Feb 7, 2021

306 Jesus Heals Simon’s Mother, A Guided Christian Meditation on Mark 1:29-33 with the Recenter With Christ app

I'm Chaplain Jared and I work as a hospice chaplain and an ICU chaplain, my purpose in making this podcast is to help you find more peace in your life and to be more open for your heart to be changed by the Spirit of God. By using centuries old form of Christian Meditation named Lectio Divina:

Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization.

Get into a place where you can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should hopefully not be driving or anything tensing or unrelaxing. If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes.

Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation:

Breathe and direct your thoughts to contacting God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate, deflate.

Bible verses for Meditation:

Mark 1:29-33
NIV
29 As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. 30 Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they immediately told Jesus about her. 31 So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them.
32 That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. 33 The whole town gathered at the door,

ESV
29 And immediately he left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30 Now Simon's mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. 31 And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them. 32 That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons. 33 And the whole city was gathered together at the door.

Meditation on Scripture:

Many times when we think of Jesus healing large groups of people. Yet he also healed people close to Him. This scripture makes me so curious about how people received this healing. Were they surprised? Did Simon Peter already believe in Jesus when he did this or was this something that convinced Him of Jesus’ power and divinity?

This was a time without antibiotics. It was a time were medicine in general had little to offer that would help to combat sickness. This makes Jesus’ healing even more appreciated. The only thing that they had to rely on was Jesus. Perhaps because of this many believed as a result of His miracles. Those close to Him and those know never met Jesus before the miracles.

I want to highlight these two ideas that make it more challenging for us to understand Jesus. We don’t get to see Him work his miracles. We don’t get to see him cry over Lazarus’ death. We dont feel the electricity in the air when the people shared the stories of his miracles. Similarly we dont understand the type of dependance that these people would have felt. If we get sick we have other reliable resources to help in many cases, even critical ones. As a result many people envy those who got to walk with Jesus.

On the flip side, we have access to the whole story. We can read the story from beginning to end, told by direct witnesses who are able to tell their story in a way that fills in a lot of details that many people in the Time of Jesus would not have known about. What a blessing it is to have these stories of how Jesus cared for those people he knew and also those he didnt.

Meditation of Prayer:

Pray as directed by the Spirit.

Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready ask God for understanding you desire from Him.

Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm:

I invite you to sit in silence feeling being patient for your own faults and trials.

Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and meditate and visualize positive change in your life:
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