There is a common theme throughout all of the Gospels in the New Testament; healing. Jesus heals lepers, disabled, those possessed by demons, and even dead people. We witness this theme of the suffering of all of humanity; physically in our bodies, spiritually those who have been taken over by Satan, and emotionally those who want to believe. Then we witness the suffering of Jesus Christ, bloody, humiliating, degrading, and violent. After all the suffering there is death but then there is new life. This theme is reflected in the healing stories.
So, what is the point of this theme? I feel certain Jesus Christ had reasoning for every word he spoke, action he took, and person he healed. He came to the world for the sick, poor, marginalized, and disadvantaged. He came for the sinners. We are all sinners! He came to help us see our faults, our human failings and sins. He gave us the Beatitudes so we could begin to live a different way. Jesus did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it. His healings changed the lives of those he healed, those who witnessed, and us today. Jesus Christ alone can heal us, but the catch is we have to ask, be vulnerable and show him our faults, failings, and sins. We have to ask for forgiveness and for a way to end our old selfish life so that we may be raised up to a new life in his words and deeds.
These forty days of lent should be days of self-reflection and rediscovery of our failings. It is a time to be in the desert of our lives and do some soul searching. It is a time to weed out what pulls us down or away from God and to cut that part out of our lives and in place of the void to inject the love of God. Easter is about the resurrection of Jesus Christ which gives us hope and joy that we too can be resurrected to a new life in Jesus Christ. A new life that help us to bring the Kingdom of God to the here and now. Hopefully the mercy of God will grant us eternal peace and the afterlife with Jesus Christ.
There is a theme of healing we can learn from in the Gospels. Let us during this last half of Lent truly contemplate our ailments; physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. Let us bring them to Jesus Christ and ask for his healing. Let us be the one to hear his words, “Go now your faith has saved you. Go and Sin no more.” Let our lives be a reflection of the new life we gain from humbly asking for the forgiveness of Jesus Christ.
Copyright 2016 Lori Hadorn-Disselkamp
