HEALING

Thursday, 2^nd Week in Ordinary Time          

            “He had cured many…”

            Today’s gospel reading portrays how Jesus is being followed by different groups from all over Palestine. They all want to see him, to listen to him, and to touch him to be healed of their illnesses. Jesus has become very popular; and it must be a sight to behold: crowds gathering around Jesus by the sea, people trying to catch a glimpse of him, desiring to be touched by his healing power.

            All of us need and want some sort of healing. But what does healing mean? Healing means being able to function as you are with wholeness and wellness. In some cases, it means the complete removal of a physical affliction. In other cases, it means you taste the grace of God in such wonderful ways that you are able to function with joy and gladness. (Harold Sala, Today Counts)

            If ever a generation needed wholeness and healing, it is our generation. Broken hearts, fractured relationships, and the inability to live at peace with our neighbors and ourselves has left us hurting, estranged, and troubled.

            Jesus comes to bring physical, emotional, and spiritual healing. He heals without considering how serious the situation is. He heals both physical and emotional illnesses – which are often intertwined. Jesus also makes it clear that sickness is not the result of personal failure or sin, but part of the curse that came when Adam turned his back on God’s plan for humankind.

            Harold Sala, in his book Today Counts, says, “Human beings are a composite of the emotional, physical, and spiritual.” “Therefore, the restoration that we need has to touch all three areas.” “God is still Jehovah Rapha, or the God who heals.” While according to Charles Farr, “Healing is any sign of God’s kingdom in a person’s life – not necessarily an answer to every medical or physical need.” “Healing in Scripture does not refer to becoming as you were; it is becoming what you should be.”

            Physical healing alone should never be the focal point of our worship. Healing of all kinds should be the result of the Holy Spirit’s touch on the lives of hurting people – wounded and broken. For any pain and suffering in our lives today, God is still the only medicine.