Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“A great number of people would also gather from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all cured.”
NL Daily Devotion for Friday, April 16, 2021
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
People wanted something from the apostles, and it wasn’t necessarily the gospel. They were hurting, and they had heard that the apostles could take away their pain. It was then the disciples who had to make it clear that this power to heal did not come from them—that it was God through Christ Jesus who brought healing and wholeness to the world. Lots of them, having experienced miracles, stuck around, adding their numbers to this growing cloud of witnesses.
I wonder about this simply because life is inherently painful. We live in an imperfect world full of imperfect people who create imperfect institutions. We hurt ourselves and each other. Even those of us who are active parts of Christian communities and have experienced first-hand the big and small miracles that about in Christ still deal with pain. So was it just the fact that those early folks’ immediate pain was healed that caused them to believe? Did their belief waver the next time pain happened? Do we?
In my personal life, I have experienced profound healing through faith. My relationship with God and others in my community has gone a long way toward preventing me from causing myself unnecessary pain, and helps me navigate pain when it crops up. But it doesn’t prevent pain. There are all sorts of reasons this may be so. For example, Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh has pointed out that experiencing pain is the only way we learn compassion for others.
As Christians, we can share healing and wholeness with others in lots of ways, not least by showing compassion, and we need always be mindful to give the credit to God, who heals others through our actions. But we also need to accept that we may need to come back and back and back again when life continues to be painful, which it will, and it doesn’t mean that God has failed us by not rending our lives pain free.
What is the difference between accepting life as it is and seeking to be free of pain? Is one or the other more helpful or harmful?
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