Maybe women did have a hand in writing the gospels; would a man really use a laundry image to convey how white something was? “And Jesus was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them.”
It’s hard to avoid associating "light" and "white" with God and godliness. Jesus spoke of himself using the the image of light, and light is generally white. Often we use these terms without questioning their impact. That impact, though, can vary according to ones skin color, geography and temperament. We want to be careful not always to equate whiteness with goodness, light with purity.
But here we are, up on that mountain with four disciples – and their experience is of dazzling light, whiter than any bleach can achieve. It’s a wonder they weren’t completely blinded, as were the Israelites when Moses came down Mount Sinai glowing so brightly after his time in God’s presence, they had to veil him for their own sakes. In this story at least, light and white are linked to divine revelation. I like to think that Jesus wasn’t just revealed as being like light, but as light itself – a beam of pure energy, in which there is no darkness at all, as God is pure good without a trace of not-good.
No doubt there is much to be gained by exploring the spiritual gifts of darkness – Barbara Brown Taylor has published a book with just that theme, Learning to Walk in the Dark. But this week we celebrate Jesus as the Light of the World, and this moment when that Light was made known to the witnesses who made it known to the world.
How have you experienced God as light? How is Jesus the “light of the world” for you? What is your experience of light spiritually? I rarely associate Jesus with light in prayer, but maybe that's because I relate to his humanity so much.
Jesus said not only that he was the Light of the World – he said his followers were also the light of the world. “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
I wasn’t there, so I don't know – but I believe that what the disciples saw was Light itself. But the light we shine is reflected light, the way the moon reflects the sun’s light rather than being a source itself. If we make it our intention to put ourselves in the way of the Light of the world each day, and keep our reflectors in peak condition, we will indeed let our lights shine before others. If it’s Jesus’ light we’re reflecting, they may well be dazzled.
2-9-15 - Six Days Later
Passages in the gospels often begin with phrases like, “On the third day…”, or “In the sixth month,” that require you to look back and see what came before. So it is with this week’s gospel, the story of Jesus’ transfiguration: “Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves.”
A high mountain. Apart. By themselves. Just the four fishermen and Jesus. Quite a treat – or retreat. Why did Jesus take them on this outing? What had happened six days earlier? Jesus had asked his followers who they thought he was, and Peter answered, “The Messiah.” Then Jesus started talking about taking up your cross, and how the Son of Man would have to suffer and die, and Peter tried to stop him, earning a harsh rebuke. Maybe Jesus thought it was time his closest followers had an experience to match their heart knowledge. Maybe it was time Peter saw how right his first answer had been.
The Transfiguration is one of the odder stories in the gospels, one that we read every year at the end of Epiphany, maybe because it was the penultimate revelation of Jesus’ divinity. For a short while on that high mountain, the two sets of brothers saw Jesus’ true nature revealed. Why do you suppose Jesus gave them that glimpse of glory?
I wonder if he was setting up his witnesses. Peter already knew he was the Son of God; now let him see it, and other witnesses with him, so that these men can later testify to Jesus’ messianic identity. After the experience, he instructs them not to tell anyone until after “the Son of Man is risen from the dead,” a phrase they did not understand. But later they would. And then this experience would reinforce their faith so that they could boldly testify to the truth of that greater revelation.
One New Testament definition of “apostle” is a person who knew Jesus in his earthly ministry and can witness to his resurrection life. I’m intrigued by the notion that Jesus here is giving those who will later serve as the key witnesses to the in-breaking Kingdom of God a crucial experience to strengthen them for later. Because it is the witness of these men and women that laid the structure of the Church. They are the reason we are here.
And we are here to carry on their apostolic witness. We are here to testify to the glory and power and love of the Risen Christ as we have experienced him in our lives. Perhaps we aren’t treated to the dazzling display Peter and Andrew, James and John got to see… but maybe we don’t need to be. We are apostles on the other side of Jesus’ resurrection. We can see his power poured out in our midst whenever we speak or pray or love or act in His name.
