Now Simon’s mother-in-law was lying ill with a fever, and they at once told Jesus about her.
mom’s diner carries comfort
deep nutrition good for DNA
filling even crumb cake
with protective antibodies
for all by herself
so certain we are
no matter what the day or night
a table will be set
success will be relived
failure faded
when the door is not flung wide
we enter on tiptoe
to find a pale ghost
flushed with fever
not rising to this occasion
All is not right
the best of all lost
in confused silence
our wilderness wail
is all the louder
help disaster SOS
no-o-o-o
you’ll be alright
I’ll be alright
ho help now
we run to tattle
I’ve been wounded
in their woundedness
don’t just do something
but something sweller than swell
we leave it with leaving it
not wanting well again
to be so far far off
wilderness stalked us from the inside
and we are achingly dry
A wild-invaded synagogue has been dealt with. We look around and find that the released demon has found a new home in Peter’s mother-in-law.
As the eldest female, this all-too-typically unnamed woman, would typically be the chief welcomer, the official hostess, and she is not available. The party can’t continue without her.
Just how immediately Jesus was told about this convulsive illness depends on your understanding of narrative as well as the literal meaning of words. It may have taken a bit to overcome the excitement of the exorcism of an unnamed man before attention could be given to an unnamed woman.
Care needs to be taken that Jesus not be lifted up as the Sunday School-expected answer to every situation. What was the chain of command to pass on this word?