On Jesus the Healer

 

Worship Material for Sunday 18 July, 2021

Trinity 7, Year of Mark

 

Penitential Rite: Saying Sorry

Father, you made us in love, and heal our hearts,

but we think our own will is best.

Lord, have mercy.

Lord, have mercy.

 

Jesus, your touch brings hope out of despair,

but we find ways not to trust in you.

Christ, have mercy.

Christ, have mercy.

 

Spirit, you give us newness of life,

but we stick with coldness of heart.

Lord, have mercy.

Lord, have mercy.

 

Gospel: Mark 6.30-34; 54-56

Reflection (Sermon) 

I wonder what you remember best from the readings we have just heard.

 

Different people will remember different things, no doubt.

We won’t all remember everything, however much we try.

We may try to concentrate on every word,

as if the good news is coming to us for the very first time,

and it’s good to try that.

But we won’t quite manage it. And that is alright.

That is just how it is. That is just who we are, as frail human beings.

We need to be gentle with ourselves.

 

But… I wonder whether one line may be remembered more than others.

 

I am thinking of the closing of the gospel reading.

I am thinking of the close of the gospel, in part because it’s the last thing we heard, and so the thing that has come to us most recently, sure.

But I am also thinking in this way,

because the end of the gospel is striking in another way.

I mean the way it ends with words of one syllable,

words which each have just one sound.

They say when you speak like this, with each word one sound,

the thing hits you. It packs a punch. You pay heed in a new way.

 

So let’s hear it now.

They “begged him that they might touch… the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed.”

“[A]ll who touched it were healed.”

“[A]ll who touched [the fringe of his cloak] were healed.”

“[A]ll who touched were healed.”

Do you feel the force of it?

 

I think we can be grateful, both to those who selected precisely these verses for this Sunday, and to those who translated the Greek into English in this way. (The Greek doesn’t have this feature, at all.)

 

All who touched the fringe of his cloak were healed.

This reminds us, with force, that Jesus was a healer.

Actually, even secular historians, even the most sceptical, would say at least that Jesus (the historical Jesus) had a reputation as a healer.

·        They might say he was like a magician, and it was all false.

·        They might say his actions were like a placebo.

·        They might say he helped people feel better inwardly, and, now as then, that can help healing along.

·        They might say he must have learned some medical skills at some point.

·        They might say it was a mix of these things.

But they would say – do say – that Jesus had a reputation as a healer.

 

And the Church has believed it, and believes it’s important.

Jesus was a Healer.

God the Father, the Creator, is a Healer, as the Old Testament makes clear.

And Jesus the Son of God shares in the Healing Potency of God.

Jesus is a Healer.

Let it be said.

 

There is more we have to say, though.

 

It’s not a secret – it’s something like the elephant in the room –

that it’s difficult to say that Jesus is a Healer, and that for a number of reasons.

 

If we went around the room, some/many of us will have some experience of pretty sudden turn-arounds from illness to health, for ourselves or for others, after prayer. Good.

 

But all – or almost all of us – will also have experience of praying for ourselves or others,

with all our faith,

and will all our love,

and with all our hope,

and with all our passion,

and with all our conviction,

and… the illness stayed as it was, or got worse.

 

Some Church community’s preach loudly that, because Jesus himself seemed to heal suddenly, with a quick word or action, then Jesus will do the same to us, “if only you have enough faith”.

That’s (bluntly) not a good thing to claim; it’s a harmful thing to say.

For whatever reason, life is not like that. We know it, really, don’t we?

 

But it’s even more complicated than that.

Because there are other Church communities

which are very careful about what they claim about healing

(they will stress that healing is a mystery, and occurs in God’s good time, and that God can and does heal through medicine too).

But! But however careful they are, they will typically use in their healing services the laying on of hands and anointing with the oil of healing

– and these are things we can’t yet do.

 

And on top of all of that, I feel I have to name this too:

even if you are convinced that God typically heals by means of medical skills,

one of the most frustrating things about being in prison

is that you are not in charge of who you turn to for medical help.