If we don’t feel we have had enough experience of Christ to truly bear witness… well, there’s a prayer, isn’t there? Ask the Holy Spirit to make the presence and peace and power of God known to you.
I believe God will answer that prayer, as we open ourselves. I truly believe God wants us to experience God’s goodness. Jesus is still preparing witnesses - you and me.
A high mountain. Apart. By themselves. Just the four fishermen and Jesus. Quite a treat – or retreat. Why did Jesus take them on this outing? What had happened six days earlier? Jesus had asked his followers who they thought he was, and Peter answered, “The Messiah.” Then Jesus started talking about taking up your cross, and how the Son of Man would have to suffer and die, and Peter tried to stop him, earning a harsh rebuke. Maybe Jesus thought it was time his closest followers had an experience to match their heart knowledge. Maybe it was time Peter saw how right his first answer had been.
The Transfiguration is one of the odder stories in the gospels, one that we read every year at the end of Epiphany, maybe because it was the penultimate revelation of Jesus’ divinity. For a short while on that high mountain, the two sets of brothers saw Jesus’ true nature revealed. Why do you suppose Jesus gave them that glimpse of glory?
I wonder if he was setting up his witnesses. Peter already knew he was the Son of God; now let him see it, and other witnesses with him, so that these men can later testify to Jesus’ messianic identity. After the experience, he instructs them not to tell anyone until after “the Son of Man is risen from the dead,” a phrase they did not understand. But later they would. And then this experience would reinforce their faith so that they could boldly testify to the truth of that greater revelation.
One New Testament definition of “apostle” is a person who knew Jesus in his earthly ministry and can witness to his resurrection life. I’m intrigued by the notion that Jesus here is giving those who will later serve as the key witnesses to the in-breaking Kingdom of God a crucial experience to strengthen them for later. Because it is the witness of these men and women that laid the structure of the Church. They are the reason we are here.
And we are here to carry on their apostolic witness. We are here to testify to the glory and power and love of the Risen Christ as we have experienced him in our lives. Perhaps we aren’t treated to the dazzling display Peter and Andrew, James and John got to see… but maybe we don’t need to be. We are apostles on the other side of Jesus’ resurrection. We can see his power poured out in our midst whenever we speak or pray or love or act in His name.
If we don’t feel we have had enough experience of Christ to truly bear witness… well, there’s a prayer, isn’t there? Ask the Holy Spirit to make the presence and peace and power of God known to you.
I believe God will answer that prayer, as we open ourselves. I truly believe God wants us to experience God’s goodness. Jesus is still preparing witnesses - you and me.
2-6-15 - On the Move
The people of Capernaum, where Jesus stayed when he wasn’t traveling, must have been thrilled that someone of such wisdom and power should settle among them. He was theirs! They wasted no time bringing to him everyone in need of healing and deliverance, and when he went off to pray in private, they looked for him. But Jesus’ mission was much larger than one town. When his disciples found him and said, “Everyone is searching for you!,” he answered,
“Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.’ And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.”
As we know, Jesus’ mission was greater than Galilee too, greater than Israel and the Middle East, greater even than the boundaries of this world. He did not belong to any one community, but to all. Jesus’ mission was to redeem all of creation, to proclaim the reign of Life over death, disease, despair, the demonic. That is the message he proclaimed and that is the message he demonstrated over and over again as he set people free.
The phrase, “Let us go to the neighboring towns” got my attention. An early theologian, John of Damascus, used the Greek word perichoresis to describe the active, ongoing, interrelated life of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This word has connotations of movement, of swirling, even of dance – and one definition is “circulating about the neighborhood.” It suggests that the triune, relational life of God is not static but circulating, bringing life to the whole cosmos.[1]
We might say that Jesus, the incarnate Son, or second person of the Trinity, continued to live out that principle of perichoresis, circulating with his followers among the neighborhoods of his region. And his followers continued to live out that principle of perichoresis, circulating among the “neighborhoods” of the Roman Empire, starting new churches and baptizing new believers, who circulated among their neighborhoods – until even we received this proclamation of Good News and transformed Life.
