Tag Archives: Healing

Sing a New Song

Living in the Spirit

October 15, 2020

Scripture Reading: Psalm 96:1-9, (10-13)

O sing to the Lord a new song;
   sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
   tell of his salvation from day to day.
Declare his glory among the nations,
   his marvelous works among all the peoples.
For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
   he is to be revered above all gods.
For all the gods of the peoples are idols
   but the Lord made the heavens.
Honor and majesty are before him;
   strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.—Psalm 96:1-6

We need to sing to the Lord a new song. I can imagine God is very tired of listening to our discordant music. I am not suggesting that several verses of In My Heart There Rings a Melody would solve all our problems. We need to change our behavior interacting with one another in loving positive ways until we can genuinely intone How Can I Keep from Singing. Do we remember how that feels? I called a person I have never met at the local school district office with an idea about coordinating a project with my church. She received my call so enthusiastically it energized me to get busy on planning.

The time has come in this COVID-19 pandemic to sing a new song. Each morning, set one or two goals for things to do to enhance someone else’s life and do them. Identify five good things that happened during each day and share them with God every evening. Take time to listen to songs of joy and love. Meditate on scriptures like the one above. Let God renew your soul during these troubled times.

Prayer: Lord, teach us new songs to lead us into healing and wholeness for all the sick and all those who are anxious about life in general.Amen

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Wholeness and Death

Eastertide

May 6, 2019

Scripture Reading: Acts 9:36-43

Now in Joppa there was a disciple whose name was Tabitha, which in Greek is Dorcas. She was devoted to good works and acts of charity. At that time she became ill and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in a room upstairs. Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, who heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him with the request, ‘Please come to us without delay.’ So Peter got up and went with them; and when he arrived, they took him to the room upstairs. All the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing tunics and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was with them. Peter put all of them outside, and then he knelt down and prayed. He turned to the body and said, ‘Tabitha, get up.’ Then she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up. He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he showed her to be alive. This became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. Meanwhile he stayed in Joppa for some time with a certain Simon, a tanner.

A well-known, respected Christian writer Rachel Held Evans died recently at the age of 37. It is hard to face the death of anyone we love and harder to understand how such a gifted person could die so young. I am sure that was how all of Tabitha’s friends and family felt. The New Testament only shares the stories of the people who were returned to life but surely there were many more families and friends to whom Jesus and his disciples ministered in their grief.  The same could be said for those who were healed and others who were not. Why? Why did any children have to die in our scourge of school shootings and why those particular children? Jesus said that it rains of the just and the unjust (Matthew 5:45) but that, while a fact, is little comfort. It is important that he said it as it somewhat puts to rest thoughts that death was punishment for sin.

There is no easy answer. Someone said after the Oklahoma City bombing that when it happened the first heart that was broken was God’s. I believe that is true. We live in a world in progress. We were given the gift of free will at our creation and the result of that is life is not perfect and we are thus challenged every day to work toward God’s wholeness for all, which seems to move at a snails pace at times but then a breakthrough happens and we know that God is traveling with us on our journey toward God’s perfection.

Prayer: Lord, we pray for those who have lost loved ones and those who have experienced the joy of healing. Guide us as we strive toward wholeness in your love. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Joy in the Morning

Eastertide

May 1, 2019

Scripture Reading: Psalm 30

Sing praises to the Lord, O you his faithful ones,
   and give thanks to his holy name.
For his anger is but for a moment;
   his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may linger for the night,
   but joy comes with the morning. –Psalm 30:4-5

The Hebrew word rinnah* translated joy in the above scriptures means a ringing cry. Possible translations include cry, gladness, joy, proclamation, rejoicing, shouting, singing, triumph

From ranan; properly, a creaking (or shrill sound), i.e. Shout (of joy or grief) — cry, gladness, joy, proclamation, rejoicing, shouting, sing(-ing), triumph

The header for Psalm 30 in my NRSV Bible is: Thanksgiving for Recovery from Grave Illness
A Psalm. A Song at the dedication of the temple. Of David.

I remember the unexplainable feeling experienced the first time after major surgery I slept through the whole night without pain after no pain medicine. In such a situation most, I think, experience a euphoric seen of relief. Our culture is less likely to cry out in public, but the feeling is the same. I have observed Middle Eastern citizens expressing a shrill cry when dealing with the deaths of loved ones or the destruction of their villages. News reports, I am sorry to say, more often report on sad times in stories from the Middle East than healings.

I feel the same response would be appropriate, if we ever figure out how to beat our weapons into plowshares and love our neighbors as we love ourselves. I look forward to that day.

Prayer:
When morning gilds the sky,
our hearts awaking cry:
May Jesus Christ be praised!
in all our work and prayer
we ask his loving care:
May Jesus Christ be praised**! Amen.

*https://biblehub.com/hebrew/7440.htm
**Author is anonymous.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Are We Healers Too?

