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 22, 2022
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
Healing comes in lots of forms. From the sounds of this passage in Acts, the disciples were able to carry out miraculous cures in the same way Jesus did. And maybe that was the case, but I think that then—and now—healing was about way more than taking away leprosy or casting out evil spirits.
Everyone needs healing in one way or another, whether from generational trauma, a history of abuse, addiction, mental health challenges, physical health challenges, loneliness and isolation, poverty, injustice, and more. Healing is about more than traveling to a famed person or persons and having all your problems vanish. I wonder how much of the disciples ability to heal stemmed from the nature of their community—the mutual love and support, the shared resources. For me, community is extremely healing. I belong to a couple recovery fellowships and a church community and those groups of amazing human beings (as in need of healing as I am) do wonders for what ails me.
I’m not saying people don’t need professional help—they absolutely do and it needs to be accessible/affordable (I have a therapist and a psychiatrist, among others). But as I said, healing comes in lots of forms, and loving and supportive communities area huge one.
How do I receive healing from the communities I am a part of?
