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.

Genesis Roots: Abraham sacrifices Isaac but God saves him!

This week we continue my summer lectionary series called. "Genesis Roots."  The word genesis means origin, beginning, or birth.  Root, in the context in which I'm writing, means essential core or source of life. In a way, the roots of the story of monotheistic faith rest in the stories we find in Genesis.

If you are unfamiliar with the story of Abraham (and Sarah) you may want to take some time and begin reading in Genesis 12 (then skip to chapters 15, 16, 17, 18:1-15, then skip to 21) to get a look at their marriage and their deep desire for a son through which God would build a great nation.  God said to Abraham in Genesis 15:5 "Look up at the stars, and try to count them all if you can. There are too many to count! Your descendants will be as many as the stars."   In the end Abraham has 2 sons upon which 2 nations are built:  Ishmael, whose name means God hears, is ancestor to the Ishmaelites, the Arab people.  Isaac, whose name means one who laughs, is ancestor to the Israelites, the Jewish people.

Last week's story,  Abraham and Sarah banish Hagar and Ishmael to the desert but God saves them, seemed to me an act of brutal "sacrifice," sanctioned by God no less, involving Abraham's firstborn son, Ishmael, of Hagar the Egyptian slave-woman.  This week we find Abraham once again ready to make a sacrifice to God.  The text says, God was "testing" Abraham's fidelity to God by calling upon him to sacrifice Isaac, his "only" son (of the covenant promise) in the eyes of God.  Abraham is ready to kill him with a knife to the throat before making him a burnt offering to pass God's "test."

To set the scene for this Abraham and Isaac passage, read Genesis 22:1-3 (NET)

Some time after these things God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am!” Abraham replied. God said, “Take your son—your only son, whom you love, Isaac—and go to the land of Moriah! Offer him up there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains which I will indicate to you.”  Early in the morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took two of his young servants with him, along with his son Isaac. When he had cut the wood for the burnt offering, he started out for the place God had spoken to him about.

Abraham seems to be quite obedient to anyone willing to tell him what to do ... that is how it seems in the biblical text.  I find it interesting that Abraham, who has negotiated with God over God's plans to destroy the people of Sodom (Genesis 18:22-33), doesn't say one word to God about killing his son.  Really?  However, I suppose his faith must be much deeper than I understand.

In Hebrews 11:17, we read "By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac. He who had received the promises was ready to offer up his only son ..."  Even though I can read the words and understand what they are saying, I've never understood how God could ask that of a man and how that man could obey.  This verse really puts the concept of "testing" in the context of faith ... deep, deep faith. 

• Have you ever felt that God was "testing" your faith?  
• How did you know it was God calling you into a time of testing?
• How did you respond in faith to God in the midst of the test?  
• How did your time of testing strengthen your faith in God? 
• If you can't recall a time you felt that God was "testing" your faith, how do you think you would respond in a way that would strengthen your faith and not destroy it?

When you have pondered God's testing in your own life and how that testing has impacted your faith, I invite you to spend a few moments preparing your heart to worship God as you engage with the text via Lectio Divina.   Breathe deeply and envision God’s Spirit filling you with the ability to trust God's word with each breath you take!  Settle into a place of confidence within yourself with a simple breath prayer.  Use this one or create your own.

Breathe in (who do you worship?)   ... Faithful God
Breathe out (what do you need?)     ... Strengthen my Faith

and when you are ready to move deeper into the text, pray ... Faithful God, sometimes I don't understand the ways of the most faithful people in the bible.  I don't understand Abraham the father.  His depth of faith eludes me.  Strengthen me, strengthen my faith as I trust you in the small daily steps I take in life and in the big moments of life, moments when I am tempted to wonder where you are.   In Christ, Amen.  

Step 1: Lectio … Reading

Read  Genesis 22:4-14 (NET) slowly, taking in the story that is unfolding.
Listen for a word or phrase that catches your attention.
Silently focus on that word or phrase or perhaps an image that is forming.
Sit with your word or phrase or image for as long as seems good to you.
Allow it to sift through your heart and mind.
Let the story come alive in your soul through that word, phrase, image.

Click here to read in original Lectio Version: The VOICE Bible
On the third day Abraham caught sight of the place in the distance. So he said to his servants, “You two stay here with the donkey while the boy and I go up there. We will worship and then return to you.”

Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and put it on his son Isaac. Then he took the fire and the knife in his hand, and the two of them walked on together. Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father?” “What is it, my son?” he replied. “Here is the fire and the wood,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” “God will provide for himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham replied. The two of them continued on together.

When they came to the place God had told him about, Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood on it. Next he tied up his son Isaac and placed him on the altar on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand, took the knife, and prepared to slaughter his son. But the Lord’s angel called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am!” he answered. “Do not harm the boy!” the angel said. “Do not do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God because you did not withhold your son, your only son, from me.”

Abraham looked up and saw behind him a ram caught in the bushes by its horns. So he went over and got the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. And Abraham called the name of that place “The Lord provides.” It is said to this day, “In the mountain of the Lord provision will be made.”

Step 2: Meditatio … Receiving
Continue to focus on your word or phrase or image.
Pay attention to the thoughts and feelings it evokes.
What memories come to your mind?
Ask God to continue to speak to you and reveal your path.
Listen and watch for God’s faithful presence as you move through your day

Step 3: Oratio … Responding
Consider any desires that have been awakened by your prayer
Perhaps you have found an area of your life that needs attention
Do not rush ... wait and listen as God forms your prayers and desires

Step 4: Contempatio … Resting
Allow your word, phrase or image to fall away ... 
Allow yourself to rest in the silence ...

If images are a pathway to God for you, you may want to pray while "gazing" upon this painting of Abraham, Isaac, and the Messenger of God.  How does this image resonate with what has arisen within you?

"The Angel Stays Abraham's Hand," painting at the Monastery of Narga Selassie, Dek Island, Lake Tana, Ethiopia. Late 18th century.  Photo by A. Davey, originally posted on Flickr and shared on Wikimedia Commons via Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License

To end your time of praying with scripture, pray this prayer of Teresa of Avila, 16th century Christian mystic:

“May today there be peace within.
May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.
May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.
May you use those gifts that you have received, 

and pass on the love that has been given to you.
May you be content knowing you are a child of God.
Let this presence settle into your bones, 

and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.
It is there for each and every one of us.”
Amen.

Faith ... the size of a Mustard Seed

The short passage this week contains 2 very short points that Jesus is making.  And yet I wonder points about what ... faith, servanthood ... discipleship?   And why?  Taken out of context, it seems rather random and often I find the saying, “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you," used as a way to tell people they must not have faith because they are not producing acts of miracles on a daily basis.  As a matter of fact, in Matthew's gospel, a form of this saying is used to explain why the disciples cannot cast out demons. (See Matthew 17:14-21) I personally sometimes say to myself, "well, I must not have any faith at all because I am not experiencing life and accomplishing ministry as I think a "faithful" servant of God would.

What am I missing here?  When in doubt, check the context!  What is the reason Jesus is saying these things to the disciples in this Gospel.  After Jesus has an encounter with the Pharisees who are grumbling about his "welcoming and eating" with sinners, he moves into the story about the "prodigal son." Remember this story about the deep and amazing grace of the Seeking God who is always waiting for those who are lost to come home?  If  you are not familiar with the story, you can read it here: Luke 15:11-32.

After he tells the Prodigal story, he turns and has a strange exchange with the disciples, then with the Pharisees again followed by a final exchange about forgiveness with the disciples (Luke 17:1-4) which sets the context for our focus passage.    Jesus said to his disciples, “Things that cause people to trip and fall into sin must happen, but how terrible it is for the person through whom they happen. It would be better for them to be thrown into a lake with a large stone hung around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to trip and fall into sin. Watch yourselves! If your brother or sister sins, warn them to stop. If they change their hearts and lives, forgive them. Even if someone sins against you seven times in one day and returns to you seven times and says, ‘I am changing my ways,’ you must forgive that person.”