Living in the Spirit
June 30, 2018

Scripture Reading: Mark 5:21-43

Now there was a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years. She had endured much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had; and she was no better, but rather grew worse. She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, for she said, ‘If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well.’ Immediately her hemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, ‘Who touched my clothes?’ And his disciples said to him, ‘You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, “Who touched me?” ’ He looked all round to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.’ –Mark 5:25-34

We argue about many things trying to prove points using the Bible to prove our stances. One thing about which there is no argument: Jesus was a healer and expects us to be healers too. As a nation of people, the USA is failing to follow our role model of healing and returning people to wholeness. Medical care in the USA cost substantially more than in any other industrialized nation. The cost of prescriptive medicine is set by what the market can bear. That may be an OK business practice for soft drinks and hot tubs, it is not appropriate for the provision of medicine that makes the difference between life and death. When Congress added medication coverage to Medicare (Part D) it specifically stipulated that Medicare could not negotiate drug prices like private sector insurance companies do. Such practices move health care out of the realm of being available to all making it a privilege for the wealthy few.  The middle class may suffer the most from our health care system. It is estimated that 62.1%* of bankruptcies are filed because of the inability to pay medical bills.

All God’s children and that is all people need accessible, affordable health care with an emphasis on prevention.

“As soon as healing takes place, go out and heal somebody else.” ― Maya Angelou

Prayer: Lord, heal our souls so that we can become healers of others.Amen.

*According to a Harvard University Study done in 2009 see at https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/643000-bankruptcies-in-the-u-s-every-year-due-to-medical-bills/

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

 

Healing

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.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

God Sustains

Living in the Spirit
October 4, 2017

Scripture Reading: Psalm 19

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
   be acceptable to you,
   O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. –Psalm 19:14

That which we dwell on we become. Running our words and thoughts through God’s filter before we say them or before we become vindictive as we stew in our own juices is a great idea. If we meditate on loving the other, we become a lover of people even ones who we think or know did us harm. Constantly fretting over an issue erodes us from the inside out.

I dabble in genealogy. Some of my ancestors experienced heartaches beyond belief. My paternal grandmother’s father was killed in an accident a few days before or after her birth in 1883. Her mother raised her alone until she remarried when my grandmother was five. Her only son by her first husband died of illness in 1914 when he was nine years old. Her first husband was struck by lightning and killed two years later leaving her to raise five daughters. She married my grandfather a couple of years later. He brought nine children to the marriage and together they had three children. He died of blood poisoning just before the Dust Bowl and The Great Depression. She had a hard life filled with sorrow and grief.

My memories of my grandmother are those of a five-year-old little girl who felt very loved by her. I remember sitting at her dressing table where she had a box of talcum powder with a big soft puff. She would pat it on my arms and back and make me feel very special. I know she had bad times, but she was very resilient. My dad described her as one who prayed constantly.  I cannot help but think that her time spent in prayer is what guided her through the darkness. The time we spend in prayer will do the same for us when we open ourselves to the healing presence of God.

Prayer: Lord, Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
   be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. so that my actions in dealing with others reflect your love and not my hurt or pain. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

The Great Physician

Living in the Spirit
July 17, 2017

Scripture Reading: Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

‘Hear then the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.’ –Matthew 13:18-23

It is amazing how many times I can read a scripture and suddenly see something new. Scripture opens to us when we most need it. I think that is particularly true as we pass through the differing ages and stages of life but it is also true in relation to what is happening in our world at a given time. The phrase that caught my attention today is the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart. Recently, I became disheartened by the mean spirited comments made about providing health care for all. A friend just quoted back to me something I said in the past and still believe today, “ Americans for all their short-sightedness, really do not want their city streets marred by sick and dying people begging for help.” Comments I am hearing and reading seem to indicate that I am wrong.

I believe that access to affordable basic health care is a right, not a privilege, which places health care in the Common Good category. We are all better off for many reasons when our society is healthy. I support Medicare for all as the best and most cost effective way of meeting this need.  For those who want a higher level of care and can afford it, supplemental insurance is available.

Health care policy notwithstanding, what is wrong with us, if we can so easily say, get a job if you want health care when the vast majority of non-disabled adults do work and when the health care they need may cost more than they make. I have also heard dying is more cost effective for some cancer patients and some disabled. Jesus healed the sick and commanded us to care for them also. It is a heart thing, and we need to understand that things of the heart must be protected from evil. There is an old song my mother used to sing; we might want to think on it now and then:

The great Physician now is near,
The sympathizing Jesus;
He speaks the drooping heart to cheer,
Oh, hear the voice of Jesus.

Refrain:
Sweetest note in seraph song,
Sweetest name on mortal tongue;
Sweetest carol ever sung,
Jesus, blessed Jesus*.

