Jan 9

Written by: jyankey
1/9/2012 2:01 PM 

"Healing for Outcast People"

Matthew 8:1 – 4

Ted Jansen January 8, 2012 First UMC

 

1.)    Jesus Christ is in the healing business. We celebrated the birth of Jesus, God's gift to us at Christmas. Matthew 1:21 tells us what the angel spoke to Joseph. "She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name, Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."

    Jesus' name and purpose are centered on the word, "save." Jesus will "save" his people. The word save in the Greek language is soza which means wholeness, healing, made better. So the word, save, means to restore, renew, and make whole again.

    If Jesus's name and purpose was to bring healing to the world that implies that we have a need for wholeness and healing. That means that there are places in our lives that are not complete, that are broken, that cause us hurt and pain. As we consider this truth I invite you to think of the ways that we try to fix ourselves, or heal our own hurts. We try to escape our pain and hurts, or we try to compensate in areas, we deny our hurts, or we become paralyzed. Some times we succeed in helping ourselves, other times our needs, our hurts lead us to despair.

We all have imperfections in our lives and we need healing. Let us look to the Healer.

 

2.)    Rev. James Wagner, a retired United Methodist Pastor, wrote a book called, "An Adventure in Healing and Wholeness." He describes five aspects of our health; Spiritual Health, Physical Health, Mental/Emotional Health, Relational Health and Ultimate/Eternal Health. Let's look at each one and how Christ can bring healing to us.

    

3.)    Spiritual Health has to do with our soul and our personal relationship with God. Rev Wagner says that this is the first and primary aspect of health. Listen to this quote from his book on page 41. "Paul Tournier, the famous Swiss physician, believed that a spiritual unrest underlies almost every chronic and acute illness. When this unrest reaches great enough proportions, it throws the body's immune system out of balance. Another medical doctor has stated that twenty-five percent of his patients could be cured by medical means alone, but that seventy-five percent needed the best medical care and the best spiritual care combined."

    Healing comes from Christ when we believe in Christ. We experience forgiveness for our sins, protection from evil, and peace that passes understanding, among other benefits.

    

    Physical Health has to do with our body, all of its systems, its needs, and how we maintain it. When we get enough rest, exercise, eat the right foods and make positive choices for our bodies we have good physical health. But we can get sick with common colds, we break our bones, our different parts of the body wear out, we get cancer, we have different genetic conditions that affect us. Each of us have concerns as we relate to our physical health.

    Healing can come from Christ to our bodies in medical and spiritual ways. We tend to focus on healing on only think about physical health.

 

    Mental and Emotional Health has to do with our mind, our attitude, our thinking, our emotions. This can be a complex arena as we think about our emotional/mental life. How do we define mental and emotional health? Someone who behaves in bizarre and violent ways is said to have emotional instability. We might have had to overcome some damage and brokenness from the past emotionally. We might have been abused or have made decisions in life that has affected us emotionally in ways that we struggle with. Or we might have a very positive, happy, and joy filled spirit.

    Healing comes from Christ when we are no longer paralyzed by fears, selfishness, and other negative emotions. Oftentimes healing happens when you begin new Christian practices like prayer, reading scripture and becoming regular in worship attendance. You allow God to work in your mind and emotions with healing in this way.

 

    Relational Health has to do with the people that we interact with. The practice of forgiveness as we relate to others is vital in our relationships. As we think of the relationships that we have are there some that are strained, conflicted, filled with tension, bitterness? Are our relationships healthy and positive? How would other people describe you as they are in relationship with you?

Healing comes from Christ when our relationships are positive, based on trust, respect, appreciation, genuine and authentic love. A strained relationship becomes better when Christ is bringing His healing grace to you.

 

    Ultimate Health, according to Rev. James Wagner, has to do with the death of our body and the experience of resurrection with Jesus Christ in heaven.

    Healing comes from Christ when our lives come to an end and we enter into heaven with the one who was raised from the dead. This is eternal life.

 

4.)    As I was thinking of these five aspects of health two images of circles came to mind. The first image is a perfect circle and represents the healing that Jesus provides. Jesus came to "save," make us whole and heal us.

