Eastertide
April 9, 2018
Scripture Reading: Acts 3:12-19
When Peter saw it, he addressed the people, ‘You Israelites, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we had made him walk? The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our ancestors has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you handed over and rejected in the presence of Pilate, though he had decided to release him. But you rejected the Holy and Righteous One and asked to have a murderer given to you, 5and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. And by faith in his name, his name itself has made this man strong, whom you see and know; and the faith that is through Jesus has given him this perfect health in the presence of all of you. –Acts 3:12-16
When I was a child a well-known faith healer had a regular show on one of our local television stations. My family sometimes watched this program. People would line up and come one at a time to be healed and he would place his hands on them and pray loudly and fervently for their healing. Some used crutches or canes and left them behind as they walked away rejoicing. For others, there was no definitive proof of their healing, but they reported the loss of pain or feeling better. I do not recall my parent’s attitude or reaction to these healings. My parents were the ones choosing to watch. I doubt if they gave much thought to what a little kid like me might think. The faith healer always asked for contributions to support his ministry and he sent back an autographed photo of himself. We got one. He assured people he would pray for their requests.
I probably thought the healings were real at the time. I do not know when or why we quit watching but we did. I knew the stories of Jesus’ healings and the healings that the disciples did as reported in our scripture above. I also do not remember when I grew skeptical of such practices. Many years later a friend of mine was going through her mother’s papers after the mother’s sudden, unexpected, and unexplained death. The daughter found a postcard response from this same man’s ministry thanking her mother for her financial gift and assuring her that the ministry’s prayer team was praying for her healing. The daughter assumed her mother had had symptoms of which no one else in the family was aware.
Working as a social worker at a children’s hospital led me to experience that unexplainable healings do occur, and the support of intercessional prayer does make a difference. I also wonder if the gospel writers chose not to describe instances of Jesus praying for someone when the answer was “no.” Well except in one instance, Jesus’ prayer in the Garden, ‘My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want.’ (Matthew 26:39) was answered “no.”
Loving one another entails accompanying people on whatever path they encounter. As God is present with us in all things, we too are called to be present with one another sharing the burdens and joys of life. God deals with false prophets and God hears and answers all our prayers no matter how we make God aware of our concerns.
Prayer: Lord, we live in a world in which the ability to trust has faded. Forgive us when our trust in you is shaken by possible misrepresentation of your acts. Guide our discernment. Amen.