Acts 8:36-42; Luke 7:11-17
Today we have two stories about healings from the first century. I don’t know about you but stories of healings mystify and confuse me. That’s not a great place to begin a sermon, so I invite you to think about these stories with me to see what helpful things we can discover.
First we can say that the ability to heal was common in biblical times. The ancient prophets sometimes did miraculous healings. Jesus did them. He taught the disciples to do them. And other itinerant preachers did healings. They were one way to attract a crowd. We also know that throughout history there have been skilled people who knew about herbs and their medicinal effects and others who practiced energy work like today’s reiki or healing touch and helped ease pain and cure illness. So although our ancestors suffered from diseases that we now easily cure, they had some medical knowledge and skill available to them.
Healing stories are about more than just the physical action of being made well. They are even about more than being able to resuscitate people who appeared to be dead. They are an announcement that the person doing the healing has God’s power. If life and death are in the hands of God, then the ability to prolong life and defer death is godly. Healing stories about Jesus not only tell about this power but remind the people that in history it was prophets who healed. They are a way of saying that Jesus is a great prophet, the Messiah they have been waiting for. When we read through the book of Acts we read this story about Tabitha and learned that it and others like it were evidence that the disciples had the same power Jesus had and along with it the same authority. So the stories are about something miraculous that happens and about someone with great importance.
There’s also a social statement buried in these healings. When Peter is called to Tabitha’s death-bed, her friends show her all the clothing that she’s made for them and for the town’s widows who can’t afford to make their own clothing. In our terminology we’d say that her mission is sewing and she’s doing God’s work by clothing people. When Peter raises her from the dead, he affirms that work and gives God’s stamp of approval to it as well. Jesus sees a funeral procession for a young man whose mother is mourning his death. Of course that mourning is the sign of a mother’s love. It’s also a reminder that widows had no means to support themselves and older adults, especially women, who were childless would soon be destitute. So when Jesus raises the young man, he saves his mother from a desperate situation caused by the inequality of the times. It reinforces his teaching that God intends for everyone to be cared for.
Throughout history people of faith have been involved in healing ministries. Medieval monks created hospitals. Islamic scholars did early medical research. Christian missionaries built hospitals and clinics in the developed world and across the globe. Mother Theresa gathered the dying poor in India and cared for them. The Good News of Jesus has always included the capacity to care for those who were ill or dying. That’s an important part of our heritage which we can celebrate. Last week when we were talking about faith and science, we affirmed that medical knowledge and advances can be embraced as one way that God continues to care for us. We are grateful for the skilled people who make up the medical community.
At the same time we are realistic about expecting miracles of healing. Some illness is cured. Some isn’t. We want to be careful about saying that’s because God is choosing that some will live and others won’t. My grandkids are praying for healing for their maternal grandpa who has a terminal illness. I worry about how his eventual death will impact their trust in God. So many times I hear folks saying that death is God’s will as if God’s picking a team for earth and another for heaven. I just can’t believe that’s the way it works. But I do believe that centuries of accumulated knowledge which make seemingly miraculous advances in our own lifetimes have a godly element to them. We know so much more than our ancestors and we contribute to the advances generations will make after us.
It's worth thinking a bit about what it means to be well. In my own transplant experience I learned that it’s possible to be very ill and still completely well. I’m not even sure that I can describe what that means to me. It’s a peace that says whatever the outcome there’s no need to worry. It’s a sense that when a body is ill the person is still whole. The old hymn says, “It is well with my soul.” That’s something we can affirm.
The Buddha’s search for meaning started as a way to address the suffering he saw in people around him. He wanted a way to help people overcome suffering from illness or poverty or any of the hard parts of life. After his own enlightenment he taught people that suffering is a choice. You can’t choose your circumstances, but you can choose how you think about those circumstances. You may not be able to choose if you are ill or well, but you can choose how you live each day in the midst of illness. You can look for good, for compassion, and for moments of joy. In all the ups and downs of life there are choices to be made for better or for worse. Faith can help us learn how to make those choices for the best possible life.
As people of faith these stories invite us to be advocates for others. Not only do we applaud modern health care, we work to be sure that everyone has access to that health care. The availability of medical treatment shouldn’t be dependent on where you live or whether you can pay the price. That’s why our denominations and our local church support efforts to expand health care for everyone in our nation and to make medicine available to people around the world. We know personally that health isn’t just about bodies but also about minds and spirits. Our advocacy needs to be for mental health, addiction treatment, overcoming abuse of all kinds, and all the ways people need help being well. The people in our stories today were part of communities that cared for them and rejoiced with their healing. Our church community also does all we can to support wellness for our friends and loved ones. And we encourage wider communities – cities, states, nations – to place all kinds of wellness in the heart of how we treat one another. It’s a way that God’s love and power is shown among us.