Prayer: Lord, grant us the gift of shared responsibility for the care of our loved ones, the loved ones of others, and particularly for those who seem to have no one who loves them. Amen.

*First verse and refrain of The Great Physician by William Hunter see at http://library.timelesstruths.org/music/The_Great_Physician/

All scriptures are quoted from the new Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Good Spirits, Good Health

Living in the Spirit
June 18, 2017

Scripture Reading: Matthew 9:35-10:23

Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness. These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax-collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him. –Matthew 10:1-4

Jesus called his disciples and gave them the power to cast out unclean spirits, and cure every disease and sickness. Does this call still apply to disciples today or just that laundry list of disciples? If you were one of them, how would you react? What would the world be like without any unclean spirits and no disease or sickness?

Spirit is the essence of life—breath. Unclean describes something that is properly, not pure (because mixed), i.e. adulterated with “a wrong mix” and hence “unclean” (because tainted by sin).* Recently, I find myself being disturbed by all the derogatory adjectives that people seem to need to say about others with whom they disagree. Those adjectives usually stop my reading or listening. I form more of an opinion about the author than the subject. They do not allow me to make a decision about the story or the exploration of ideology or theology. These adjectives, sometimes adverbs, are most prevalent in political dialogue. Their source gives the words a wrong mix. There are a lot of unclean spirits to cast out. We might start by casting them out of ourselves with God’s help. How otherwise do we discourage unclean spirits?

Medicaid and Medicare created in the 1960’s were baby steps to addressing health care for all. I attended meetings from 1970’s forward, designed to address this issue. We may be the only developed country in the world without some universal health care. Why? Health markedly impacts one’s ability to be self-supporting and self-sufficient. I believe adequate, accessible, and affordable healthcare is a right, not a privilege. Jesus seems to teach something like that in our scripture today. He calls us all to be a part of the solution. For more information about worldwide healthcare see the WHO** website referenced below.

Prayer: O Great Healer, enable us as healers too. Some of us are professional healers bless us in our work. Help the rest of us find and do our part to make the world whole and healed. Amen.

*http://biblehub.com/greek/169.htm
**http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs395/en/

All scriptures are quoted from the new Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Divorce

Living in the Spirit
October 3, 2015

Scripture Reading: Mark 10:2-16

Some Pharisees came, and to test him they asked, ‘Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?’ He answered them, ‘What did Moses command you?’ They said, ‘Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her.’ But Jesus said to them, ‘Because of your hardness of heart he wrote this commandment for you. But from the beginning of creation, “God made them male and couple getting divorcedfemale.” “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.’

 Then in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. He said to them, ‘Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.’ –Mark 10:2-12

Divorce is so common now we celebrate as an exception those who remain together in marriage for 50+ years. We even publish their pictures in the paper. This scripture has become one to ignore.

One of the unsaid truths of this scripture is that there is no mention of a woman divorcing a man. Jesus did not differentiate status between men and woman. The Hebrew Bible laws they are talking about basically say a man can divorce his wife for any reason like selling an animal that had lost its usefulness to him. There were no divorce rights for women. The Pharisees in hearing Jesus’ response might have been as much surprised by his treating women and men equally as they were about his stating a stronger interpretation of marriage than provided in the law.

I believe there are some good reasons for divorce. I believe that God forgives us when we have failed at the love of another including those we marry. God gives us second changes all the time to get love right. Although we do pay the consequences of our actions when we don’t get love right, we need to take the time to learn from those experiences and work not to make the same mistake again.

Prayer: Lord, help us to love each other as you would have us love and when we do not, help us to understand what part we might have played in failing to love like Jesus. Heal the gaps in our ability to love. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Sick Greed

paid_sick_leave_imagesLiving in the Spirit
July 19, 2015

Scripture Reading: Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored the boat. When they got out of the boat, people at once recognized him, and rushed about that whole region and began to bring the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the market-places, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed. –Mark 6:53-56

Care for the sick and heal the sick are themes that weave through Jesus’ entire ministry. Yet we in the United States, who some claim to be a Christian nation, have failed the sick. In a country that values wealth so highly, we have forgotten or perhaps never understood that our people are our most valuable resource. The same could be said for education and criminal justice.

If our actions do not result in an immediate profit for someone, they are not worth the investment. So we have drug testing facilities opting and charging for a $500 screen when a $15 one would do. Twenty years ago, I was in an HMO that notified me they were no longer going to pay for the prescription I had been taking for years, but they would pay for a similar one for the same condition. I thought it was a cost saving matter and switched only to find out when I picked up the drug, it cost more than the one I had been taking. I wondered who got the kick back and I switched insurances.

Greed is epidemic in our land and will be our downfall, if we as the prophets say do not repent and turn around. What is right, what is just must be the first consideration.

Prayer: God of All, heal our souls of the greed to which we are addicted. Make us whole enabling love and justice can be our driving forces. Amen.

 All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.