Worst of all he is addicted to Vicadin, a narcotic he uses to ease the pain in his leg, injured in an accident. He’s been in prison, in rehab and in therapy, but he’s still addicted to Vicadin.

I do not like Dr. Gregory House very much, and certainly I know that I don’t have to watch the show. Yet, I think I have begun to detect some subtle character development here. Perhaps House has begun to change. Dr. Cutty was replaced by a tall African-American who used to work on House’s team and now there are more situations where House has had to yield to what is right and proper. Sometimes in a final scene, you see understanding and sympathy in his eyes, a bit of gentleness in his voice and less arrogance in his demeanor. House is beginning to pay attention to others, to something other than himself.

Perhaps there is some spiritual development going on here. Perhaps the healer is being healed, gradually being made into a more compassionate human being. And perhaps this is the real story. 

TV hospital shows like “House” are almost always successful. The dramatic excitement and intensity grab your attention first. But actually, those nearly unbelievable situations soon lose their attraction; they’re just too farfetched, too unreal, too extreme. But what just might keep my attention is the spiritual direction I have begun to detect in the under story, a story that is rich with meaning and possibility and hope, the story of a kind of journey that any one of us can take, even if we’re not so self-important as Dr. House.

 

Our scripture reading from the Gospel of Mark points in the same direction.

What draws attention first, in this passage and in others in the synoptic gospels, is the dramatic healing of Simon’s mother-in-law. Jesus came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her... And the drama continues: that evening, at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed...the whole city was gathered around the door. And he cured many...

The drama is heightened by Mark’s sense of urgency from the very beginning of Jesus ministry in Galilee.  Immediately Simon and Andrew, the first disciples called, left their nets and followed him.  Immediately he called to James and his brother John and they followed. Last week’s reading: Jesus calls out the unclean spirit and the witnesses are amazed and astounded. At once, his fame began to spread... And today: As soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew...and they told [Jesus] about [Simon’s mother-in-law] at once.

Mark’s gospel is like that throughout – punchy and direct and urgent. Shorter than the others, Mark gets right to the point. There is no birth narrative as in Luke and Matthew, no long sermons, no sinuous, mysterious, intriguing monologues as in John. In Mark, mostly what you find is action and direct declarative statements with little embellishment. In fact, the gospel according to Mark is often acted on stage as a play, sometimes by just one person.

 

But deep within, of course, is the real story. The story of Jesus’ own journey to the cross. The story of God’s active presence in human life. The story of God’s compassion and love and healing and salvation for all humankind.

Here is where I see that truth in today’s reading – Verse 35. In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed.

At the beginning of what will be another day full of drama, Jesus enters the darkness alone. He enters deep into himself and renews himself with prayer to God, his Father. He remembers the meaning of his being, proclaiming the message of repentance, forgiveness and salvation – for that is what he came out to do. 

What does Jesus pray for do you suppose? Energy? Stamina? Strength for the journey he has undertaken? Does he pray for the people, that they will pay attention and understand his message so that they, too, may be lifted up as was Simon’s mother-in-law?

For ultimately, the story of meaning and hope is not only what gets our attention in the first place, but what keeps our attention in the long run. God is with us for that long haul: the prophet Isaiah reminds us that those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength...they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

 

Last week, a woman (let’s call her Jane) came to me to talk about a worrisome family situation. She has been helping out her sister’s adult daughter, who needs both financial and emotional support. The girl lives very far away from any family and so is feeling quite alone in the world. Adding to the stress, she recently gave birth to a son, but she is not married to the baby’s father.

Jane wanted to make things better in some big way, to embrace her niece with the family’s love and full support. So, she invited everyone for Thanksgiving at her house. She went to great effort and expense to make a wonderful weekend. It would be a turn-around time for her niece, a high time of healing and joy and true thanksgiving.

But that is not what happened. The girl was in much worse shape than Jane had realized, quite depressed and barely capable of caring for the baby. She even had a meltdown. Everybody said thank you for a good time, but Jane felt like a failure.

She was not a failure. For when her niece does get better, she will not forget what Jane was trying to do at Thanksgiving and what she had been doing all those months before – and that is, sustaining her with love and giving her hope. That is the under story. The story of meaning and hope and promise is not only what gets our attention – the extravagant Thanksgiving - but what keeps our attention in the long run. And those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength...they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

 

In the morning, while it was still very dark, Jesus got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. In the drama that is your life – and in those times when there doesn’t seem to be enough drama, when each day seems to just drag on by – may you keep your attention on the under story – what Jesus came to do – the story of God’s love, forgiveness and salvation, the story of meaning and hope and promise, the story of a journey anyone of us can take.

 

 

Peapack Reformed Church

Gladstone, NJ