As we have explored the interplay between our faith and God’s faithfulness this month, I have tried my best to turn away from some of the more common messages we sometimes hear about faith to focus instead on how it is ultimately God’s faithfulness that does the heavy lifting. Our faith is the tiniest seed. Our faith can feel lonely and cause conflict with loved ones. Our faith can falter when we think we are the ones doing the work. And yet, God creates great things, calling us into new families, and never leaving us alone.
Our last topic this month is the one that leaves me feeling the most cautious and uncertain. I touched on this briefly last week as I spoke of my discomfort with so much of the talk we hear about what our faith is supposed to do. As Jesus says so many times, our faith makes us whole; we are healed because of our faith (see Mark 5:21-43). Sometimes we read or hear these words, and we imagine that if we just had enough faith, if we just believe hard enough, God will have mercy. It is difficult not to think this when we read stories like the ones we have today. It is especially hard if we have ever heard church leaders or family members express exactly that sentiment. Somehow we are failing in our faith if we are not made into the image of wholeness that the rest of the world has for us, an image that we often carry within ourselves, an idea of what our lives should be or should look like. These ideas can make any chronic illness doubly debilitating. We have not only the disease to deal with, but the guilt that our faith isn’t stronger.
This week we continue to read Mark 1 (see Mark 1:29-39) and continue our exploration of how the people recognized the light of the kingdom of God coming into the world through Jesus.
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This week’s gospel reading follows immediately after last week’s reading. As you may recall, last week we heard about Jesus’ authority. We read how he not only cast out a demon, but he also taught with authority. This authority was something that the people in the synagogue recognized even before he had displayed his spiritual power. The people were amazed, and the news about Jesus spread.
Today we read that after leaving the synagogue, Jesus and some of his followers went home with Simon and Andrew. There Jesus learned that Simon’s mother-in-law was bed-ridden with fever. He went to the bed where she lay and healed her. The fever left her, and she was well enough to get up and offer hospitality to Jesus and his friends.
After what happened in the synagogue and again in the home of Simon and Andrew, stories about Jesus spread through the community quickly. That very evening, people from all over town brought to Jesus anyone who was sick or possessed. Jesus healed them all that he could.
The next morning, Jesus arose early and went to find a place where he could be alone and pray. He obviously didn’t even tell his disciples where he was going since they had to go in search of him. The first thing they do is let him know that everyone in town is looking for him. I have to laugh a little at Jesus’ response. “Let’s head in the other direction…” (Mark 1:38, CEB). He wants to continue on to other villages throughout the region, for that is why he has come. And that is what he did.
As is true for much of the Gospel of Mark, this brief passage is dense with multiple ideas packed into it. To unpack these things a little more, we’re going to actually start at the end here and work our way back toward the beginning of our reading.
As we approach the end of the first chapter of Mark (there is still one story left in this chapter), Jesus makes it quite clear what his purpose is. He has come to spread the good news throughout the land. That’s it. He intends to travel to nearby villages so that he can preach there. And that is exactly what he does. He travels throughout Galilee preaching in the synagogues and casting out demons. As we will see as we continue through the Gospel of Mark, casting out demons is closely linked with healing, the two often occurring in close proximity in ways that at times become almost indistinguishable.
It is interesting that Jesus says that his purpose is to preach the gospel, and yet he not only preaches but throws out demons and heals as well. The healing is not his primary purpose and yet it serves his purpose. Part of the good news of the kingdom of God is that God heals. God loves us and cares for us. God is compassionate. Through healing those in need, Jesus strengthens his message.
Interestingly our story today also suggests that this is something that is quite draining for Jesus. Jesus spends almost an entire evening healing the people of the town, after preaching and performing two other miracles earlier in the day. Then the first thing he does when he wakes up the next morning is to sneak away for some alone time. Not only that, but when his disciples come and tell him the town is looking for him Jesus says, “let’s go the other way, instead.”
At the same time, we can’t forget that for Jesus the message about the kingdom of God is in fact intimately linked with his ministry of healing. As we recall from last week, Jesus teaches and preaches with authority, and then he casts out a demon. Then today we find out he goes home with friends from that and heals someone. And then he spends the rest of the day healing others.
The end of today’s reading suggests he has accomplished what he came to do in Capernaum, and now it is time to move on. He continues through Galilee, preaching in the synagogues, throwing out demons, and healing those who are in need. In fact, the very next story which finishes out this chapter of Mark is another healing story. While traveling through Galilee, Jesus heals a man with a skin disease. Jesus may have come to share the news of the kingdom of God, but he does this through more than simply preaching and teaching.
