Just Puppets?
Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Today’s Gospel reading is set early in the public ministry of Jesus. He has been baptized in the Jordan by John the Baptist, has been tempted in the desert by Satan, has recruited his first disciples, and has driven demons out of someone possessed.
Now, He and His disciples leave the synagogue and go to visit the house of the extended family of Simon and Andrew. Listen to this passage: “Jesus entered the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John. Simon's mother-in-law lay sick with a fever. They immediately told him about her. He approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up. Then the fever left her and she waited on them.”
That short passage shows us what discipleship is about. Simon Peter’s mother-in-law is sick with a fever, most likely feeling alone and isolated because she is unable to play the role of hosting her important guest. Simon and Andrew intercede for her with Jesus, much as we do in our prayers for the ones whom we love when they are ill or having troubles. Jesus approaches her, takes her hand, and helps her up. She is cured immediately and thus able to play her role as hostess by serving them. In fact, the original Greek word that is used for “serves” or “waits upon them” is the same word diakoneo that “deacon” comes from.
So, God responds to a need of ours, which awakens our faith and gratitude, and we respond by serving God and others. I am Catholic and a deacon today because 25 years ago, God responded to my heart-felt prayer by curing my son of cancer.
News of the miraculous cure spreads quickly, and Jesus spends the evening curing many other people of illness or possession. We hear that the whole town gathers by the door of the house to see the miracles being worked. In the morning, Jesus rises early to pray to His Father in a dark and deserted place until the disciples find Him. Simon Peter tells Jesus that the whole town is looking for Him. He responds by saying that it is time to move on, that His purpose on earth is to preach. He thus hints that helping us spiritually is even more important to Him than curing us physically. The physical cures—the miracles—are to win people over spiritually.
We all know that God does not immediately grant all our prayer requests. We have our struggles—financial, physical, emotional—our family conflicts and marital difficulties and lost loved ones—our challenges at work or at getting and keeping a decent job. We know that God loves us in principle, but it doesn’t always seem that He is making the path smooth for us. We may struggle while others seem well off.
God respects human freedom, so He allows people to make bad choices that affect themselves and others. Let me repeat that: God allows us to make bad choices that affect ourselves and others. If He didn’t allow our bad choices—if He made us always follow His will for us—we would live well but basically be puppets. The result of bad choices is that we bear part of the costs of the mistakes that other people make, and they bear part of the costs for our mistakes. And the sad truth is that some people wind up having a much heavier burden of the consequences of human sin than others do. Some people suffer a lot, while others of us get off relatively easy. It’s not easy or fair, but it is a natural consequence of sinful human choice. And it’s not God’s ideal Will for us; it’s a byproduct of us freely making bad choices, of choosing to sin rather than to discern and follow God’s Will.
And because we are all in this life together, some people who make mostly good choices still get stuck with the consequences of other people’s sins, while others seemingly get away with making lots of bad choices. If a child dies of malnutrition or neglect, it is not God’s Will—at least it’s not the way that He would ideally like things to go—but it is a natural consequence of Him allowing bad human choices. When God gave us free will, He gave up some control over how things would go.
So, would it be better if we were just puppets who always followed God’s will?
There is a trend today for a lot of young adults—especially young men—to remain dependent on their parents at a much older age than before, even into their 30s. The reasons vary, of course, and can include serious physical, mental, or emotional issues, but for many it seems that freedom and independence are too scary in the modern world—and it feels better to remain dependent on mom and dad. A good parent seeks to help his or her children become more independent, even though that means that those children will sometimes suffer from bad choices. And it hurts us when our children stumble. But it’s worse to overprotect them. God is the perfect parent. He suffers when we suffer, and He wants us to freely follow Him.
God wants us to have our freedom and learn from our mistakes, to turn to Him for support and guidance, and to help those who are less fortunate and struggling, irrespective of whether that suffering is the result of their own bad choices or the consequences of other people’s sins. God wants us to learn to exercise our freedom in a way that lifts us up toward Him. We are to learn to understand and follow His will for us, not as puppets, but as mature, thoughtful people who know that He wants what is best for us. He wants us to have freedom, but to make it freedom for excellence. To choose His way, not because we are commanded to do so, but because we know that it is the right thing to do—it is in our own best interests. It would be like seeing our own rebellious children decide that maybe we were right after all and that they should model themselves more on us; of course, unlike God, we are NOT perfect parents and our kids may get some of our bad habits, too.
What can make us better followers of God? We can start by asking ourselves, what are the two or three things that most get in the way of me being a better version of myself? Are there bad habits or dependencies that I have? Is pride or greed or lust or impatience or laziness my downfall? What are the triggers or relationships that lead me away from God? What changes can I make that will help me to live more of the life that Jesus has called me to live?
God is patient. God loves you. He will help you to grow to follow Him better if you turn to Him in prayer and seek to do His will. He will often grant us huge favors and fix big problems to reward our efforts to follow Him, but is less about fixing all our problems in this life and more about helping us to grow spiritually and to get through the day-to-day stuff that gets in our way. If we face our challenges with God’s help, we can grow spiritually in the process. God is most concerned to prepare us to live well eternally with Him in Heaven. This life is an obstacle course leading to a better, eternal life. Our job is to turn to God in prayer, seek to follow Him, and try to help others to make it through life’s struggles.
This year, Valentine’s Day is also Ash Wednesday—a nice reminder of God’s love for us. Lent is a wonderful time to engage in our spiritual self-improvement. Start thinking about how you will use the season of preparation and self-denial.