what to do.
