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. (Matthew 10:1)
My mum loved to tell stories. I grew up knowing that when I was just a little girl, I had toddled past the ironing board and pulled down the hot iron on me. The pointy part of the iron fell on the corner of my eye and side of my face. My mother said that when she scooped me up, the iron had made a ‘v’ on the side of my face. She held me tight, with a wet face washer to my face, and prayed. She said that when she eventually looked at me again, the burn mark had gone. I grew up believing in healing.
Then there was the time when I was about nine years old. I found a bird in our backyard that was unwell. I got mum. She had been reading about the ‘laying on of hands’ for healing, and she said to me ‘why don’t you put your finger on the bird’s head?’ I did that and mum prayed. The little bird didn’t get better straight away, but I stayed and watched. After a little while, the bird flew off. It may be that the little bird had been stunned, or that the bird was healed. That doesn’t really matter though. What I learnt that day was that I could share in God’s healing actions. Mum reminded me often of the little bird as I grew up.
As I got older, I continued to learn more about God’s loving healing. I have never not believed that God heals. I have learnt though that we can’t know exactly what God’s healing will mean, but we can know that God’s healing is about the whole person being healed. I know that God’s whole healing means much more than just our physical healing.
Now, I am still learning about God’s healing love and action in the world. I think now that it involves healing of people, and healing between people. But it also involves working with God in the healing of the whole world and our fragile earth. The little bird in the back yard reminds me of that. Ω
Reflect: Ask God to reveal where you have been or are called to be an agent of healing in your own community. Give thanks that Christ works through you, and commit yourself to further service.
#Lent2020 © Sanctuary, 2020.
Healing
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