I'm not sure but I feel like this may be directed at the Pharisees through this exchange with the disciples.   Jesus accepts ALL people but sometimes people (not just the Pharisees but many people throughout history and not always religious people) have a hard time accepting others ... "bad" sinners ... as if there is a sliding scale upon which there is a line that says, "ok, too far you're done, no forgiveness for you, you are toast!"   Although I did believe that once upon a time, thought I was going to hell for sure, some other people thought that and told me so ... today, I don't actually believe that, I think we ALL fall short.  And God will forgive everyone!  That's just who God is.  As I read through the larger narrative, especially considering the message of the Prodigal son story and what Jesus says above, it sounds to me like he believes that too.  This stern warning seems to be pointed toward those who "cause" others to stumble and to those who keep others from the forgiveness and grace of God.  Once again, Jesus says there is NO line and there is no person too far from the grace of God to heal and forgive.  Sometimes, this is a very hard thing for our human minds to accept.  At least, humbly, that's what I believe.

Yet, flowing from our own self-centeredness, sometimes we take the things Jesus says and are so afraid that we have crossed over that line and are in danger ... that we cry out "increase our faith" along with the disciples when, honestly, we have plenty of faith to turn to God, to forgive others their shortcomings, to admit our own mistakes and go on. This faith is enough not because of who we are or aren't nor because of who others are or aren't, but because of Who God IS.  Sometimes, we expect all kinds of bells and whistles to assure us that God still loves us.  Sometimes, we think we need mountaintop experiences to assure us that God is present with us.  If we continue to live in the fear that we have been forgotten or abandoned by God because we haven't had bells, whistles or mountaintop experiences lately, it is not long before it is the bells, the whistles and the mountaintop experiences we want, almost desperately, more than God.  At least, that is where I was for a long time. 

 

Mustard Seeds.  Photo used under an Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) 

Did you know that God, through the Spirit, is closer to us than our very own breath. The Hebrew word for Spirit is Ruach ... means wind or breath.  Perhaps we might begin to focus on God through a Breath Prayer for as long as it takes to quiet our souls.  Use this one or create your own ... Breathing in a Name for God, Breathing out your greatest growing desire ... 6-8 syllables are best but mine is 11 this week and yet it works!

Breathing in ... God of the Mustard Seed
Breathing out ... Help me share my faith

When you are ready to enter into the biblical narrative through Lectio Divina, start with this prayer:  Faithful God, open my heart to your grace and help me deeply know the assurance of your love and forgiveness as I read and pray.  Help me to grasp the depth of your presence in all of my life no matter how I feel.  In Jesus, Amen.

Step 1:  Read Luke 17:1-5 slowly and reverently ...What word, or phrase calls for your attention in your reading?  Spend a few moments pondering how God may be inviting you through this word or phrase ... 

The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” The Lord replied, “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you. “Would any of you say to your servant, who had just come in from the field after plowing or tending sheep, ‘Come! Sit down for dinner’?  Wouldn’t you say instead, ‘Fix my dinner. Put on the clothes of a table servant and wait on me while I eat and drink. After that, you can eat and drink’? You won’t thank the servant because the servant did what you asked, will you? In the same way, when you have done everything required of you, you should say, ‘We servants deserve no special praise. We have only done our duty.’”

Step 2:  Read your selection again and Reflect ...
How does your word or phrase from this passage illuminate your life right now?  How is God inviting you to change or grow or pray or act?

Step 3:  Read your selection again and Respond ...
What do you say to God about your life and how you feel you are being invited?   How do you pray when you consider what God is saying to you?

Step 4:  Rest ...
Come to a place of silence within yourself and just "be" with God.  Try for 10 minutes or beyond ... When you are ready to move on,  pray: 

God of Faith, sometimes I cry out with the disciples, "increase my faith!"  Help me to realize that I have all the faith I need.  Help me to offer my small mustard seed of faith to you ... not so that I can work miracles of nature but so that I can reach out to those who feel lost and offer them the message of love, grace and forgiveness that will bring them closer to You.  Amen. 

By Amit Kaushal (originally posted to Flickr as mustard) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

If music is a pathway to God for you, listen to this song by Chris Rice called "Home Tonight" which is a beautiful song about the journey of the lost to find God.  The Anime photos add a quiet haunting poignancy to the song.  May those who are lost in all walks of life and in all the world find just a small seed of faith through which to find their way home tonight. 

 

My Friend Thomas: When Doubts lead to Deep Faith

Christ the Lord is Risen!  Christ the Lord is Risen indeed!