This moving, communal life of the Trinity is our inheritance as well. We are invited, even called, to circulate among the neighborhoods in which we find ourselves, proclaiming the message of renewed life to the people we encounter, casting out demons of fear, injustice, complacency, disease, despair.
Where do you feel called to exercise the ministry of an apostle? Among what people? In what neighborhoods? The Love of Christ is desperately needed in every neighborhood, poor, rich, urban, suburban, blighted or beautiful and in between, and we are called to make it known.
Only we don’t need to go alone. Jesus goes with us. Once he was no longer confined to a body in time and space he became available, as it were, to indwell every single person through his Holy Spirit. We carry him “around the neighborhood,” and he directs us when to speak and when to listen, when to challenge and when to offer healing.
I pray we will all get moving out of our comfort circles and church life, moving with Jesus to the “neighboring towns,” eager to proclaim the gospel of peace – for, like him, that is what we are sent to do!
[1] Many thanks to Dwight Zscheile for making me aware of this translation, in People of the Way: Renewing Episcopal Identity (2012, Morehouse Publishing), pp. 46-7
“Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.’ And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.”
As we know, Jesus’ mission was greater than Galilee too, greater than Israel and the Middle East, greater even than the boundaries of this world. He did not belong to any one community, but to all. Jesus’ mission was to redeem all of creation, to proclaim the reign of Life over death, disease, despair, the demonic. That is the message he proclaimed and that is the message he demonstrated over and over again as he set people free.
The phrase, “Let us go to the neighboring towns” got my attention. An early theologian, John of Damascus, used the Greek word perichoresis to describe the active, ongoing, interrelated life of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This word has connotations of movement, of swirling, even of dance – and one definition is “circulating about the neighborhood.” It suggests that the triune, relational life of God is not static but circulating, bringing life to the whole cosmos.[1]
We might say that Jesus, the incarnate Son, or second person of the Trinity, continued to live out that principle of perichoresis, circulating with his followers among the neighborhoods of his region. And his followers continued to live out that principle of perichoresis, circulating among the “neighborhoods” of the Roman Empire, starting new churches and baptizing new believers, who circulated among their neighborhoods – until even we received this proclamation of Good News and transformed Life.
This moving, communal life of the Trinity is our inheritance as well. We are invited, even called, to circulate among the neighborhoods in which we find ourselves, proclaiming the message of renewed life to the people we encounter, casting out demons of fear, injustice, complacency, disease, despair.
Where do you feel called to exercise the ministry of an apostle? Among what people? In what neighborhoods? The Love of Christ is desperately needed in every neighborhood, poor, rich, urban, suburban, blighted or beautiful and in between, and we are called to make it known.
Only we don’t need to go alone. Jesus goes with us. Once he was no longer confined to a body in time and space he became available, as it were, to indwell every single person through his Holy Spirit. We carry him “around the neighborhood,” and he directs us when to speak and when to listen, when to challenge and when to offer healing.
I pray we will all get moving out of our comfort circles and church life, moving with Jesus to the “neighboring towns,” eager to proclaim the gospel of peace – for, like him, that is what we are sent to do!
[1] Many thanks to Dwight Zscheile for making me aware of this translation, in People of the Way: Renewing Episcopal Identity (2012, Morehouse Publishing), pp. 46-7
2-5-15 - Where's Jesus?
Jesus may have thought he could go off for a time of quiet prayer and refreshment after a long day and night of ministry – but already his time was not his own. We read that “Simon and his companions hunted for him. When they found him, they said to him, ‘Everyone is searching for you.’”
“Everybody is searching for you.” All his earthly life, people were looking for Jesus. When he was twelve, his parents searched for him when he went missing on a trip to Jerusalem. When they found him, they said, “Didn’t you know we would be looking for you?” When Lazarus was ill, and Jesus came days later, Mary and Martha said, “Where were you?” When chief priests and scribes wanted to arrest him, they went looking for him in Gethsemane, though he’d been “hiding in plain sight” all over Jerusalem for weeks. “Why didn’t you just arrest me at the temple?” he asked.
