On the Back Porch
The 5th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year B
What We Celebrate
Our gospel is from the earliest part of the Gospel of Mark. He has called disciples to follow him, taught with authority in the Capernaum synagogue, with power has cast out demons, and left people amazed and astonished. Then the scene shifts to a neighboring house, the home of Simon Peter, where he heals Peter’s mother-in-law. Although these two accounts are separated into two Sunday gospels, are they connected? Restoring a man in a holy place from a supernatural spirit. Restoring a woman in an ordinary place from a natural disease. Word spreads. Are people coming because the Kingdom of God in breaking into our history or do they just want another miracle?
There is a lot more to this gospel. Sit with it for a moment on the back porch.
Full Text of the Sunday Readings
Detailed Commentary on the Gospel
Image credit: Monastery Decani, South Wall, Christ’s Miracles (59) – Christ heals Peter’s Mother in Law | PD-US
The Chosen
Hopefully you have heard of the video series, The Chosen, which is viewable online via a number of streaming services. The series is not a rote presentation of scenes from the Gospel. In the case of the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law the story is told in three verses. The Chosen is a dramatic telling of the gospel story in which core scenes are developed with other messages about the faith and discipleship.
In the video below, Peter’s wife, Eden, encounters Jesus soon after Peter decides to follow Jesus – and leave home, hearth, and Eden – all that with a sick senior in Eden’s care. I hope you enjoy this scene from The Chosen