“And when Jesus was come into Peter’s house, he saw his wife’s mother lying, and sick of a fever: and he touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she arose and ministered to them. And when evening was come, they brought to him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word: and all that were sick he healed: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet Isaias, saying: ‘He took our infirmities, and bore our diseases.’”
Christ did not enter the house of the centurion, but of His own accord and without prompting goes to the home of St. Peter to mend his household. In this is a marvelous display of Jesus’ understanding of the needs of your heart. Consider the gifts He lavishes on a disciple: “And every one that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundred-fold, and shall possess life everlasting” (Matthew 19:29); included in this is the visitation to one’s family members, and the more devoted to Jesus one is, lifting their affections to Him alone, the more He will ensure that the people in their heart who have been close to them throughout their lifetimes will also be lifted to salvation. You need not beg Him for this, but cling to Him in radical love, and He will do all things for you: “Commit thy way to the Lord, and trust in him, and he will do it” (Psalm 37:5); “Fear not therefore: better are you than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:31). It will land in God’s own time, which may be at the end of a loved one’s life, but the more you trust, the more you shall receive: “All things are thine: and we have given thee what we received of thy hand” (1 Paralipomenon 29:14). Another way of interpreting this is that the mother-in-law represents the Old Testament Law, which is a great weight when taken as a set of rules: “For the letter killeth, but the spirit quickeneth” (2 Corinthians 3:6), but when animated by the Spirit of Love, aids in understanding how to love: “Wherefore the law indeed is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good” (Romans 7:12); Behold I have loved thy commandments, O Lord; quicken me thou in thy mercy” (Psalm 119:159). Thus, the touch of Jesus is necessary for understanding the commandments, for without love it is a bitter medicine that sits poorly in the soul: “And they came into Mara, and they could not drink the waters of Mara, because they were bitter,”, but when you understand the unfathomable love that is opened to you on the cross, being taught how to love becomes something sweet: “And the people murmured against Moses, saying: ‘What shall we drink?’ But he cried to the Lord, and he shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, they were turned into sweetness” (Exodus 15:23-25). The animation and service of St. Peter’s mother-in-law, then, shows that the entirety of Sacred Scripture, including the commandments of the Law, come alive in light of Christ and attest to the glory of His love: “And his face did shine as the sun: and his garments became white as snow. And behold there appeared to them Moses and Elias talking with him” (Matthew 17:2-3). A spiritual understanding of the Old Testament opens your eyes to God’s love and heart, for the entirety of Scripture is Christ for the one that has eyes to see: “One thing I know, that whereas I was blind, now I see” (John 9:25). In reading the Scriptures, you come to know the heart of God, and commentaries or the writings of the saints can greatly help understand what is being said. Thus, Jesus mixes what proceeds from His mouth with what comes from the earth to open the eyes of the blind man: “When he had said these things, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and spread the clay upon his eyes” (John 9:6). When these make the Bible come alive and serve your spirit that you may drink of heavenly wisdom, they are of great benefit: “Eat honey, my son, because it is good, and the honeycomb most sweet to thy throat: so also is the doctrine of wisdom to thy soul” (Proverbs 24:13-14), but when they confuse or fill you with scruples, realize you need a different perspective: “And he said to them: ‘Take heed what you hear’” (Mark 4:24), realizing that the Scriptures and guides to understanding them are meant to fill you with love and joy: “And these things we write to you, that you may rejoice, and your joy may be full” (1 John 1:4). In the healings that followed, much is said in few words, for many were brought with a variety of afflictions and Jesus healed them all. So too do you encounter many in your daily life with aches in their heart, just seeking love, and it is your duty as a Christian to refuse your heart to no one, but to leave everyone happier and more loved than when you found them: “Let all your things be done in love” (1 Corinthians 16:14). Jesus loved at a pace that was utterly mesmerizing: “But there are also many other things which Jesus did; which, if they were written every one, the world itself, I think, would not be able to contain the books that should be written” (John 21:25); “His hands are turned” outward to others “and as of gold,” as all of His actions were beautiful and filled with wisdom, “full of hyacinths” (Song 6:14) for each one said, “I love you” in a way akin to receiving flowers from a beloved. He takes away the sins you overcome by grace, that you may not be left in spiritual death: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all iniquity” (1 John 1:9), but in that which you try to fight but cannot overcome, Jesus patiently bears: “Love is patient, is kind” (1 Corinthians 13:4). As much as people long to be perfect, it is a hard reality that each person is in some way difficult to love, and Jesus alone knew ahead of time the suffering that comes with loving you: “My Father, if it be possible, let this chalice pass from me” (Matthew 26:39), but in His overwhelming love He drinks it to the dregs that you may know beyond a doubt how loved you are: “Behold I have taken out of thy hand the cup of dead sleep, the dregs of the cup of my indignation, thou shalt not drink it again any more” (Isaias 51:22). There is no complaint, no outcry, but love led Him to embrace everything He endured that you may be loved and know that you are loved beyond all understanding: “He shall be led as a sheep to the slaughter, and shall be dumb as a lamb before his shearer, and he shall not open his mouth” (Isaias 53:7).