And on Easter morning, we find Mary Magdalene weeping in another garden, lamenting, “They have taken my Lord and I don’t know where they have put him!” And there he is, once again hiding in plain sight, risen from the dead, mistaken for a gardener.
Is Jesus still “hiding in plain sight?” I don’t believe Jesus hides from us, and yet he can be remarkably hard to find, even when we're looking. Maybe that’s because the faculties with which we perceive spiritual reality are different than our organs for sensing physical realities. And in many of us, especially in Western cultures, those faculties are under-developed. Jesus told Nicodemus that the Kingdom cannot be perceived with human senses, saying, “No one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again,” which he then defines as being “born of water and the Spirit.”
Even those of us who have been born of water and Spirit in baptism may not have developed our spiritual perception if no one told us we needed to. Paul prays for the Ephesians and Colossians that “the eyes of their heart will be enlightened,” their “inner vision” sharpened as they come to recognize the Life of God around them.
If we want to see and experience Jesus more fully, we may need to do some spiritual exercise. What are called “spiritual disciplines” are practices that help us to expand our ability to perceive and receive, just as we expand our mental capacities or our physical strength and stamina. We wouldn’t expect to run 10 miles our first time out; we gradually increase our capacity. In the same way, our spiritual “muscles” must also be exercised. Sure, sometimes we have a glimpse or an encounter with Jesus unexpectedly, unbidden. I believe God gives us those experiences to draw us closer, to get us on the path, the way falling in love gets us to the place where we're willing to work at a relationship. We will see and experience more as we cultivate the intimacy Jesus promises us.
What spiritual practices are you drawn to? Increasing your reading of the Bible? Developing a more consistent life of prayer and contemplation? Getting more involved in ministries with the sick, the poor, the marginalized, where Jesus also promised he could be found? Lent is approaching – why not ask the Spirit to lead you to a spiritual practice that might help you grow your inner vision. Ask your pastor or a spiritual director for help (you're welcome to ask me).
Long ago, God made a promise through the prophet Jeremiah: “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13)
It can be hard for us to do anything with our whole heart. Wherever we start, I believe Jesus is not hiding from us, and will honor our desire to find him. Let's look with the eyes of our hearts.
“Everybody is searching for you.” All his earthly life, people were looking for Jesus. When he was twelve, his parents searched for him when he went missing on a trip to Jerusalem. When they found him, they said, “Didn’t you know we would be looking for you?” When Lazarus was ill, and Jesus came days later, Mary and Martha said, “Where were you?” When chief priests and scribes wanted to arrest him, they went looking for him in Gethsemane, though he’d been “hiding in plain sight” all over Jerusalem for weeks. “Why didn’t you just arrest me at the temple?” he asked.
And on Easter morning, we find Mary Magdalene weeping in another garden, lamenting, “They have taken my Lord and I don’t know where they have put him!” And there he is, once again hiding in plain sight, risen from the dead, mistaken for a gardener.
Is Jesus still “hiding in plain sight?” I don’t believe Jesus hides from us, and yet he can be remarkably hard to find, even when we're looking. Maybe that’s because the faculties with which we perceive spiritual reality are different than our organs for sensing physical realities. And in many of us, especially in Western cultures, those faculties are under-developed. Jesus told Nicodemus that the Kingdom cannot be perceived with human senses, saying, “No one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again,” which he then defines as being “born of water and the Spirit.”
Even those of us who have been born of water and Spirit in baptism may not have developed our spiritual perception if no one told us we needed to. Paul prays for the Ephesians and Colossians that “the eyes of their heart will be enlightened,” their “inner vision” sharpened as they come to recognize the Life of God around them.
