Hoping for Healing - October 1
Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 102; PM Psalm 107:1-32; 2 Kings 19:1-20; 1 Cor. 9:16-27; Matt. 8:1-17
Today’s Reflection
In today’s Gospel from Matthew 8, we are presented with three different scenes of healing. The scenes show not only three very different kinds of illness, but also three very different ways that people come to Jesus to receive healing, whether for themselves or for someone whom they love. We also see three ways that Jesus responds, tailoring his response to each person's situation and need.
First, we see a person with leprosy who comes directly to Jesus for healing. This person came in faith, kneeling before Jesus and saying, “Lord, if you choose, you can make me clean.” Jesus responded, “I do choose. Be made clean!” This man is sick, but his faith remains strong, and he comes to Jesus with full faith that, if Jesus chooses, he will be clean.
Then, Matthew describes the interaction between the centurion and Jesus. In this vignette, the centurion is coming to Jesus asking for healing not for himself but for his servant, who he tells Jesus is “lying at home paralyzed.” The centurion is not even asking Jesus to come to his home to do the healing, but rather believes so much in Jesus’ power that all he needs to hear from Jesus is that that man will be healed: “‘Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and the slave does it.’”
The centurion has a strong faith, so strong that he knows that Jesus’ healing power does not require physical touch or proximity to be manifest. Even Jesus is taken aback by the centurion’s faith: “When Jesus heard him, he was amazed and said to those who followed him, ‘Truly I tell you, in no one* in Israel have I found such faith.” His response to the centurion’s request? ‘Go; let it be done for you according to your faith.’ And the servant was healed in that hour.”
Finally, we hear the story of how, when Jesus arrived at Peter’s house, he found Peter’s mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. In this case, Jesus has made a visit to the one who needs healing (the passage is not clear whether he was asked to do so, or whether by divine instinct he knew he was needed there). We do know how Jesus responded: “he touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she got up and began to serve him.” In this case, Jesus reached out with his physical touch, placed his hand on hers, and without a word she was made well. Her response was one of immediate gratitude—she was well again, and she wanted to use her newfound energy and strength to serve Jesus.
Seeing these three scenes of healing, and how each one unfolds so differently, is a vivid reminder for us about the nature of health and healing. Every person and situation in need of Jesus’s healing is distinctive. Jesus saw that there is no ‘one size fits all’ response when people are unwell, or are caring for someone who is unwell, and need his healing word or touch. We see this in our community of Saint Stephen’s today. Sometimes you will let us know directly that you have a need for prayer and support for yourself—reaching out to a clergy person or staff member or a fellow parishioner to let us know directly. Other times, we hear from you about people you care about who need our prayers and support as they struggle with illnesses of many kinds, physical and mental. We lift up these prayer requests together in our online Morning Prayer community, and in Sunday services, and throughout the week clergy and parishioner intercessors pray for the needs of those whom you love and whose names and needs you have brought before us. Other times, you or I may come across people in need of healing in the course of our daily comings and goings—we may run into someone at church or at the store, or in our own family or circle of friends—and we can in that moment reach out, as Jesus did, with a simple, loving word or healing touch.
I pray that we can all be open, both as people in need of healing and as people who love those in need of healing, to have a faith like the leper, the centurion and his servant, and Peter and Peter’s mother-in-law—a faith that knows that, no matter how healing is sought, we believe in a God of love who sent his healing power into the world through Jesus, and that we carry that healing power within us even to this day. May we, like the three people in this story, have the kind of faith that seeks not to keep the healing to ourselves, but a faith that seeks to share Christ’s healing and comforting love with all who need it.
—Becky+
Questions for Self-Reflection
What healing can you ask God for in your prayers this day? What within yourself needs Jesus’ healing touch? And who has God placed on your heart this day so that you may pray for God’s healing love and power would be at work in their lives?
Daily Challenge
Beyond praying, what else can you do to extend God’s healing love and power toward one (or more) of the people God has placed on your heart this day? Consider making a call or visit, writing and sending a note, offering to go for a walk (or take their pet or children for a walk), or bringing by flowers or a meal.