The Barrel by John H. Pavelko

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. Let The Healing Begin Mark 1:29-39 Sorry a dental appointment delay the publication. I will finish this afternoon.

PRAYER AND SPINAL MENINGITIS The parents called from the emergency room. Sally had spinal meningitis and the doctors offered little hope. They asked Pastor Will to visit. Driving to the hospital the pastor felt bewildered. He wondered how he was going to minister to a child of five and her parents. When he walked into the room, he took Sally's hand and spoke softly to her. She did not respond, her throat was inflamed and she found it too difficult to speak. He asked her to repeat the words to a prayer and he began; "Now I lay me down to sleep..." Once again, there was no response. He became embarrassed. He suddenly realized that she might not have been taught that prayer, so he spoke softly to her about Jesus being the friend of little children, said the Lord's Prayer and concluded with a blessing. Sally surprised the Pastor Will by reciting the bedtime prayer just before he left the room. He turned and smiled. The next day, Pastor Will offered a special prayer for Sally and asked the congregation to remember her and her parents in their prayers. The next day the parents called. Mom's voice rang with joy, Sally was improving and they expected her to get well. A month later Sally attended a special service and presented a thank offering for a mission project. The father looked into the eyes of his pastor and said, "You worked a miracle." Pastor Will told him, "The miracle belongs to God."1 While most of us will smile and nod our head in positive affirmation upon hearing about such a story, I wonder then, why isn't our Church noted for such occurrences taking place with greater frequency. Or is our belief in healing simple a reflection of our culture as evidenced by the popularity enjoyed by Bill Moyers' TV series and book Healing and the Mind.2 The former White House journalist explores the relationship between mind, body, and soul in the healing process and encourages the well to take steps to prevent sickness and the sick to explore avenues of healing beyond conventional medicine that include the spiritual. And Newsweek magazine did major story last year neurological underpinnings of spiritual and mystical experiences.3  Healing is enjoying its 15 minutes of fame in a culture mesmerized by New Age spirituality, but that is not the same belief evident in the NT Church. Until the Reformation, miraculous healing stories played a dominant role in the ministry and mission of the Church. One history credits their accounts as one of the five reasons for the phenomenal growth of the Church throughout the Roman Empire.4 Any review of the gospel account will discover their prominent role in the narrative material. The crowds did not flock to Jesus because of his witty humor or his elegant elocution. The people came because he healed their sick. The challenge for the Church today is to demonstrate in its life and ministry what she believes her God can do.   NO MANUAL But before any serious discussion of healing begins a word of caution should be offered. We must remember that the Bible is not a do-it-yourself-manual. It is revelation not a how-to-book of techniques, methods, or procedures. Jesus did not come to show us three steps for curing blindness, four steps for healing the lame, and two steps for casting out demons. He came to die for us. His teaching announced the coming of the Kingdom. In his life, we see the power of that reality overcoming the destructive forces of sin and evil. The only common theme of the accounts is the uniqueness of every situation.  Jesus chose different approaches and various methods with almost every person. On one occasion, he stuck his finger in the person's ear, another time he spit on the ground and to make a mud patch that he placed on the man's eyes. Sometimes he would take the person by the hand and other times he would not even touch them. Jesus does not offer us one specific technique to healing.5 Secondly, faith was never an absolute precondition for healing. On several occasions, the authors of the gospels do not make any mention of the person's faith. The widow of Nain may not have even known who Jesus was before he raised her son from the dead. The apostle John does not mention whether a man healed of blindness believed in the power of Jesus to heal (John 9:1-11). And Mark is strikingly quite about the faith of any one in Peter's house in today's passage. This is not to say that faith may or may not have been present, but the writers did not choose to stipulate the prerequisite of belief. With those words of caution said, let us explore the guidance Mark offers to those who would like to see the power of healing unleashed in their ministry.  THE NEED AT HAND Rudy once fought in the ring. After his conversion, he decided to visit hospitals and pray for the sick. Rudy attacks every problem with the courage and zeal of prizefighter. He never asked for permission from the hospital authorities. He just walked onto the ward and went from room to room praying for the sick. When the administration discovered what he was doing they called security and escorted him to the exit. Rudy was not bothered by his expulsion. He assumed that believers would face persecution for their faith. What troubled Rudy was no one got out of bed. During a time of prayer Rudy heard God ask him, "Rudy who told you to go to the hospital to pray for the sick."6 A Church does not need to search for hurting people. Sickness, disease, and death abound in this fallen world. Jesus found them wherever he went. During one of his first teaching sessions, a man plagued with a demon interrupted him. Jesus silenced the evil spirit and freed the man from demonic bondage. After the Sabbath service, his disciples take him to the house of Peter. The fisherman's mother-in-law is sick. Jesus takes her by the hand and the fever leaves her. Mark would have remembered this story because the woman healed was his great aunt. Jesus did have to search for hurting people, he simply reached out to those around him.  