Others make that decision. That can be hard (I do get that), very hard.

 

So you might say it is at this time and in this place

just too painful

to emphasise Jesus as Healer, and the Church’s healing ministry.

 

Naturally the last thing I want to do is cause or add to pain.

Instead, I want to say two things.

 

First, Jesus as healer does not only heal in dramatic ways.

Jesus also heals by his wisdom, by giving us wise commands, wise advice.

And there’s an example of this in today’s gospel reading.

Right at the beginning, Jesus says to his disciples, his friends:

"Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while."

Or more simply put: Be by yourselves, and rest.

Be by yourself, and rest.

 

I want to say, as strongly as I can,

that this is healing for all of us, wherever we find ourselves.

And this is something all can do, wherever we find ourselves.

Even in prison - not least in prison –

we can find ways of being by ourselves, and simply resting in God.

Again, I know from you, my brothers,

how your cell can be something like a monk’s cell,

a real place of refuge, peace, stillness.

Make the most of that.

 

I am not suggesting anything difficult, elaborate or extreme.

But maybe just say to yourself, at one point every day:

“I am now by myself (or virtually by myself),

and, dear God, I am going to spend a moment, resting in you.

If you speak, I will listen.

If you just give me the pleasure of rest, that is enough.”

Remember – do not doubt – that Jesus cares about you every bit as much as he cared for the first apostles.

"Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while."

 

Second, there is another way of thinking about

Jesus as Healer and the Church’s healing ministry.

It is this.

It means that we should all think of ourselves as in some way called

to bring some healing into the lives of others.

Not, for most of us, in dramatic ways.

Not, for most of us, in up-front medical ways.

But… in some way, in the relationships we have,

in the communities we are part of.

And that’s another thing we might do every day.

We might pray:

“Dear God, give me some encounter today

where I have to chance to offer some degree, however small,

of healing.”

But just a warning (an important one):

If you do pray that, God will see to it that there is such an opportunity.

You will have some choice

·        to react with resentment or worse,

·        or respond with real care.

You know this. I know this about my day too. I need not labour the point.  

 

So, let us turn to God our Healer, to Jesus our Healer, to Spirit, our Healer,

ask for the healing we need,

even if it be through something as ordinary as rest and peace and quiet,

and let us resolve to do something healing

in at least some of our relationships, now and in the days ahead. Amen.

 

 

Intercessions: Prayers for the World

Jesus who heals,

bless and be with those who bear the burden of leadership in our Churches,

among them Bishops N and N

that they speak both with force and gentleness,

and find the words and actions which heal.

 

Jesus our Healer, be with us to heal.

 

Jesus who heals,

bless and be with those who bear leadership in the world.

Guide our government and all people of influence,

that the human family may know peace and justice,

that decisions made about the ongoing pandemic are wise,

that those caught up in floods and storms and drought and fires,

throughout the world,

may receive the healing and the restoration they sorely need.

 

Jesus our Healer, be with us to heal.

 

Jesus who heals,

bless and be with all those who live, work and visit this place.

May this establishment be a place of surprising healing.

Be close to all here who are in fear or perplexity,

or caught up in gangs or drugs or debt,

or coldness of heart,

that they grow into your love.

 

Jesus our Healer, be with us to heal.

 

Jesus who heals,

bless and be with those who need your healing touch,

and who are on our own hearts and in our own minds at this time,

those we now name silently to you.

 

Jesus our Healer, be with us to heal.

 

Jesus who heals,

bless and be with all who now rest with you and in you,

in life beyond death,

all who have died recently, or who will die today,

especially those who will die

alone, unprepared, in agony, in war or at their own hand,

and also those who have shaped us and who have died,

those we now name silently to you.

 

Jesus our Healer, be with us to heal.

 

Jesus who heals,

give us the measure of healing which can be ours,

and show us how we can help heal others in our relating.

 

Jesus our Healer, be with us to heal.