If we want to see and experience Jesus more fully, we may need to do some spiritual exercise. What are called “spiritual disciplines” are practices that help us to expand our ability to perceive and receive, just as we expand our mental capacities or our physical strength and stamina. We wouldn’t expect to run 10 miles our first time out; we gradually increase our capacity. In the same way, our spiritual “muscles” must also be exercised. Sure, sometimes we have a glimpse or an encounter with Jesus unexpectedly, unbidden. I believe God gives us those experiences to draw us closer, to get us on the path, the way falling in love gets us to the place where we're willing to work at a relationship. We will see and experience more as we cultivate the intimacy Jesus promises us.
What spiritual practices are you drawn to? Increasing your reading of the Bible? Developing a more consistent life of prayer and contemplation? Getting more involved in ministries with the sick, the poor, the marginalized, where Jesus also promised he could be found? Lent is approaching – why not ask the Spirit to lead you to a spiritual practice that might help you grow your inner vision. Ask your pastor or a spiritual director for help (you're welcome to ask me).
Long ago, God made a promise through the prophet Jeremiah: “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13)
It can be hard for us to do anything with our whole heart. Wherever we start, I believe Jesus is not hiding from us, and will honor our desire to find him. Let's look with the eyes of our hearts.
2-4-15 - Retreat
What do you do after a whole evening spent healing the population of a town? If you’re Jesus, you try to get out of Dodge, at least for a little while: “In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed.”
I would probably just sleep in – but there are better ways to nurture your spirit, and Jesus led the way. After an intense period of spiritual output, or sometimes after hearing bad news, he often sought to go apart, either by himself, or with some or all of the Twelve. These mini-retreats were often interrupted, but that didn’t stop him from going.
I personally am lousy at the spiritual practice of retreat, at least in its longer, multi-day form. At times, I've gone somewhat regularly on retreat to convents or monasteries, but not lately. What Jesus models here, though, is the value of a time apart for prayer no matter how long it is. He knows he has another busy day of ministry ahead, so he gets up while it’s still dark to grab some alone time with his heavenly Father. That’s what prayer is – a time of conversation with God, and we don’t need five days away to do that.
Maybe we should think about retreats in smaller chunks. Christ the Healer offers a monthly half-day retreat, Spa for the Spirit (next one is this coming Saturday – find out more here, and register here!). Even four hours off the treadmill of our lives can be surprisingly renewing and refreshing.
How about building an hour of retreat into your week? Choose a day when you’re not too busy, and a spot where you can be alone and quiet. Make a date with yourself and with God, and show up. Light a candle. Read a little Scripture and chew on it inwardly. Read a spiritual book. Talk to God about what’s on your mind. Try to get centered and silent and hear what God might be saying back. Write in a journal about what happens as you pray, what your hopes and intentions for the next week might be. Our spirits can get some deep nurture in a time apart like that.
We can even go with smaller increments. Just as they’re finding a half-hour of exercise can be valuable even in 10-minute increments, so can stepping into “God-space” for a few minutes once a day or more. I know people who set alerts on their computers or smart phones to cue them to go into quiet for an allotted period of time.
I don’t suggest these shorter times as a replacement for intentional, multi-day retreats. Retreat is one the most rewarding spiritual practices in our Christian tradition, and there are things that we can only hear and receive when we’ve stepped out of our regular lives for several days. It takes time for our spirits to rest, get in touch with what’s going on, and then become receptive to a deeper connection with the Holy Spirit. As I write this, I realize I must commit myself to take a longer retreat in the next three months, and maybe even lead one. Even so, I plan to be more intentional about daily and weekly retreat times.
When we just give and give without taking the time to recharge our spiritual batteries, to reconnect with the One whose life we are sharing with the world, we soon find ourselves with little to offer, tiring more quickly, becoming easily irritated.
When we follow Jesus into the places apart, we can be pretty sure he’ll meet us there with his peace. And we will be renewed.
I would probably just sleep in – but there are better ways to nurture your spirit, and Jesus led the way. After an intense period of spiritual output, or sometimes after hearing bad news, he often sought to go apart, either by himself, or with some or all of the Twelve. These mini-retreats were often interrupted, but that didn’t stop him from going.
