Jesus the Healer: a Failure to Heal

What would you attempt if you could not fail?  ~unknown

Welcome dear friend, to a series on the healing stories of Jesus. The root of the word healing in New Testament Greek, sozo, is the same as that of salvation and wholeness.  (UM Book of Worship) 

I invite you to enter into a time of Lectio Divina, deep prayer with scripture, as we explore one of the healing stories of Jesus.  Gather your journal if you have one, your bible and something to write with or simply use your computer, I've provided everything you need.

How much longer?  How much longer?  Usually we hear human beings crying out to God with these words but this week it is Jesus who cries out in frustration.  He has just come down from the mountain with his closest friends after sharing an amazing spiritual experience: the transfiguration.  

Suddenly he is confronted by a man who reports the disciple’s failure to heal while he was away.  The man’s son has seizures and demons which Jesus exorcises after he demands they bring the boy to him.   Jesus heals the boy as he attributes this failure to a lack of faith on the part of unbelieving people and faithless disciples.  Although I don’t believe our faith is “rewarded,” I do believe that our faith opens us to new possibilities for healing, for wholeness, and amazing possibilities. 

One note:  Some manuscripts add an explanation from Jesus that these types of demons are only removed by prayer and fasting. 

This week’s passage is a fascinating healing story.   My sense is that we need to enter into it with an open heart and a desire for our own faith to deepen.  Take a moment to begin with a Breath Prayer.

Breathing in ... Merciful Jesus
Breathing out ... Increase my faith!

Repeat your breath prayer until you feel centered on God

Pray for illumination of the text, use this one or pray what emerges from within you:   Merciful Jesus, sometimes my faith falters, and I can’t see the healing possibilities of faith.  Open my heart to your word and help me to see what I need to see, to know what I need to know, to reach out in the way I need to reach out.   Amen.

1.  Lectio/Read:   Matthew 17:14-20 (NET)

Close your eyes and see yourself in the story.  As you read this passage, who in the story is God drawing your attention to?  What word or phrase is calling you?  What do you notice?  Simply sit with your person, your word or phrase and allow yourself to rest in any questions that are emerging for you.  

Ilyas Basim Khuri Bazzi Rahib [Public domain] via Wikimedia Commons, Folio from Walters manuscript W.592, Jesus heals a demon-possessed boy

 When they came to the crowd, a man came to him, knelt before him, and said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, because he has seizures and suffers terribly, for he often falls into the fire and into the water. I brought him to your disciples, but they were not able to heal him.” Jesus answered, “You unbelieving and perverse generation! How much longer must I be with you? How much longer must I endure you? Bring him here to me.” Then Jesus rebuked the demon and it came out of him, and the boy was healed from that moment. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why couldn’t we cast it out?” He told them, “It was because of your little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; nothing will be impossible for you.”

2. Meditatio/Meditation 

Read the text a second time.  You may find that the energy is coming from the same place in the text, but you may also find that another word, image or emotion has become more alive with meaning.  Where is God calling your attention?  Consider how this passage illuminates your life right now.   How does God invite you to grow deeper in your faith?    Take your word, phrase, image, emotion, or questions and write freely in your journal or on your computer.   Don't think about what you are writing while you are writing it.  

3. Oratio/Pray  

Read the text a third time.  Then read your own writing if you wrote anything.  Are there any connections you can make between what you read and the writing that flowed from your reading?  How do you respond to how God is calling you?   How does this passage call upon you to make changes in your life so you are open to the possibilities of God?  What do you want to say to God about what you are hearing?  Take a moment to write again in your journal or on your computer as a prayer in response to what you have heard.  

 

4. Contemplatio/Contemplation  

Take a moment to pause.  Allow your breath prayer to emerge again.  You can use the same one from the beginning or the one below or create a new one for yourself.  Spend time simply "be"ing with God. 

Breathing in ... Merciful Jesus

Breathing out ... Help me be an instrument of your mercy

Repeat your breath prayer until it fades into silence ...  

Allow your experience of praying with this healing story of Jesus to come to a close when you are ready to move on.  Let the Spirit lead you and guide you into the presence of God as you engage your life anew. 

Close with a prayer to send yourself into the world, use this one or pray what emerges from within you: Merciful Jesus, thank you for your guiding spirit upon my life.  Fill my heart with faith and help me to see who needs my attention.    Amen.