How do you start a ministry? “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people.”
If we substitute “our communities” for “Galilee,” and “gathering places” for “synagogues” (it’s kind of what “synagogue” means…), we get a nice prescription for how to live out the Good News: “We go through our communities, teaching in our gathering places and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people.”
Wait a minute, every disease? Every sickness? I think that’s what it says. We don’t ever hear of Jesus meeting disease he can’t transform into wholeness. It’s what he did, and what he taught his followers to do. And it’s how he demonstrated the truth of the Good News he was proclaiming.
What we call miracles were simply Jesus demonstrating how things work in the kingdom of God, the realm or "energy" of God, when it’s released into this realm, this present reality. In Jesus, both realities were present, God life and human life. And when we invoke his name and his power, both realities are present in us too, “On earth as it is in heaven…”
In the realm of God, molecules obey the command of their creator and realign if they’re out of whack. Cells that don’t function as they were intended to come back into their purpose. Tired limbs and bodies are renewed by an infusion of power from the source of all power itself. It’s not really so complicated. It’s just that we’ve made it so, because we don't understand it.
We like being able to see things working. God’s healing power can be visible in outcomes, but rarely in the process. We pray and “give thanks by faith until our faith gives way to sight.” And sometimes when we don’t see the fruit of what we’ve prayed for, we turn away from the whole enterprise. Instead, we are invited to persist and release the results to God, knowing there is mystery to healing and what looks like not-healings.
Our faith in what we cannot see needs to be as strong as our doubt in what we can. We are invited to release God’s power and love into a given situation, and to continue to trust in that power and love even while we don’t see transformation. Why let apparent “no’s” stop us from exercising our faith?
When, where and how do you find yourself best proclaiming the Good News of God’s love and power? Hmmm. If you don’t know, there’s a prayer task for today. Ask God to show you.
And is there someone you know for whom you might offer healing prayers? Not only for him or her, but with ? (You can always pray in silence… it’s very powerful…).
Following Jesus means, in part, doing what he did. So let’s get out there, in our communities, teaching in our gathering places, proclaiming the good news of God’s power and love – and yes, healing every disease and every sickness. One at a time…
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