I personally am lousy at the spiritual practice of retreat, at least in its longer, multi-day form. At times, I've gone somewhat regularly on retreat to convents or monasteries, but not lately. What Jesus models here, though, is the value of a time apart for prayer no matter how long it is. He knows he has another busy day of ministry ahead, so he gets up while it’s still dark to grab some alone time with his heavenly Father. That’s what prayer is – a time of conversation with God, and we don’t need five days away to do that.
Maybe we should think about retreats in smaller chunks. Christ the Healer offers a monthly half-day retreat, Spa for the Spirit (next one is this coming Saturday – find out more here, and register here!). Even four hours off the treadmill of our lives can be surprisingly renewing and refreshing.
How about building an hour of retreat into your week? Choose a day when you’re not too busy, and a spot where you can be alone and quiet. Make a date with yourself and with God, and show up. Light a candle. Read a little Scripture and chew on it inwardly. Read a spiritual book. Talk to God about what’s on your mind. Try to get centered and silent and hear what God might be saying back. Write in a journal about what happens as you pray, what your hopes and intentions for the next week might be. Our spirits can get some deep nurture in a time apart like that.
We can even go with smaller increments. Just as they’re finding a half-hour of exercise can be valuable even in 10-minute increments, so can stepping into “God-space” for a few minutes once a day or more. I know people who set alerts on their computers or smart phones to cue them to go into quiet for an allotted period of time.
I don’t suggest these shorter times as a replacement for intentional, multi-day retreats. Retreat is one the most rewarding spiritual practices in our Christian tradition, and there are things that we can only hear and receive when we’ve stepped out of our regular lives for several days. It takes time for our spirits to rest, get in touch with what’s going on, and then become receptive to a deeper connection with the Holy Spirit. As I write this, I realize I must commit myself to take a longer retreat in the next three months, and maybe even lead one. Even so, I plan to be more intentional about daily and weekly retreat times.
When we just give and give without taking the time to recharge our spiritual batteries, to reconnect with the One whose life we are sharing with the world, we soon find ourselves with little to offer, tiring more quickly, becoming easily irritated.
When we follow Jesus into the places apart, we can be pretty sure he’ll meet us there with his peace. And we will be renewed.
2-3-15 - Many Were Cured
Capernaum, where Jesus made his home, could be a tough place for him. Too many people knew about him, too many wanted some of what he was giving out. The story about the healing of the possessed man in the synagogue must have spread quickly – and maybe the tale of Peter’s mother-in-law’s swift 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 Mark says Jesus cured “many.” By the time Matthew and Luke get to this material, it's upgraded to “all” and “everyone he met.” The word “many” suggests that not everyone Jesus touched was cured, and perhaps not even all the demons were cast out.
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 so the church is deprived of one of its most powerful ways to make the transforming love of God known in the world, and individuals’ faith can grow weak from lack of exercise.
People active in the healing ministry today find there can be obstacles to healing, things that must be addressed before a person can receive 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. That is a block that 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, asking questions.
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."
“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 Mark says Jesus cured “many.” By the time Matthew and Luke get to this material, it's upgraded to “all” and “everyone he met.” The word “many” suggests that not everyone Jesus touched was cured, and perhaps not even all the demons were cast out.
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 so the church is deprived of one of its most powerful ways to make the transforming love of God known in the world, and individuals’ faith can grow weak from lack of exercise.
People active in the healing ministry today find there can be obstacles to healing, things that must be addressed before a person can receive 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. That is a block that 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, asking questions.
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."
2-2-15 - They Also Serve
We have been looking at “call stories,” the ways in which Jesus invited his disciples to become his followers, to leave their nets and books and follow him. But they likely left not only their livelihoods, but whole networks of family and community who relied upon them. We get a glimpse into the extended family of four of Jesus’ closest disciples in this week’s passage:
“As soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them."
Andrew, Simon (Peter), James and John are the four fishermen whom Jesus called from their nets to follow him. The two sets of brothers lived and worked together, and obviously Simon and Andrew lived with their extended family in the same household. And quite clearly Simon Peter was married. We don’t know about the others, but they likely had wives and children as well.