Icon of the Risen Christ

Easter Sunday is only the beginning ... the beginning of new life!  While the Journey of Lent is a turn inward, a time to reflect and examine oneself, the 7-week Journey of Easter is an outward movement culminating on the Day of Pentecost.  The Journey is filled with "appearances" of the risen Christ who offers "shalom "...  which means peace, not just calm in one's own soul but the communal peace, harmony, and love of God's people living with one another through good times and bad. 

It was still the first day of the week. That evening, while the disciples were behind closed doors because they were afraid of the Jewish authorities, Jesus came and stood among them. He said, “Peace be with you.”  After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. When the disciples saw the Lord, they were filled with joy.  Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, so I am sending you.”  Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.  If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven; if you don’t forgive them, they aren’t forgiven.”  Thomas, the one called Didymus, one of the Twelve, wasn’t with the disciples when Jesus came.  ( John 20:19-24 CEB)

The Easter "season" is a time to consider how God is calling us as disciples of the risen Christ to reach out to all people with the same love and compassion that Jesus the Suffering Servant has showed to us through his life, death and resurrection. For me, the discordant "if you don't forgive" is troubling but I do realize that there is transcendence in the authentic human community who live in "shalom" that moves beyond the pettiness, often in God's Name, we see in some communities against those who are "not like us."  

As we drop in to this passage, I smile a little smile, like I always do, at that last line ... "Thomas ... wasn't with the disciples when Jesus came."   I am a person who tends to run late.  Just last night I arrived at a meeting across town about 10 minutes late and one of the kindest persons said, "I'm sorry.  Did you get lost?"  Obviously she doesn't know me very well!  I said, "No.  I'm just late."   Unfortunately, also just like Thomas I'm also a skeptic.  And yet, I hope I am also like Thomas in that my deepest faith emerges from my doubt.  Have you ever had doubts?  And where did your doubts lead you? 

As you prepare your heart to receive the Word of God, remember times when you had doubts and remember how your faith overcame your doubts ... If you are still in a time of doubt, how is that currently shaping your faith.  Take a few moments to engage in a breath prayer to center yourself:

Breathe in ... O Holy One (pause)
Breathe out ... Live through my doubts (pause)


When you are ready to move into this week's focus text, pray this prayer of illumination and consent to God's presence guiding you ...

Risen Lord Christ, open my heart to the power of your resurrection.  As read the words of Scripture, walk with me and allow me to receive the Holy Spirit so I might live in grace and peace, within myself and with others.  Amen.

As you move into this week's text ... John 20:25-31
Step 1: Lectio … Reading
Read the passage silently to yourself, slowly and reverently, letting the words steep in your mind.
Listen for a word or phrase that catches your attention.  Gently focus on that word or phrase.  Repeat it several times and allow it to be sifted through your heart and mind all the way to your soul.

The other disciples told [Thomas] “We’ve seen the Lord!”  But he replied, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands, put my finger in the wounds left by the nails, and put my hand into his side, I won’t believe.”   After eight days his disciples were again in a house and Thomas was with them. Even though the doors were locked, Jesus entered and stood among them. He said, “Peace be with you.”  Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here. Look at my hands. Put your hand into my side. No more disbelief. Believe!”  Thomas responded to Jesus, “My Lord and my God!”  Jesus replied, “Do you believe because you see me? Happy are those who don’t see and yet believe.”   Then Jesus did many other miraculous signs in his disciples’ presence, signs that aren’t recorded in this scroll.  But these things are written so that you will believe that Jesus is the Christ, God’s Son, and that believing, you will have life in his name.

Step 2: Meditatio … Receiving
Read the passage a 2nd time ... 
Continue to focus on your word or phrase (it may be different)
Pay attention to the thoughts and feelings the passage evokes.
What images emerge in your imagination?
What memories come to your mind?
Ask God to continue to speak to you through this word.
Listen for God’s reply as you move through your day

Step 3: Oratio … Responding
Consider any desires that have been awakened by your prayer.
Perhaps you have found an area of your life that needs attention.
Do not rush ... wait and listen as God forms your prayers and desires

Step 4: Contempatio … Resting
Allow yourself to rest in the silence.
Allow your mind to settle into the silence.
When you feel the time to move on ...

Pray … Holy One of God!  Overcome my doubts and let me believe in you. Overcome my doubts and let me know you.  Overcome my doubts and let Your Spirit live within me.  Overcome my doubts and let me live in Your Presence for all of eternity.  Amen