The Great Physician

The Great Physician
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Mark 1:29-39
Prop: Adhesive Bandage (optional)

Good morning, everyone!  How are you all feeling today?  Are you feeling healthy and well?  If you have ever been sick, raise your hand.  Maybe you had a cold, or an ear infection, or maybe you fell down and scraped your knee.  If you scraped your knee, someone probably washed it off for you, put some cream on it then covered it with a bandage, like this one (show bandage).

Sometimes when people don't feel well, the problem can be solved at home--maybe with a bandage or extra sleep and chicken soup.  Other times we feel sick enough to need a doctor's help to get better, so we go visit the doctor's office, or maybe even the hospital.  We are blessed to have people and medicines to care for us when we are sick.

One of the first places Jesus visited when he started his work teaching and preaching was a town named Capernaum.  While he was there, he and his brand, new disciples stopped by Simon and Andrew's house.  (Simon and Andrew were two of Jesus' disciples, and they were brothers.)  When Jesus and his friends entered the house, they were told that Simon's mother-in-law didn't feel well.  She had a fever and was so sick, she had gone to bed.  Jesus went in to see the sick woman.  He held her hand, and helped her to sit up.  All at once, her fever was gone.  She felt much better!  In fact, she felt so well that she got up and fixed Jesus and the disciples something to eat.

Word soon spread through the town that Jesus could heal people.  He had healed Simon's mother-in-law!  "It's a miracle!" people said.  By the time the sun went down that same day, the townspeople brought everyone who was sick to Jesus so that he could heal them, too.  Jesus cured people of all different kinds of diseases.

People knew that Jesus was no ordinary person.  He was someone special, sent by God to lead the people.  One reason they knew this was because of the work he did healing the sick.

Today the Church continues Jesus' important work of healing the sick by providing medical care to people in places where there would otherwise be none.  It is important for people to know that God cares for them and wants them to be well.

Let's Pray:

Kind and Caring God, we thank-you for sending Jesus into the world to show us that you care about us in every way.  Help us to care for each other and for those who need extra help to be healthy.  In Jesus' name, Amen.