"A Ministry of Healing"-Rev. A. L. Torrence, Pastor of Cross of Life Lutheran Church.
I yet believe that the word of God is a prescription for the world’s ills today. Our brokenness can be mended by God’s holy word. Our sorrows can be turned into joy through his word. Our hunger can be satisfied by every word spoken by his voice. Whatever is our condition, God has the remedy. Whatever is our complaint, God has the solution. The answer to our soul’s question, “Is there no balm in Gilead?” – is this, yes there is and it is Jesus. Jesus is our hope, our objective, our mission, and our destiny. He is our all and all. In him we move and have our being. And as his people- his body incarnated- we should want to become more and more like him every second of the day. We want our minds stayed on him. We want our souls filled with his spirit. We want our hearts overflowing with his grace. Jesus is what we desire to become. He is a deliverer. And whatever Jesus did in his earthly ministry; we want emulate his life in ours. So, we want to deliver. He is healer, so we want to heal. He is the bread of life and living water- so we want to feed the hungry, and quench the thirst of a dry and disillusioned world. To be more like Christ is our desire.
That’s why it is imperative for us to consider our ministry of healing. This ministry we have includes the touch of healing. To be an effective body of believers we must become agents of healing. We must be willing to restore those who are ill and filled with disease back to a healthy relationship with Christ and with their love ones. We must become healers. Now, I’m not talking about becoming hocus pocus magicians. I’m not saying to become faith healers binding up cancerous cells and casting them into the pit. Everyone can’t be a Benny Hinn or Creflo Dollar. But what I am saying is that we are to make ourselves available to God to be used as agents of restoration. That’s what a healer is. He is an agent of restoration. A healer restores those who in a ‘dis’-ease position back to a correct position. We want to be healers. We want to capture the attitude of William Daniel Hale and the intuitiveness of a Madam Curie. We want to bring wholistic care into our lives. We want to treat the feverish anguish of our society.
And whether we realize it or not, our society is burning with a fever. Temperatures are running hot. People are living with anxiety and we are overcome with stress. We have hypertension and hypotension; high blood pressure and low pressure. We are physically overweight and mentality overworked. We are ill. Our temperatures are running hot. We are sweating each other to get our voices heard and our needs met. Lobbyists and politicians are sweating congress with concerns for the environmental control, gun control, and birth control. Police and investigators are sweating foreigners for the threat of terrorism and minorities for the threat of guns. We are sweating our government for more social security, unemployment benefits, and safety measures. We have mothers sweating the fathers of their children for more financial support and contribution of time; sons and daughters are sweating parents for lessons in adulthood and independence. Our world is sweating with the potentials of nuclear holocaust and genocide. Temperatures are running hot. We are a world running with fever.
And yet that fever is not the cause of our condition. After all, a fever is never the cause but it is the symptom of something else going on deep inside of us. And we as the church cannot afford to just treat the symptom, but we must address the cause. We cannot afford to live our lives reacting to the symptoms of a larger illness. True healing addresses the cause. You see, we are use to just treating the symptoms of an ailing world. We treat the symptom of homelessness with our feeding ministry at the YMCA. We treat the symptom of drug addiction with providing space for NA meetings here at the church. We treat the symptom of teens at risk, with our various activities for young people. But to heal a world, we must now address the cause. And if you have been living your life in the shadows, the cause is sin and destructive behavior of Satan’s kingdom against God’s kingdom. Or come on now. You do know that we are in warfare. You do know that your biggest enemy is not Bin Laden or Haddam Hussein. You know that we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against powers, and principalities, and rulers in high places. We are dealing with Satan and his kingdom. And as healers, it is our task to reclaim territory he has taken for God’s kingdom. We have to reclaim our homes, reclaim our children, reclaim our community, and reclaim our finances from the enemy.
Oh come on, now. Christ wants us to reclaim that which is ours. Just look at the text. Here is it that brother Peter has decided to leave everything behind to follow Jesus. He has been listening to Jesus teach, hearing him preach, watching him heal and deliver others; yet, in his own home there is a sickness. Although he has a strong relationship with Jesus, when it comes to his home, things are out of control. And many of us are no strangers to that condition. Like Peter, we have been living our lives from the inside of a fish bowl. We have been watching others get their breakthrough; watching others achieve their success; watching others get deliver from the same habits and addictions we have; watching others get healed and cure from same illnesses we have. Sunday after Sunday we watch Jesus moves in the lives of others wondering when will we get our break through. Lord, when will I get my blessing? Lord, when salvation come to my home? Lord when will my mother get off her sickbed? Lord, when will my husband fall on knees and give his life to Christ? Lord, when will my child begin to behave properly and do well in school? Lord, while you are blessing others, bless me, even me Lord. Like Job we’ve examine our lives. We’ve been faithful in our giving. We’ve been faithful in our worship and our service. Yet, in our homes there is a sickness. Some things are out of control. And it’s for those of you, who are simply given up on those in your house who will not give their lives to the Lord; in essence you have given them up to their sickness. You have left them on their sick beds of sin. But here is the good news for this day. Jesus has a cure for what ails them. Jesus has a remedy for sickness and the dis-ease within your home.