So the call to follow Jesus implied sacrifice from others, not just the disciples who traveled with him. One of the most poignant reminders of this came for me in an excellent but short-lived TV series, Nothing Sacred, about a Roman Catholic priest. In one episode, we keep coming back to a statue of a woman waving, and we don’t know what it means until the end, when we learn it is a statue of Peter’s wife. (I wasn’t able to recall which episode it was, but someone has put the series up online, if you can’t get it from NetFlix…)
I know many an individual who has been part of a church community in which their spouse does not participate, and they live in a special kind of tension between living out their faith with the fullness they’d like, and not taking too much time away from their families and partners. Sometimes this has an emotional and spiritual component as well; I’ve watched people hold back on going deeper spiritually because they don’t want to get too far “out in front” of a less believing partner.
If you know someone who is on their own in their faith journey, in terms of their family system, remember to pray for him or her, and find ways to “be family” for them at times. And if you are in that situation, you might pray that the grace and strength that you feel in your connection with God would come through you into the household, whether or not the other members of your family name it. God’s peace is God’s peace, and it works its wondrous way whether or not we name it. Then maybe it doesn’t have to be a tug-of-war, but a way to blend without imposing. And maybe in that space, the partner might find room to move toward God.
And remember to thank your family for what they offer in making it possible for you to live out your faith more fully and freely. As I write this, the non-church-going spouse of one of our most active congregants is putting a tarp over a Bilco door at the rectory to prevent more leaks - he is truly a blessing and part of the community, if from a slight distance.
There are passages in the New Testament in which Jesus or one of the apostles clearly states where the priority between faith and family should be. And there are others, like this one, where we see the healing power of Jesus move into a whole household and bring transformation to a whole family.
Or maybe he was just hungry and wanted Peter’s mother-in-law to get up and serve them… you think?
“As soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them."
Andrew, Simon (Peter), James and John are the four fishermen whom Jesus called from their nets to follow him. The two sets of brothers lived and worked together, and obviously Simon and Andrew lived with their extended family in the same household. And quite clearly Simon Peter was married. We don’t know about the others, but they likely had wives and children as well.
So the call to follow Jesus implied sacrifice from others, not just the disciples who traveled with him. One of the most poignant reminders of this came for me in an excellent but short-lived TV series, Nothing Sacred, about a Roman Catholic priest. In one episode, we keep coming back to a statue of a woman waving, and we don’t know what it means until the end, when we learn it is a statue of Peter’s wife. (I wasn’t able to recall which episode it was, but someone has put the series up online, if you can’t get it from NetFlix…)
I know many an individual who has been part of a church community in which their spouse does not participate, and they live in a special kind of tension between living out their faith with the fullness they’d like, and not taking too much time away from their families and partners. Sometimes this has an emotional and spiritual component as well; I’ve watched people hold back on going deeper spiritually because they don’t want to get too far “out in front” of a less believing partner.
If you know someone who is on their own in their faith journey, in terms of their family system, remember to pray for him or her, and find ways to “be family” for them at times. And if you are in that situation, you might pray that the grace and strength that you feel in your connection with God would come through you into the household, whether or not the other members of your family name it. God’s peace is God’s peace, and it works its wondrous way whether or not we name it. Then maybe it doesn’t have to be a tug-of-war, but a way to blend without imposing. And maybe in that space, the partner might find room to move toward God.
And remember to thank your family for what they offer in making it possible for you to live out your faith more fully and freely. As I write this, the non-church-going spouse of one of our most active congregants is putting a tarp over a Bilco door at the rectory to prevent more leaks - he is truly a blessing and part of the community, if from a slight distance.
There are passages in the New Testament in which Jesus or one of the apostles clearly states where the priority between faith and family should be. And there are others, like this one, where we see the healing power of Jesus move into a whole household and bring transformation to a whole family.
Or maybe he was just hungry and wanted Peter’s mother-in-law to get up and serve them… you think?
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