GOING PUBLIC Some years ago, a journal published a report written by a professor at the Harvard Medical School that present a few perplexing conclusions. The MD pointed out that the postmortem examinations of deceased patients often would reveal unmistakable traces of disease healed by the body without the person ever knowing about illness. He explained that the human body has a propensity for life and an inner healing power that is ten times greater than medicine's imitation.7 This was good news for those who try to keep their religion a private affair. They did not need to ask anyone to pray for them. They could avoid the embarrassing questions about what bodily part will be removed or where exactly the doctor will probe. While some prefer to keep their religion to themselves, Jesus never did any healings in private. They were always public affairs. When they told him that Peter's mother-in-law was sick he went into her room and visited with her. Interestingly, Mark does not record that Peter told him about his wife's mother. The details of this story would be important to Mark. The sick woman was his great aunt. He would have remembered what happen. He would have known that someone made the public request and Jesus made the public visit. Later after the Sabbath and ended, Mark tells us that the people surrounded the house of the fisherman with the lame, the sick, and the demon possessed. Once again, the healings were in public. To understand the importance of this public component to the healing process, we must understand the nature of Jesus' ministry. Jesus did not come to heal our ailments so that we could live happily ever after in our own private little world. His ministry of healing was a demonstration of the power of the Kingdom. He healed to display the glory and power of God. He transformed the eyes of the blind and opened the ears of the deaf, so that people would know that the forces of evil have been defeated. A local church will seldom witness miraculous healings unless the members are willing to go public, not just with written requests on yellow cards, but by asking and allowing others to pray for their healing. A few weeks ago, someone asked for pray for his ear. He not only filled out a prayer card and later asked that we pray and anoint him with oil. He told me that his ear improved soon afterwards. Miraculous, perhaps not, but it demonstrates his public request demonstrates his personal faith. We will only see the answers to prayers that we are willing to make. If we are not willing to risk, we limit the opportunity for God to demonstrate his awesome power.  WITHIN THE TRADITION With a light stroke of the pen, Mark reveals to us the importance of our heritage and tradition. He notes that the people waited until after sundown before they came. They waited until the Sabbath had ended. They did not trample upon their customs. In Presbyterian terms we would say, they did things decently and in order. Jesus will later shatter the Sabbath traditions that placed rules above people but early in his ministry, the people still sought to obey the traditions of their faith.  People who seek spiritual renewal often abandon the traditions of their youth and adapt a new form of worship and religious habit. They arrogantly condemn the past as binding and inhibiting the fresh movement of the Spirit. God honors all forms of religious devotion, especially those that humble respect the practices and customs of the others. In our zeal to serve God and allow him to unleash his power through our life and ministry, we cannot trample upon the customs and style of others. God is not honored through our disrespect and judgmental spirit. Any ministry of healing that we begin to explore will need to stay within the heritage to the Reformed faith.  SHATTERED CONFIDENCE BECOMES THE SEED BED OF FAITH Not long ago, the medical profession felt quite confident that the nature of disease was fully understood. During the early part of the 20th century, a cure had been discovered for some of the most dangerous diseases. Polio and smallpox had been eliminated. New antibiotics were being discovered each year. New methods of treating cancer were proving their effectiveness. And they are developing ways of repairing the human body. But recently that confidence is being undermined. Old viruses are mutating into super bugs that are resistance to some of our most powerful antibiotics. The lives of some of our own members have even been threatened. An expensive cocktail of drugs may control the development of HIV but there is still no cure for the dread AIDS virus. This summer we witnessed the spread of the West Nile virus from New York City to across our country. Next summer the threat will only increase.  The confidence that we once placed in our medical technology is being shattered each day. But rather than panic the Church must use this as an opportunity to demonstrate its faith in the healing power of God. Our faith will never become a substitute for medical treatment but it may serve as the complimentary force that offers hope. The Church is faced with a challenge. Will we step forward in faith or walk through the motions of a powerless religion.   1 Will Oursler, The Healing Power of Faith, cited by Glendon E. Harris, "Are We Ready To Acknowledge Divine Healing," Pulpit Resources, July 15, 1979, Vol. 7, No. 4. 2 Bill Moyers, Healing and the Mind, (New York: Doubleday, 1993) 3 Ted Olson, "Is it all in your head: neurotheological and shmeurotheolgical" Christianity Today, Online: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2001/118/52.0.html, posted May 4, 2001. 4 Phillip Yancy, "Jesus the Reluctant Miracle Worker", Christianity Today, May 19, 1997, Vol. 41, No. 6, p. 81. 5 Morton T. Kelsey, Healing and Christianity, (Harper and Row: New York, 1973), p. 52-68. 6 Francis McNutt, Healing, (Creation House: Altamonte Springs, Fl, 1988), p. 203. 7 "The Healing Stream", Saturday Review cited by Glendon E. Harris, "The Doctor Within," Pulpit Resources, July 30, 1989, Vol. 17, No. 3, p. 17.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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