Rectors Reflections February 2006

Christian Healing

There is an event in the life of Jesus, which expanded his reputation over other holy men of his day. He had already spent quite a bit of time as an itinerant rabbi, not only as a teacher, but also as a prophet, and a healer.

This particular day, he was in a house in Capernaum. The Jewish leaders were there. He began to proclaim the coming of the Kingdom of God, and a crowd had gathered. There was not enough room in the house, so people tried to listen through the doorway. Imagine the crowd saying, “Did you hear that Jesus is here, the Rabbi from Nazareth? He really seems to know God.” Perhaps the crowd was passing on Jesus’ words to the people outside. Maybe others were saying, “ I hear that he can do miracles. Maybe we will get to see him heal someone? Maybe he could heal me?”

There were four other people who heard that Jesus was in town. They were desperate to seek his help, because they had a friend who was paralyzed. Unfortunately, no medicine had helped. The crowd was so great that the four men carried their friend up on the roof, pulled away the roofing materials, and carefully let the mat down through the opening, with their friend lying on it, until it was at the feet of Jesus,

Now something puzzling happens. The text in Matthew, Chapter 9, tells us that Jesus turns to the paralyzed man and says, “My son, your sins are forgiven.”

This is not what I expected from Jesus. He was already renowned for healing all kinds of diseases. When he looked on the paralyzed man, surely he could see the man’s most immediate need! Why didn’t he immediately take the man’s hand and stand him up?

Jesus then said these words, “But just so you know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins, I tell you, take up your mat and walk”.

Jesus started with the core spirituality of this person, because everything flows from the center. The core was fear and separation. This young man surely thought that God hated him, and maybe he was angry with God, too. When Jesus said, “You are forgiven,” with both the compassion of a fellow human and the authority of the Son of God, this young man heard, “I am loved by this man Jesus and by God, too.”

Two basic human needs are (1) to know and receive love and (2) to give love. When Jesus forgave this man, he was loving him. When Jesus commanded this man to walk, he was putting in place the physical capacity for the man to love others in new ways.

Christian healing prayer seeks to draw us closer to Jesus and through him into the heart of the Father. It is the work of the Holy Spirit who leads us and makes this possible. When the energy of the Spirit is present, we can be touched in all areas of our lives – physical, mental, and/or spiritual (and I have seen some extraordinary things happen through prayer), but praying for healing does not replace our need to participate in choices that bring wholeness. The Power of the Spirit does not replace the work we need to do.

This is why Christian Healing Prayer can go hand in hand with good medical care, with various healthy body practices, with Alanon or AA or other 12 Step programs, with therapy, with all kinds and styles of worship, with all sorts of support communities, and with various kinds of prayer and seeking journeys.

When we pray for healing, we must remember that God is a continual source of wholeness and love and healing. Christian prayer is not hoping that an absent dictator might bestow favor if we beg enough. Christian prayer is opening us to all that flows from God: faith, hope, love, peace, joy, purpose, restoration, communion, unity, redemption, and ultimately, Resurrection.