New Sermon

Just wanted to share a sermon that I gave at liturgy today, Sun. 2/5/12:

Later today I imagine that many of us just might tune in to catch a certain sporting event that I hear is going to be taking place…Personally, not my absolute favorite event to watch but I may just catch a little of it… ☺

Though today is Super Bowl Sunday, I’d like to reflect a little on a theme that comes from that other major television event in February—the Oscars! Each year around this time I look forward to the announcement of who the nominees will be, and this year was no exception. As a film buff I enjoy catching as many of the great performances as I can in the lead-up to the big night. However, this year there were a few performances I hadn’t been aware of and was curious to try and see before the winners are announced.

One of these nominees is the Mexican actor, Demián Bichir, for the film A Better Life or Una mejor vida. I hadn’t heard much about the film and was pleased to have a chance to watch it recently. Telling the powerful and moving story of an immigrant father and his efforts to care for and guide his teenage son, A Better Life makes a compelling emotional impact that’s not soon forgotten.

Without giving too much away, I’ll just say that what struck me about the film was the way in which each of the main characters—the father and the son—learn important lessons about the meaning of love, family, life, and sacrifice. In essence, each learns that it’s both what we’re able to give with selfless love and what we’re able to receive with tender open-heartedness that brings depth, meaning, and authentic happiness to our lives. It’s both the gifts that we offer and those that we receive that make us whole.

I recommend seeing the film whenever you have a chance as a way to reflect more on this theme, but the Gospel we’ve read together today also offers a beautiful reflection of this same truth. As Mark relates the story, we hear that Jesus has worked a number of healings and that one of them included the mother-in-law of his disciple Peter. We don’t know much else about this woman, except that she had been ailing for some time and unable to fulfill the tasks she wished to perform in the community.

And here exactly is where the healing happens. Jesus places her hand in his, lifts her up, and sends her back into her family and the community—to serve in the way she felt called to do. As Mark puts it, “the fever left her and she began to serve…” Now, the message here is not that Jesus helped the woman so that she could simply wait on the guests and fulfill her domestic chores within a patriarchal culture.

The point is not that the woman felt compelled or pressured to do some particular task, but that she herself began to serve…in a way that was meaningful for her…in a manner that made best use of her unique gifts and the particular circumstances of the moment. From a position of likely social isolation or even despair, this woman found hope again in sharing sincere love and care with others.

Like this woman from our gospel or like the father in the film A Better Life, Jesus’ message of good news today is a similar one for all of us. At times we may find ourselves in the position of the woman in the gospel, experiencing healing and transformation in being able to share our gifts and talents for the good of others. And at other times we likely find ourselves as the guests may well have felt that night in the gospel story, feeling humbled and honored to receive loving kindness and attention from someone who was able to help them in a particular way.

Whatever our position, whether we are serving others and giving of ourselves or welcoming the help that others can give to us, the message is the same—as we learn how both to give and to receive love it’s then that we grow in our relationship to the God who, in Jesus, showed us what it means to live as a family, as a community of God’s beloved children.

This week, then, in the spirit of this theme of love both given and received, I invite all of us to pray about our own gifts and needs. What are the gifts or talents or abilities that God has given me? How can I share them with others? What are some of the needs that I have? What are some ways that I can help others, perhaps, by letting them help me?

Whatever position we find ourselves, whether sharing love or graciously accepting it—and often it’s both, at the same time—the most important thing to remember is that it’s God’s love that’s inspiring it all. Like the woman in the gospel, as we arise to take our place, we realize that it was both Jesus who lifted us up and Jesus the honored guest whom we serve.