Meditation for January 14, 2009

From The Rev. Peter A. Munson

Mark 1:21-34

21 They went to Capernaum; and when the Sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught.  22 They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.  23 Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, 24 and he cried out, "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?  Have you come to destroy us?  I know who you are, the Holy One of God."  25 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be silent, and come out of him!"  26 And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him.  27 They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, "What is this?  A new teaching - with authority!  He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him."  28 At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.

29 Immediately Jesus left the synagogue, and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.  30 Now Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once.  31 He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up.  Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.

32 That evening, at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons.  33 And the whole city was gathered around the door.  34 And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit them to speak, because they knew him.

The Church As "Health Club"

It is not a coincidence or an accident that from the moment that Jesus begins his public ministry, we begin to hear about healings.  The anointed one - that is, the Messiah - would come, as prophesied by Isaiah, and "... bring good news to the oppressed, ... bind up the brokenhearted, ... proclaim liberty to the captives." (Isaiah 61:1) When the glory of the Lord was revealed, "Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy." (Isaiah 35:5-6) When John the Baptist was in prison and heard what Jesus was doing, and sent messengers to find out if Jesus was the Messiah, Jesus told them, "Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them." (Matthew 11:4-5)  The implication?  The Messiah is now here.

The reign of God, initiated by the coming of the Messiah, is marked by health, wholeness, and new life.  When Jesus came, these signs - in the form of healings - started popping up everywhere, and they could not be denied.  And even when Jesus told people not to speak about what he had done for them, they often couldn't help themselves, and told anyone who would listen. (See, for example, Mark 1:40-45)  As a result, the word about Jesus spread, and before someone was through saying "the man called Jesus healed me", "the whole city was gathered around the door." (verse 33, above)

Julia and I joined a gym about a year ago.  We have tried to pay attention to the folks who say that, for good health, you need to do some weight training, especially once you reach the age of 50.  (Truth be told, we have shown up at the gym rather irregularly.)  I couldn't quote you statistics, but it seems that the health club industry is a rather large one in our country.  People resolve to work out more.  Many of them follow through.  Though there is a pain to working out, there is also a gain.  We feel better, and we have more energy - and we tend to eat less!  Not a bad payoff.

Working out at a gym helps us attend to our physical health.  And, I'm sure many of you would agree, attending to our physical health also has some real payoff for our mental health.  (The main reason I have kept up with running all these years has as much to do with what it has done for my mental health - reducing stress, for example, and getting good ideas for sermons as I run! - as with what it has done for my physical health.)  But what about our spiritual health?

Where do we go to learn how to give up our prejudices?

What help is there for those who struggle with various kinds of addictions?

Where can you turn if you are basically an angry, resentful person?

What "health club" is available to you if you are often depressed or anxious?

I would submit to you that the Messiah came to save all of us, from whatever malady or maladies afflict us.  "Salvation" is a word that implies that we need to be rescued from something.  It is also a word whose root has to do with healing - with being made whole.  So the question, "Have you been saved?" goes a lot deeper than "Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?"  On a deeper level, we all need to acknowledge our need for salvation - for healing - and reach out to the One who is the Divine Healer, the Healing Messiah.

The Church, when it is really being the Church, is in step with Christ and his mission of healing and salvation.  The Church should be a place where you can show up - no matter what your need is - and be honest about that need, and ask for prayer.  We can even ask for healing prayer, in Jesus' name.

Some key questions remain, of course.

Do we want to be well?  (Jesus often asked people what they wanted, or even if they wanted to be well.  See, for example, John 5:6)

Do we want to give up those things that might be holding us back from a full, abundant life?

Are we willing to let go of our resentment and bitterness?

Are we more invested in being right than in being happy?

Do I want to hang on to my addiction for some reason?

Do I enjoy playing the victim (or the villain, for that matter)?

Am I willing to be honest with myself, and am I willing to let God reveal to me things about myself that may not be wonderful? Am I afraid of success?

Am I so comfortable in my unhealthy world that I am afraid to change, even if it is for the better?

Am I more invested in complaining or worrying than I am in actually doing something productive?

Is there some reason that I don't want to practice gratitude and be on the lookout for the blessings and grace of God?

Do I come to church just to be justified in my thinking, or am I willing to take risks that lead to my radical transformation?

Perhaps if we saw church as a special kind of health club, where God was inviting us to be whole in all areas of our lives - physically, emotionally, spiritually, and in all of our relationships - then you and I would constantly be rejoicing at all the healings that we see going on.  Our openness and receptiveness to being healed and changed, and God's loving power.  That's an amazing combination that looks a lot like the kingdom of God.