As we think about our place, our mission, our ministry here in this place as part of the body of Christ, I am reminded that this is also part of the message that we are called to share. We, too, are called to share the message of the good news of God’s kingdom to the world around us. But, just like Jesus, we do this through more than simply preaching and teaching.
As we look back over the last year, it may be difficult for us to think about the ways in which this congregation has participated in healing in our world. Part of this may be because we know that we ourselves are in need of healing. How can we heal others when we need healing, especially in the year that we have had? Another part of the reason may be because we don’t realize that the healing we offer the world often does not take the form of the miraculous healings that Jesus performs. This is not to say miracles cannot or do not occur, but the gift of miracles is not often ours to offer.
Still, we see evidence of God’s healing at work in our lives and in our community. And we have participated in that healing work. We have offered our prayers. We have offered hope through giving to support the needs of others in our community. We have offered food to families that might otherwise not have the resources they need. We have offered joy through Christmas gifts to children that might otherwise miss out. These are all elements of healing, even if they do not immediately call to mind the miracles that Jesus performed.
Within our own congregation, we have seen the effects of the virus that continues to run rampant around the world. And we have seen miraculous evidence of God’s healing.
At the same time, one thing we must remember is that healing does not always look as we expect. Many of us carry an image of what we think wholeness looks like. We tend to expect that all healing will bring that wholeness into being. Sometimes healing does bring about a full recovery of all ailments and that image of wholeness is restored.
But sometimes healing brings a new sense of wholeness. Sometimes healing means acceptance of new realities. Sometimes it is the mind that needs healing rather than whatever physical struggle one may face.
In the movie, The Sixth Sense, healing comes in unexpected ways for more than one person in the story. As the movie opens we learn that the character played by Bruce Willis is a well respected child psychologist. Over the course of the film, he attempts to help a boy who struggles with visions he cannot control that fill him with dread and fear. The boy is misunderstood by most of the people he encounters. He hides behind toy soldiers. He seeks refuge in a church.
By the end of the film, both the boy and the man find healing together. Rather than the healing bringing what we might consider wholeness or wellness, it takes a different form. The boy learns to live with his difference, accepting it not as the curse he once thought it was, but as a part of him that perhaps he can use in new ways that can be a help to others. The man comes to terms with just how drastically his life has changed. He is able to let go of things that he was afraid to give up before and to go in a new and unknown direction.
What does healing look like for us? Are we only satisfied with healing that brings the image of wholeness we envision in our minds? Or do we find that healing often takes other forms?
And what of the healing that we offer to our community? What does it look like for our congregation to participate in healing in our community? Does that healing look like we expect it to?
As we continue to dig into the gospel story, we find that healing is an essential aspect of the kingdom of God. Healing was a highly visible part of the ministry of Jesus. The gospels tend to describe it as flashy and miraculous. When we don’t see the same in our own lives or in the lives of people we care about, it may at times be discouraging. But as we grow deeper into our understanding of healing, we know that healing doesn’t always look as we expect it to. God revives us, lifts our spirits, and offers us healing even when our physical forms are not turned into some ideal vision of wholeness and perfection.
For our closing song today, I invite you to consider a song that I believe is familiar to most of us. Credited only as an African American spiritual, it is a song that recognizes the many forms that God’s healing takes. It is a song that helps us find hope no matter our circumstances. So let us remember all that God provides.
Today we concluded our series based on this year's Vacation Bible School themes with a healing story found in the Gospel of Luke (see Luke 17:11-19). In this story, Jesus heals ten lepers as he enters a village. In doing so, one of the lepers goes beyond expectations to express his thankfulness...and Jesus goes beyond boundaries.
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Going beyond. Over the course of June, we have used the theme and texts from this year’s Vacation Bible School as our focus for worship. Starting at the beginning of June, we have looked at different point each Sunday - going beyond with faith, boldness, and kindness. We have explored the ways that in each of these stories, the characters have gone beyond expectation, and the results have been even more than could have been imagined.
Today we look at going beyond with thankfulness in this healing story found in the Gospel according to St. Luke. And along the way, we will look at the ways that Jesus was also going beyond in today’s story - beyond expectations, beyond social norms, and beyond religious norms.