Dear friends,
Both Simon and I seem to be suffering from a string of minor injuries this week -- Simon’s from the fact that he now runs fast enough that his reflexes can’t keep up with his clumsiness, and mine from various aches and slow-healing bruises. I guess we’re both getting older…
Nonetheless, we’re in what I’d call more or less perfect health. And yet we STILL need constant healing, we still rely constantly on God’s ongoing gift of life. Now imagine those of us who are truly hurting, or are even fighting for our lives. Healing isn’t some occasional thing, a special gift we only need on special days. It’s something that all of us need all of our days, and something that will become an acute, critical need for each one of us at some point in our lives.
The passage for this week from Acts is all about healing, about God’s power to heal and to forgive sins. This is the name and the nature of Jesus-- to bring healing to all God’s children, even those who “rejected the Holy and Righteous One.” By putting our faith in that same Jesus, a couple of things happen:
1- We see Christ’s handiwork in all those who heal. We hold up nurses, doctors, counselors, friends, neighbors, as doing holy work. Every heart that has been prompted to extend healing to another person is a heart that has been touched by Jesus.
2- We ourselves are empowered to be healers. Through our faith we offer restoration, both to ourselves and to others, both by medical intervention and by the power of prayer.
Jesus’ power to heal is seen throughout the gospels as proof positive of his identity as the Lord of Love and the Son of God. Millenia later, by putting our faith in his name, in his nature, we can still help bring healing to the most profound wounds of body and spirit -- and we bring his presence and his spirit to soothe even when healing does not come.
May healing be in your heart, through your hands, and on your lips all this week, as a blessing you both give and receive.
Peace and joy,
Andrew