Capernaum, where Jesus made his home, could be a tough place for him. Too many people knew about him, too many wanted a piece of him. The story about his healing the possessed man in the synagogue must have spread quickly – and maybe the tale of Peter’s mother-in-law’s instant recovery also quickly made the rounds. People knew where to find Jesus, and they weren’t shy about it:
That evening, at sunset, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. And the whole city was gathered around the door. And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.
What I find interesting is not that the “whole city” was gathered around the door. It’s that only "many" were cured. By the time Matthew and Luke rework this material, it's upgraded to “all” and “everyone he met.” But Mark’s word “many” suggests that not everyone Jesus touched was cured.
The single biggest obstacle to people investing in the ministry of Christian healing, in my experience, is the fact that our prayers are not always answered in the way we desire. One big step of faith not met with “success” can be enough to stop some people from taking a second. And thus the church is deprived of one of its most powerful ways to make the transforming love of God known in the world.
People active in the healing ministry find there can be obstacles to healing, things that must be addressed before a person can take in the healing love flowing toward them. As Agnes Sanford wrote so simply and memorably in her classic, The Healing Light, if we flick a light switch and the light doesn’t come on, we don’t conclude that electricity is impossible and doesn’t work – we look for a break in the flow – in the bulb, in the wire, in the outlet, in the house itself.
Obstacles to healing can include a root cause that needs to be brought to the light, an inability to give or receive forgiveness, or an investment in infirmity. Sometimes infirmity is a system’s response to trauma that has not been dealt with in a conscious way. When praying about long-term illness, it’s worth asking when it came on and what happened 6-9 months before it did – or even earlier.
Illness or injury can also be the result of chronic shame or resentment, an inability to forgive someone else or receive forgiveness ourselves. Such a block can be brought to the light and dealt with. Sometimes healing follows forgiveness. There are also people who have become so accustomed to being sick, with the attendant diminished expectations and increased support and attention, that we can pray all we want; the person can't receive it until they're ready.
This is not to suggest that it’s the sick person's "fault” when healing isn’t discernible – only that there are factors to look for and deal with. A lack of faith within a community, or among those offering prayer, can also be a barrier, as can conflict. Healing prayer is rarely a one-shot thing – it needs to be undertaken over time, with questions and adjustment.
If even Jesus did not cure everyone, we should not feel deficient if our “healing rate” is less than 100%. I pray we will take this word “many” as encouragement to move forward in our faith, inviting God to release the healing stream in every situation where healing is needed. And give thanks in advance - God's last word to us is "yes."
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