Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Be Healed

The Story of Scripture: Be Healed 5/15/11
Jeremiah 8:15-22, Mark 2:1-12, Mark 7:24-30

Healing is difficult topic:
1. There is a randomness to healing/not being healed.
2. God is God, and moves in his ways
3. In a purely human sense, all of us are mortal, and we go to the grave.
4. Technological advancements that blur quality of life dynamics.

Quadrant:
Great faith/receive requests Great faith/do not receive request

Little faith/receive requests Little faith/do not receive requests

Different Types of Healing
Physical Healing:
Mental Healing: peace of mind
Emotional Healing: from bitterness, anger
Relational Healing: from conflict, from distance
Spiritual Healing: with God, in one’s spirit

Jeremiah: Sometimes, there is no healing.
We had hoped for peace and healing, but it did not come
--the imminent judgment from Babylon
Isn’t the Lord in Zion? Is her king on the throne?
Summer is past, and we are not saved
Isn’t there a balm in Gilead? Why is there no healing for my people?

Mark 2: Sometimes, Jesus heals.
Give ourselves a moment to imagine this stunning scene
--the sounds of the men climbing on the roof
--ceiling falling around as they dug…people looking up
--Jesus must have had a smile on his face: What he was seeing from
the fully God/fully human perspective.
--did the people help the man on the mat as he was closer to ground?
--I don’t think the religious leaders lifted a finger.
--what was their look when Jesus read through their soul & thought?
--imagine the man, lying on the floor, helpless, when Jesus is discussing with the religious leaders: So that you might know that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sin, I tell you…
--get up, take your mat, and go home…AND HE DID JUST THAT
--ultimately, Jesus is interested in the healing of spirit. For that is how we live forever.

Mark 7: Sometimes, we give reason for healing.
A shepherd to the lost sheep of Israel
Impressed by the logic and wisdom of the woman

Always wonder about the people who hear Jesus saying go, it is done. They have to leave, believing, they have to wonder as they go home, they have to have sweaty palms as they open the door to their home, to look at their loved one, to see if what this holy man had said came true.

Paul: II Corinthians 12: God’s strength is made complete in our dependence and weakness.

Jesus: Fully God/Fully Human
Teacher
Healer

Today, if we need healing, and we find it praise God.
If we need healing, and we do not find it, pray to God.
In all situations trust God.
In Jesus, we see the healer was also the teacher.
God is teaching the world through us about his grace. We are part of the story, therefore, let us never travel far from the master storyteller. He is the way, the truth, and the life.

Christ is Risen!
He has risen indeed!

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