Justin Appel

Dear Friends,

Today’s lesson from Matthew’s Gospel contains record of some of Jesus’ healing of those with various illnesses, including demon possession, epilepsy, and paralysis.

In connection to this reading, I am contemplating some traditional prayers for healing. These prayers refer to Jesus as the “Physician of our souls and bodies.”

This title suggests that illness is one of the basic earthly realities that result from human sinfulness, following Adam and Eve’s fall and the proliferation of sinfulness in the world. Jesus responded to this situation by becoming human, in order to deliver us from sin and death.

A corollary of this notion is that illness is an unnatural state of affairs, and not part of God’s initial creative activity. This suggests that the healing act of God in Christ is one of returning our human nature to its initial wholeness—an integrity no longer marred by sin and the degradation of the body.

The fact that such a prayer exists in the Christian tradition also suggests that God gives us freedom, the ability to seek healing, to ask for Christ’s direct action on our behalf. It also means that healing is done by Christ himself, as the sick, the lame, and the possessed experienced in his presence.

What is amazing to me is that the possibility of this healing exists for us today. Is it guaranteed? No, but healing is possible, if God wills it. God is not bound by our request, but we can ask in good faith, for, as St James said, “the prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”

Asking for Jesus to heal, is a way for us to enter into the suffering and pain of this world, with faith that he will transform it, sooner or later.

Yours in Christ

—Justin