Well, Jesus gives us the answer to cure the disease of a broken and chaotic home. After preaching and teaching, he shows the disciples that the sermon is still not done. The final amen has not been said. The expressed faith spoken in worship must now be fulfilled in the home. That which he preached must now be practiced. Peter took Jesus home. Peter took the savior to his home. He didn’t leave Jesus at the church but he brought him to his home. Yet, so often, when we leave the church house to go to our own house, we leave Jesus behind. We leave the sermon that we clapped for, and nodded in agreement on the church pew and go home emptied. But the word for us today, is that for salvation to come into our homes, our immediate territories- we need to take Jesus there. Tell someone, “Take Jesus with you.” Take him to the place that is broken and shattered. Take him to that place which is chaotic and confusing. Take Jesus with you
How do you take him with you? How do you take him to your home, to your family, co-workers, and neighbors? First, examine your approach. The text says that Jesus came to her or more literally- he approached her. We must re-examine our approach to introducing Christ into our homes. We must consider how we approach the subject of Jesus in the lives of our love -ones. Sometimes we may come across like a ‘religious Rambo.’ You can’t force people to be like you want them to be. Examine your approach.
Some of us are simply intimidated. When it comes to healing a diseased society, it’s easy to be intimidated because of the labels we tend to place on people. When people are ill, disabled, and diseased- we label them and categorize them. We make them seem abnormal. “The unchurched! The unsaved!” Our labeling makes them seem strange and bizarre. Yet, we must now make them feel loved and accepted because true healing restore people back to the community. We must approach those who we love with the love of Christ. Let me say that again, we must approach those who we love with the love of Christ. What I like about the amplified version of this text is that it says that Jesus went to her. He went to where she was. In order words, we must be willing to meet people where they are. So many times we expect and want people who have not been to church and have not walked with Christ, to behave like us. We want them to say the right things, do the right things, and act the right way according to our opinions. Yet, we are to meet people were they are mentally, spiritually, and physically. We must meet them where they are. Yes, he may communicate with Ebonics and has a ghetto mentality- meet him there. Yes, spiritually, she is inapt to the culture of the church. She does not know what to wear. Does not own the appropriate shoes with matching purse- meet her there. Yes, physically they leave in a bad neighborhood. You have set the alarm and club your car. The steps to the porch are dilapidated and falling apart. There is an odor in the house; yet, you must meet them there. Yes, he is a drunk. She is an addict. He speaks with a slur. She has a twitch. Yet, you meet them there.
How? Through intimacy. The verse says, that he touched her. He took her by the hand. Now we must understand that in Jesus’ time this was inappropriate behavior. Touching a woman filled with fever was unclean especially on the Sabbath. But Jesus did not allow public opinion to effect his desire to reach the lost. He took her by the hand. He did not have to. Jesus could have simply spoken a word- done ministry from a distance; yet he establishes a relationship. And the only way to begin to establish relationships with the lost is to know them. That goes beyond, finding out their names but it’s learning about their lives. It’s caring about the things they care about. So, your neighbor cares about golf- go golfing. Your sister loves gardening-take up gardening. Get involve with their lives because that translates into “I care about your life.” I care about your state of being rather than you going to my church.
And what I like about Jesus is that he never imposed his behavior patterns upon his disciples. He modeled the word for them in the way he led his life. He prayed, so eventually, his disciples wanted to know how to pray, and he taught them. He lifted them to a higher standard through the way he led his life. He modeled the behavior he desired to see in them. And that’s the strange thing about people that we must overcome. We want others to act in way we ourselves cannot. We want them to speak gentle words, and to be humbled and kind; yet we do not show those qualities. We want them to be forgiving and understanding and patient, yet we are not. And the challenge is to become that which you desire others to be. “I want him to be more loving-then you become more loving.” I want her to be more supportive. Well, then you become more supportive. I want them to listen to me- well you begin to listen to them. You lift others up by lifting before them the Christ that’s within you. As you become more Christ-like in your words, your attitudes they will begin to be drawn to more to Christ. That’s why the hymn writer says, “How to reach the masses, men of every birth, for an answer Jesus is the key, and if I be lifted up, then I’ll draw all men unto me.” You can’t draw anyone. But the Christ, within you can draw thousands.
So let us lift up Christ by reaching others with a healing touch. Let us reach others with healing hands he has given us. These hands are anointed hands. These hands will break down walls. These hands will open up doors. These hands will set the captives free. These hands will clothe the naked. These hands will heal the sick. These hands will raise the dead. These hands will cast out demons. These hands will give God some glory. These hands will give God some praise. These hands will give God celebration. These hands will give God adoration. These hands will give God jubilation. There is power in our hands. Let’s use them for the glory of God. Amen.
