Matthew 8:1-7
I find it tricky to talk about Jesus and healing, but there are so many stories of how Jesus made people well and whole. Clearly one of the reasons people were attracted to him was because he cured diseases. Jesus wasn’t the only traveling healer in his day. In fact, it seems to have been fairly common. A big part of becoming Jesus’ disciple was learning how to heal like he healed. “Faith healing” is strange to us today. Some churches do practice healing by prayer, but it hasn’t been a part of our traditions. I think of it in the same way I think of energy healers in our time – those who practice healing touch or Reiki or Qigong. I don’t understand that either, but I know that sometimes clearing the energy channels of the body allows the body to heal itself.
In the first century the practice of medicine was largely a mystery. People had knowledge of medicinal herbs, but not an extensive knowledge of how the body worked or what caused illness. Today we are blessed with extensive knowledge which continues to grow thanks to the work of dedicated researchers. We have skilled and compassionate people who practice medicine in many forms. We have diagnostic tests, surgical techniques and medications which no one could have imagined in Jesus’ day. We may not frequently heal in the same way Jesus did, but many people are continuing the healing work in new and amazing ways.
I’d like to think today about other kinds of healing we experience. Let’s begin with prayer. Every Sunday we pray together for lots of people who need some kind of healing in their lives. Some are physically ill, others deal with addiction or mental illness and still others face the consequences of poor choices or hard circumstances. Some of those folks get better and many of them don’t. Regardless of the results, I think we experience healing through our prayers. They are a way of sharing our concern for others, and in the process we lighten the load of worry we carry for them. When there doesn’t seem much that we can do to help someone, praying calls on God and all the power of the universe to care as much as we do. Praying shifts the fear and sadness we feel from our single hearts to the community and to the power that moves through all that is, and in the process we can find peace. We can come around to the point where we’re able to see some good even in the hardest situations. We are more at peace, and from that peace we can better support those we pray for. I call this a healing that doesn’t depend on a cure.
Then there’s the healing that comes from belonging to a people or a place and being loved and included just as we are. Thursday night we heard stories of some of our gay and lesbian friends about what it means to feel whole and at peace with who you are and welcomed because you are you. It’s part of the process of many more churches in our towns becoming intentionally welcoming of all people. We’ll be glad when they catch up with us! Belonging isn’t just about acceptance of gender identity. It’s about all people being whole people. Belonging is being loved by the community with all our individual quirks – our passions and our fears, our abilities and our weaknesses. Belonging is about support for what you want to do and for what you don’t want to do. For what you think when you agree with everyone and when you don’t. If we’re building a healing community that follows Jesus, everyone is accepted.
Healing is also about folks believing you can change. I want to be accepted just the way I am AND I want people to care about me enough to expect me to get better. That may mean overcoming addiction to drugs, alcohol, gambling or food. It may mean understanding the world in a more humane way, giving up some prejudice or intolerance. It may mean becoming more helpful or less helpful. It might mean getting more serious or lightening up. Taking more risks or fewer of them. Community is a place where each one of us can grow. Growth is healing, and so is the support system that nourishes that growth.
This congregation is an instrument of healing in this community.
We make quilts for families whose loved ones are at the end of life in Valley Memorial Homes. We never know who receives those quilts, but they know someone cares enough about them to wrap them up in beautiful fabric that took a lot of time and effort.
We make food. We feed students and watch them begin to feel at home far from home. Over the school year international students relax into a new culture, learn a little more English, see a familiar face who is genuinely glad to see them week to week. Students missing family see grandmas and grandpas behind the serving counter, asking how the day is going. Hospitality is healing.
We feed people at LaGrave. Sometimes we feed people who are too ill to feed themselves. Sometimes we feed folks who haven’t taken their meds and can hardly decide if they want our food or not. Sometimes we feed people who cook better than we do but like having a friend to share the meal. Over time we’ve watched people come and go, face trauma and get better. Good nutrition and consistent friendship are healing to body and soul.
We are healing when we help people in a jam without criticism or judgment. In the last year or so we’ve bought lots of bus passes and gas cards, fixed brakes, bought tires, replaced batteries, repaired bicycles. We’ve paid off back rent and utility bills and put down rent deposits. We’ve bought coats for kids and adults and dry socks and underwear for toddlers. Most of these folks don’t know who we are. Many of them are grateful. Not once do we say, “You shouldn’t need this.” “You should plan better.” “You should be more careful.” We make sure everyone we help has a case worker who can teach them coping skills when it’s appropriate, and we provide what they need without judgment.
None of these things is as amazing as Jesus’ healing folks with miracles, but I think they are as much a part of what Jesus would do to heal the world. They let people know that they aren’t alone. They say as clearly as we know how that every person matters and everyone deserves a fair chance at life. When people are in need, they need a community to surround them and care for them. When they get better, they need a chance to help the next person.
All these things are important ways that Jesus is healing the world through us. In the process, we too are made whole.