Just say the word
6 September 2017
Jesus was a healer.
He frees a man from demons (Luke 4:31–37), heals Simon’s mother-in-law (4:38–39), and reaches out to touch, heal, and free everyone who comes to him for help (4:40–41). The rest of the Gospel of Luke shows Jesus healing the broken and welcoming even the most crushed and downtrodden people: tax collectors, haemorrhaging women, prostitutes, the beggars and the homeless.
Jesus put human need ahead of everything else. His compassion showed the depths of God’s love and concern for all those in need. The healing ministry of Jesus shows God’s interest in the whole person, body as well as spirit.
In the scripture today, we hear of Jesus healing Peter’s mother-in-law. Once Jesus comes onto the scene, this woman is healed – no recuperation required. And once she is healed, she served. Being healed by Jesus resulted in service to Him and to others.
There is a lesson here. Health and healing are not just for the individual. Her healing immediately restored her to the community and the duty of serving that community. As long as we are in health our energies are meant to be directed to the building up of the community and not simply for ourselves.
That’s all very nice, I hear you say but God hasn’t healed me!
Perhaps you are suffering from a sickness right now and you’ve prayed every healing bible verse you know, and still, you’re left wondering, why won’t God heal me?
The quick and obvious answer to the question rests in God’s sovereignty. God is in control and ultimately he knows what’s best for us. Although this is true, it can be very difficult to trust in the midst of physical pain and suffering.
In this body image drenched culture, it’s easy to forget that we are more than our physical being. The healing that Jesus offers our sin-sick souls in the Eucharist is always open to us when we humbly ask Him to “just say the word.”
And with that prayer, we have faith that, with the fantastic and improbable prospect of Jesus entering under our roof, our souls shall be healed.
Now that healing is truly life giving, don’t you think?