Jesus the Healer: The Healing Place

You need a village, if only for the pleasure of leaving it.  ~Cesare Pavese

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.

There are several really interesting, out of the ordinary, turns in this little healing story.  People bring a blind man to Jesus.  The first thing Jesus does is take the man by the hand and out of the village.  So what is wrong with the village?  In leaving the village, Jesus becomes the Healing Place.  Where he is, healing happens.  Next, Jesus spits on the man’s eyes.  How strange is that?   It is very strange because the spit doesn’t do the trick.  He is healed but not completely.   No more spit, but Jesus touches the man a second time.  Finally, he is healed but Jesus warns him not to go back to the village on his way home!  I wonder why?  Where does he live if not in the village?  What is wrong with the village?   

We’ll never know why Jesus didn’t want the healed man to return to the village.   This reminds me of Lot’s wife who was told not to look back at Sodom as it burned but she couldn’t resist and was turned into a pillar of salt.  Sometimes, we retreat into the past when we can’t handle our present.  Perhaps the man needed to be free of his past.  Sometimes, people won’t allow us to move on.  Perhaps the man needed to move on.  How fortunate was he to have run into the Healing Place along the way!

Take a moment to begin with a Breath Prayer.

Breathing in ... Loving Jesus
Breathing out ... You are my Healing Place 

Repeat your breath prayer until you feel relaxed and centered

Pray for illumination of the text, use this one or pray what emerges from within you:   Loving Jesus, open my heart to your word and bring me into the Healing Place through my meditation.   Amen.

1.  Lectio/Read:   Mark 8:22-26 (NET)

As you read, perhaps there is a word or phrase that will intrigue you as it did me.  What questions do you have?  Pay attention to the way Jesus lovingly treats this blind man.  What do you notice?  Who in the story is God drawing your attention to, what word or phrase is calling you?  Simply sit with your person, your word or phrase and allow yourself to rest in the questions that are emerging for you. 

Then they came to Bethsaida. They brought a blind man to Jesus and asked him to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and brought him outside of the village. Then he spit on his eyes, placed his hands on his eyes and asked, “Do you see anything?” Regaining his sight he said, “I see people, but they look like trees walking.” Then Jesus placed his hands on the man’s eyes again. And he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. Jesus sent him home, saying, “Do not even go into the village.”

"RossanoGospels - Healing of blindman" by 6th century anonymous - Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

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.  Pay attention to the energy and where it is emerging for you.  Consider how it illuminates your life right now.  Where is the Healing Place that God is offer you?  How does Jesus touch you?   Take your word or a phrase, image or emotion and write freely in your journal or on your computer.   Don't think about what you are writing, just let God lead you deeper into the Healing Place.

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 enter into a Healing Place in your life ... outside the village, the influence of others?   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 perhaps a new one will emerge for you.  As you continue to pray, let the words fade away into silence. Spend time simply "be"ing with God. 

Breathing in ... Loving Jesus

Breathing out ... You are my Healing Place

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: Loving Jesus, you are my healing place even though today I am not quite sure what that means.  As I go into the world as your disciple, help me be a healing space for others as you were.  Amen.

Jesus the Healer: Be Opened!

Christ healed because it was God’s will; he healed because of his compassion; he healed to fulfill prophecy; he healed to confirm his Messiahship and his power to forgive sins; he healed to give glory to God; he healed to bring people to believe in him as Lord; and he healed in response to faith … ~ Jim Glennon

Quite simply ... Jesus healed!

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 deep prayer with scripture as we explore 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.

Before you begin your study today, consider how much you use your ability to hear and to speak.  Write your thoughts if they seem to flow.  I know that for me, silence is golden because there is so much noise in my world but what if I could never hear anything ... the birds singing, a child's voice calling me, sirens alerting me to danger, a knock on the door, raindrops gently dropping on my roof ... what sounds would you miss the most?   What if I could never tell someone that I loved them or voice my concerns over a disturbing article in the newspaper?  What if I never heard my own voice and so was too ashamed to speak, like ever?

Rest for as long as you can in the context of the deaf and mute man who was in need of healing in our story this week.   Then, center yourself with a gentle "Breath Prayer."  Use this one or allow one to emerge just for you:

Breathing in ... Healing Jesus
Breathing out ...Open my ears
Repeat your breath prayer until you feel relaxed and centered

Pray for illumination of the text, use this one or pray what emerges from within you:  As I meditate on the Word of Life, Healing Jesus, open my eyes so that I might see you healing the world today, open my ears so that I might hear your voice calling me through the text, open my heart so that I might be filled with your healing touch.  Fill me with your Spirit so that I might speak of your peace and work for justice in the world. Amen.  

Engage in Lectio Divina, which means "divine reading" in 4 movements ...

1.  Lectio/Read:   Mark 7:31-35 (NET)  As you read, perhaps there is a word or phrase that will shimmer off the page right into your heart.  Pay attention to how God is coming to you through the text. Repeat your word or phrase in your mind until it is committed to memory.  Simply sit with your word or phrase and be grateful for all five of your senses. 

Then Jesus went out again from the region of Tyre and came through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee in the region of the Decapolis. They brought to him a deaf man who had difficulty speaking, and they asked him to place his hands on him. After Jesus took him aside privately, away from the crowd, he put his fingers in the man’s ears, and after spitting, he touched his tongue. Then he looked up to heaven and said with a sigh, “Ephphatha” (that is, “Be opened”). And immediately the man’s ears were opened, his tongue loosened, and he spoke plainly. 

Jesus heals a mute possessed man, public domain, Source: Brooklyn Museum 1886-1894

2.  Meditatio/Meditation:  Read the text a second time.  Have you found yourself attracted to the same word or phrase or a different one on this reading.  Pay attention to how God is coming to you!  Can you hear the voice of God in your soul?  Or do you feel like the deaf man, unable to hear, unable to speak.  Take your word and write freely, in your journal or on your computer.  Don't think about what you are writing as you let God lead you deeper, just write!

3. Oratio/Pray 

Read the text a third time.  Then read your own writing if you have written anything thus far.  Are there any connections you can make between what you read and the writing that flowed from your reading?  Are there any connections between what you read and the life you are living?  How do you respond as you consider how God is coming to you through this text?  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 as you drift into stillness.  You can use the same one from the beginning or perhaps a new one will emerge for you.  As you continue to pray, let the words fade away into silence. Spend time simply "be"ing with God. 

Allow your experience of praying with scripture 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.  Close with a prayer to send yourself into the world, use this one or pray what emerges from within you:  Healing Jesus, O how I want to be with you as you offer healing grace to the world.  I want to hear and see and speak about you and about the way God loves us through you.  Send your Spirit to lead me into the world to speak the words that you give me to speak!  Amen.