And a leper *came to
Jesus, beseeching Him and falling on his knees before Him, and saying, "If
You are willing, You can make me clean." Moved with compassion, Jesus
stretched out His hand and touched him, and *said to him, "I am willing; be cleansed." Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.
Mark 1:40-42
What does it mean to be sick? Have you ever had to cope with a really
serious prolonged illness? If you have,
you know that it has to do with more than just your physical condition. It can involve your whole life and keep you
from living up to your highest possibilities.
The several different kinds of healing works that Jesus uses
that gives us some insight into the different things that can go wrong in a
person's life. Jesus healed some of
disabling conditions like lameness or blindness that kept people from
functioning as happy and productive people. Jesus also healed some, like the person in our
scripture lesson, of leprosy. Leprosy
was a much dreaded, multifaceted illness. Not only was it a physical illness that could
be terminal, it had an additional stigma attached to it. There was a widely held belief that it was
probably a punishment for some sin. It could make people look down on you. And, because of ritual laws of uncleanness, it
could cause you to be quarantined away from human relationships in the
community and prevented from worshiping in the temple. It could alienate you
from yourself, from family and community, and from God.
In the Bible, people were thought of as unified souls. The
mind, the body, the emotions, the spirit and the relationships were all
interrelated aspects of the one person. If
there was a serious problem that prevented a person from functioning fully in
all of those aspects, there was sickness. Can you see how the different kinds of
physical sicknesses that Jesus healed represented different kinds of spiritual
sicknesses that can overtake us? Can you
see how the different kinds of healing works that Jesus did related to more
than just a person's physical health? Jesus wants to heal us from all of our
diseases; and the greatest may be our psychological, emotional or spiritual
illnesses. Jesus was going through all the cities and villages,
teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and
healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness. Matthew 9:35
This is really close to the essence of the Christian faith.
We know that the Christian faith has a lot to do with being saved. But being
saved in not just something that has to do with the hereafter. The Greek word sozein which is often translated
"to be saved" can also mean to
be healed or to be made whole. To be saved is to be made a whole person.
Whatever the sickness is that keeps us from being whole our
Lord desires to minister healing to us.
While we wait for that healing, He is our comfort and source of
strength. We can also find help in the
fellowship of the church. Don’t feel
alone or ashamed to be in need. Call on
Him for healing.
Scripture to Claim:
Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises. Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. James 5:13-15
