Tags
Calling, Healing, Luke 4:40, Luke 7:22, Luke 9:2, Mercy, Mission, Reconciliation, Redemption, Witness
Day 26: Friday in the Fourth Week of Lent
Luke 9:2
He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal.
Nothing is more central to the work of Jesus than healing.
Luke’s account of Jesus’ ministry begins, after the temptation, with Jesus’ paradigmatic sermon in Nazareth declaring the year of God’s favor. He then goes to the synagogue in Capernaum where he heals a man possessed by an evil spirit. From there, he crosses the street to Peter’s house to heal Peter’s mother-in-law. At sabbath’s end, the whole town brings their sick
As the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various kinds of diseases brought them to him; and he laid his hands on each of them and cured them. (4:40)
After calling Peter and Andrew, James and John, from their nets, Jesus touches and heals a leper. He heals the paralyzed man whose friends let him down through the roof. He heals a man with a withered hand. He heals the centurion’s slave. He restores life to the son of the widow of Nain.
When the disciples of John the Baptist come asking if Jesus is the Messiah, he answers: “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news brought to them.” (7:22)
Healing lies at the center of Jesus’ work. These are not demonstrations of power, but demonstrations of the heart of God. These are not ‘miracles’, but signs of God’s compassion. They point to the healing of the whole world in that day when the Spirit of God governs every heart. Eyes shall be opened. Hearts shall be opened. Graves shall be opened.
Suffering may be our human lot, but it is not our destiny. We were not born to distress, but to live in loving community, joyful work, and peace with God.
And those who have seen the work of Christ and heard the promise of Easter are sent to announce God’s reign. We are commissioned to herald God’s governance of every human heart, to bear witness to God’s work to restore the broken relationship between us and the divine. We are sent as healers in the world, agents of an eternal mercy and redemption.
Gracious and ever-present God,
whose mercy knows no bounds,
and whose arms are ever open to your world:
Grant us courage to spread your light
And make us joyful in your service.
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Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SakuraHealed.png PiccoloNamek / CC BY-SA (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)