38 And he arose and left the synagogue and entered Simon's house. Now Simon's mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they appealed to him on her behalf. 39 And he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her, and immediately she rose and began to serve them.
40 Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to him, and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them. 41 And demons also came out of many, crying, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.
Have you ever been caught doing something you weren't supposed to be doing? The "ol' hand caught in the cookie jar" as they say? Most of the time, as a youngster, the punishment would be something like time-out. Possibly a rebuke.Rebuke is a word that confronts us in the reading this morning. Reprimand seems like a nicer word. Even when someone is sick, rebuke or reprimand hardly seems like bed-side manner. Yet sometimes, it takes that hard edge, a tough word to get out the sickness and get over the demons.
The word rebuke also finds its place in Mark's gospel where Peter rebukes Jesus for saying that Jesus must be crucified. To which Jesus responds with, "Get behind me Satan." We all need a reference point for our lives and need Jesus to serve as that reference point. In Luke's gospel this morning, the demons knew who was rebuking them when they confessed, "You are the Son of God." It is interesting to see that those who are cured have first revelation of Jesus as the Messiah.
Perhaps there is a lesson in the harshness of the rebuke. When Jesus says he comes to heal the sick, not the healthy, maybe he means it. Perhaps we all suffer from some sickness or disease, whether that sickness is self-love or self-pity, pain or pleasure, and we all need rebuke from the great physician who heals not only body, but mind, soul, and heart as well.
Prayer: God, in the times where we need rebuke, speak to us the powerful, saving words of your Savior that heal the sin-sick soul. Amen.
G. Thomas Martin
