Three Weeks of Healing... Part 1

Three Weeks of Healing… Part 1

(Homily at Trinity Church / January 29, 2012 / Rev. George Pell)

Mark’s gospel begins with a ‘bang’….

“The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God”

7 verses to introduce and tell the story of John the Baptist, and his looking forward to Jesus

7 verses to introduce Jesus, his baptism, his time in the wilderness, and the beginning of his ministry once John had been put in prison… proclaiming good news… a)time is fulfilled b) kingdom of God ‘is at hand’ c)repent d)believe the good news

5  for Jesus to call his first companions (disciples)… some fishermen who ‘immediately left their father and business and followed Jesus

Mark is on a mission to quickly get to the story of Jesus’ ministry!

Once Jesus is ready for his mission…. he goes to the synagogue, and introduces his ‘take’ on faith

The first three stories of Jesus’ ministry are not stories of teaching, but stories of healing

At the core of Jesus’ ministry, and at the core of Mark’s account of Jesus’ ministry is wholeness (i.e. the kingdom of God is upon you) and healing ( three incidents in succession dealing with healing, and care for the unwell…. What we might call pastoral care)

_________________________________________________________________

Consecutive stories from Mark’s gospel

Mark 1:21-28…. Healing of  a man with unclean spirit (in synagogue)

                                   Resistance to healing (What have you got to do with us)

Mark 1:29-39…. Healing of Peter’s mother-in-law + others

                                   (at Peter’s home in Capernaum)

Mark 1 :40-45…. Leper (to Jesus ‘If you choose, you can make me clean.”

                                    (Initiative by the man desiring healing)

As we begin… perhaps we should first ask ourselves what we mean by ‘healing’?

This past Tuesday, Anglican clergy met to hear a presentation by Professor Pamela Klassen, of the University of Toronto.  She was presenting the John Alfred Hall lectures… a yearly series co-sponsored by the University of Victoria and the Anglican Diocese, and this includes one study day with clergy.  The themes involve some aspect of the intersection between the sciences and faith.  Professor Klassen’s theme with us was based on a book she wrote on the understanding and practice of healing in the United and Anglican churches.

Healing involves wholeness.

When the predominant way of understanding the human being was to imagine three almost independent entities…body, mind and spirit… healing was often focused on curing the ‘part that hurt’, so that if a person was blind, the cure would be to restore sight, with little thought of how that person had coped with blindness, or how they might deal with life as a sighted person.  The medical model, as well as those we call ‘faith healers’ have traditionally followed this pattern .

Professor Klassen argued that there is now more emphasis on humans  being a ‘network’ of interconnections (or perhaps, intersecting circles)… recognizing, for example, that when our emotions are damaged,  it may affect our physical health, as well. (A simple example is a cold or flu… how they affect our moods, our energy, or response to others.) And so the emphasis in much of modern healing is on creating a ‘balancing’ or equilibrium in people’s lives.  Traditional Christian spiritual practices of meditation and prayer, newer practices such as healing prayer and healing touch; and disciplines such as yoga and tai chai emphasis this unity of body-mind-spirit.  Healing and wholeness is seen as a path more than a cure. It is this form of healing that has been emphasized and is becoming a normal part of ministry within churches such as the Anglican, and United Churches, as well as Lutherans, and Presbyterians.

So what is Jesus’ perspective on healing and wholeness.  The next three weeks will allow us to reflect on his ministry of healing, and hopefully for us to reflect on our own sense of healing ministry and ministries such as Pastoral Care

Today’s story begins with Jesus attending worship!

John Shea comments…. Jesus enters sacred space (synagogue) at sacred time (Sabbath)

Jesus teaches, as is the prerogative of visiting men

But his teaching has a different depth and quality than even their scribes… he taught with ‘authority’

Into the mix comes a man suffering from what we would likely call a psychiatric disorder (we do not know the circumstances)

He doesn’t come seeking cure or healing; he would have been expelled from the synagogue because of his condition

We also don’t know if he is aware that this new healer/teacher Jesus was present.

But he came to the synagogue; he violated the Jewish religious/health rules. 

He was looking for something.

When he enters the synagogue the man encounters Jesus.

What sort of healing was needed?

This was a man overwhelmed by the demons of his life and past. What was his need?  It wasn’t the need for physical cure (like a bleeding cut that can be bound up. In his case…. it is not a physical cure…. it is a case and a need of re-balancing’

The man recognizes a healing presence;

but he is not sure he wants to be healed

(sometimes it’s easier to live with our pain than seek healing)

Jesus was able to see the evil, the demon which possessed him… and Jesus named and called that for evil to depart… and  in a fit of convulsions, the demon left the man.

We don’t hear anything more about this man… whether the cure lasted (remember the story of the unclean spirit  being cast out, but nothing whole and healthy being put in its place, and therefore the  ‘last state of the man was worse than the first’).

The story is not meant to be a testimonial concerning a particular healing, but a claim that central to Jesus preaching of God’s kingdom was a concern and involvement in healing and wholeness.

In looking at this story for another viewpoint, what was Jesus’ intention?  He did not go into the synagogue to heal people.  That would be an offence to the religious and health perspectives of his fellow Jews.  Jesus went to worship, and took the offer given to teach.

But when the man broke through all religious and health prohibitions, Jesus was there.  He was able to focus his energy, mind and emotions on this man in great distress.  He recognized that the man needed a release from his past, from brokenness and distorted spirit, and so spoke to that need, and called for the healing that was needed.

What can we learn from this story?

a)     God kingdom involves healing and wholeness

b)     Healing is not just about cure of body parts, but restored spirit, heart and emotions

c)      We too, like Jesus, are confronted by opportunities to be a part of God’s healing ministry

Healing and care is not just about going out and finding someone to heal, but ‘being ready’; though that doesn’t mean we always are able to respond to each request.  When I, or you reflect on the various opportunities to be part a God’s healing presence in the world, I see success sometimes; sometimes failure; sometimes something in between. I recognize my humanness and imperfection, and I need to remember that God does not expect me to be perfect.  But all situations can become tools for learning… for prayer and for reflection, and for readiness.

It is the same for each of you… God’s people.. part of a healed and healing community.  We need to grow into the likeness of Jesus, to ask God to be a part of the healing of our world and its people that is central to the proclamation of the good news. 

Today we will be singing two songs which fit in so well with this theme….

 ‘I am Called to Serve’; and ‘Will You Let me be your Servant’

Please sense the words and mood as we sing; and may they be inspirations for us.

Amen!

“Be in the heart of each to whom I speak;
in the mouth of each who speaks unto me.”