Monday, May 2, 2016

Jesus Healing

"When Jesus saw the man lying there and knew that he had been there for a long time, he said to the man, 'Do you want to be made well?'"
--John 5: 6



Healing Ground, Summerfield, NC


I spent Friday afternoon at a place called the Healing Ground, which is affiliated with the Servant Leadership School out of Holy Trinity in Greensboro. It's very serene and peaceful, with its lush gardens, lake, outdoor chapel, and labyrinth.  God was there,  and I could tell that this place must have facilitated a  great deal of healing for many people.  So this got me thinking:  what do we mean when we talk about being healed? 

Often our concept of healing is tied into some sort of quick fix.  We wanna feel better and we want it now.  It might be a cream that fixes baldness or a belt that works your abs at the push of a button.  Turn on any infomercial late at night and you'll see the kinds of quick fixes that folks go after to get the healing they want.

The Abgymnic does all the work for you!!

It's not a new phenomenon, of course.  The folks in Jerusalem by the pool called Beth-zatha wanted a quick fix.  These folks were in all kinds of bad shape, and they were certain if they could get into that water, especially if they were first, then they'd get that quick fix and be healed of their infirmities.  They believed that an angel of God came down and touched the water, causing it to bubble up with healing power.  Nevermind the fact that the Jewish historian Josephus points out that the bubbling actually occurred because of a subterranean stream beneath the pool.  Those gathered there didn't care so long as they got that quick fix, that healing for which they longed. 

We meet one of those folks today, and we can hear his frustration.  He longs to get in that pool, to get that healing, but no one will take him down there and put him in.  What he and the other folks by the pool don't realize is that healing won't come from some superstitious waters, but it will come from Jesus, who approaches the man and asks if he wants to be made well.  I've always been fascinated by this line because of course the man wants to be able to walk.  But as I think on this passage I begin to think that that's not what Jesus is asking.  The Greek that is used here can be translated into "do you want to be made well" or "do you want to be healthy" or "do you want to be changed."  Jesus' question is not just about curing he man's physical ailments, but it is about healing his very soul. True healing, the healing of the soul, as well as the body, cannot be obtained by a quick fix like those waters. 

An artist's depiction of the lame man by the pool of Beth-zatha.

The healing that this man finds, this changed state of being, does not come from an angelic pool, instead it comes from a relationship with Jesus.  We don't see Jesus use magic hands or some kind of special prayer, instead he asks the man a question.  He begins a conversation, and in doing so he invites him into a relationship.  It is from that relationship with Jesus that the man finds more than just the quick fix he thought the pool would provide.  Instead he finds a new state of being, and his life from here will never be the same.  That's real healing. 

How does Jesus bring about healing now?  Through you.  Through us.  The Body of Christ. We are the agents of Jesus' healing.  That healing occurs when we change our expectations for what healing looks like.  The kind of healing that leads to a changed state of being is done through conversation, which leads to relationship, and relationship leads to community.  And it is in community that we find salvation, which is nothing less than God's healing grace for the entire world.  Salvation is not a solo-endeavor, that's what it means to be a Catholic Church, a church that knows that we get to salvation together, through praying together, sharing Sacrament together, and working together.  The healing of God's world comes through that kind of community, and it all begins with relationship. 

Those kind of salvific, healing relationships are what  NetworX Randolph County seeks to cultivate in its efforts to alleviate poverty.  Most people in poverty in this city and county are just like that man in the gospel--in pain and seeking healing over a long, long period of time.  It isn't that they don't want it, it's that they can't do it alone, and they need help.  They need someone to start a conversation and begin a relationship with them that will lead to healing.  As a Christian-based organization, NetworX looks to embody the love of Jesus by forming relationships with these folks, helping them develop skills that can get them over the hump and make their lives better.  If you come to their Poverty Awareness Day in two weeks you'll see for yourselves the difficulties faced by those encountering both situational and generational poverty, and you'll see how lives can be changed just from having a conversation and forming a relationship.  It's not a quick fix.  It's the kind of healing that is sustainable, as well as sacred.  NetworX knows what it means to be agents of healing.

For more information on NetworX, visit www.facebook.com/NetworXForHopeRandolph

It starts with relationship, understanding that a quick fix is not what changes lives.  Often times folks come by the church office seeking some sort of help, some sort of healing.  Instead of just writing a check, I always try to have a conversation.  What's going on in this person's life?  What led them to our door?  What are they really searching for (it's usually much more than money)?  Sometimes we walk around the church and talk about what the folks at Good Shepherd are all about.  Sometimes I've seen those folks out in the congregation the following Sunday, and sometimes I don't.  But it doesn't matter.  What matters is that a conversation was had, a relationship was formed, and seeds for healing were planted.  We all have the opportunity to plant such seeds, to be agents of healing.  Maybe it's through a program like NetworX.  Maybe it's by volunteering with a similar organization in your area.  Or maybe it's just by talking to someone who's going through a tough time and asking what you can do to help.  Those are the kind of seeds that sprout into real, salvific healing.

I don't know where you are right now, but I'm sure some of you are looking for healing.  And I'm sure some of you are wondering how you might offer healing to someone else.  Remember the lesson of the man by the pool: true healing--sustainable and salvific healing--comes not from something magical but from conversation, relationship, and community. This is the kind of healing that is so much more than a quick fix.  This is Jesus healing.

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