    The second image is four jagged circles that start at the middle and work out from the center. The first circle, the core of our lives, is our spiritual health, the next circle is our physical health, the third our mental/emotional health, the fourth our relational health. These all are jagged and not smooth circles. The jagged edges represent the imperfections of our lives, the places where we are broken and in need of healing and wholeness. When Christ heals us He can take the jaggedness out of our lives and make them more like a true circle.

The last circle is a complete and whole circle. It represents when we have faith in Christ and our body dies we are given ultimate health and are healed in heaven with Christ.

As you picture your life in this format what is your area of greatest need? If I would ask you to draw your life with these circles they all would be different, wouldn't they? Our need are all in different areas.

 

    Matthew 8:1 – 4 describes a healing moment to bring your life into. Jesus and His heart of love are seen in three expressions. Jesus; came down, reached out, and was willing.

 

5.)    Jesus came down. Jesus had been up on the mountain preaching the great Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 – 7). "Coming down" symbolizes the Lord coming from Heaven to earth, from preaching to putting in practice the love of God, from a Holy persona to a human position.

    We see a man with leprosy coming to Jesus. The crowd that was with Jesus gasped because of the condition of this sick man and that he initiated conversation with Jesus. In Leviticus 13 and 14 God told the Hebrew people that if someone had leprosy they would be; unclean, would have to live outside of the town and would have to shout, "unclean," when they saw people coming close.

    It appears that this man did not abide by those "rules." He brought his uncleanness to Jesus, a holy and pure preacher/teacher. He was around lots of people and he did not shout, "unclean," to give people a warning.

    This man of need boldly expressed his faith in Jesus when he declared, "If you are willing you can make me clean." This man was aware of how vulnerable and at risk he was.

    Jesus comes down and meets us where we live, with our needs.

 

6.)    Jesus reached out. Jesus did not flinch at this man's request. Jesus did not pull away, or detour his path. Jesus reached out. He touched the man. Jesus, and all the people knew, that if you touch a person that is unclean you are considered unclean. Yet, Jesus, as the Son of God, who came to save people and make them whole and heal them touched the man. Jesus would not become dirty or unclean because He was God and He came to "save."

    One way to think of this is to consider what happens in a darkened room when light comes. Darkness does not overcome the light, but light overcomes darkness, always. Jesus, as the light and love of God will never become dark or without love or unclean.

    Jesus is reaching to you. By the Holy Spirit His hand is in your hand.

    

7.)    Jesus was willing. Jesus spoke the words, "I am willing… be clean." Those words lifted this man and transformed his life. He was healed physically but I believe that he also had a healing in his relationship with God, with others, and in his mind and emotions.

Jesus always transforms life. Healing always happens because of Jesus Christ.

    I want you to believe that Jesus Christ is willing and able to bring healing to you. We are not the ones who direct or tell God how to bring healing. God doesn't act based on our will but on God's own will. God doesn't give us His reasons for His will but we have to trust that there is healing given to us, wholeness in Jesus' name. Healing might not be immediate or even in an area that we are asking for but Jesus will bring wholeness to our lives.

    Jesus is willing to begin healing, to bring healing, to build upon healing in your life today, at this moment.

 

8.)    Take a moment to breathe and allow the Spirit of God to speak to your spirit as you listen to this paraphrase of the prayer of St Francis of Assisi that Rev James K Wagner wrote. (Adventure in Healing and Wholeness, page 89)

    

"Gracious, loving, caring God,

    Source of all healing and wholeness,

    Make us instruments of your healing.

    When we are weak and in pain, help us to rest;

    When we are anxious, help us to wait patiently;

    When we are fearful, help us to trust in You;

    When we are lonely, help us to love;

    When we place You apart from us, help us to know that You are still near.

Healing God, grant us not so much to demand everything from ourselves, as to allow others to help us;

Grant us not so much to seek escape, as to face ourselves and to learn the depths of Your love.

    For it is in being uncertain and not in control, that we find true faith;

    In knowing the limits of mind and body, that we find wholeness of spirit;

    In passing through death that we find life that lasts forever.

In the name of Christ Jesus, our Savior, our Healer, our Lord, we offer ourselves to you. Amen.