Faith Healing
Luke 7:1-17
Does faith heal, or is faith rewarded in healing?
Photo by Alfredo Viramontes on Unsplash
After Jesus had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. A centurion there had a slave whom he valued highly, and who was ill and close to death. When he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to him, asking him to come and heal his slave. When they came to Jesus, they appealed to him earnestly, saying, "He is worthy of having you do this for him, for he loves our people, and it is he who built our synagogue for us." And Jesus went with them, but when he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to say to him, "Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; therefore I did not presume to come to you. But only speak the word, and let my servant be healed. For I also am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes, and to another, 'Come,' and he comes, and to my slave, 'Do this,' and the slave does it." When Jesus heard this he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, he said, "I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith." When those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health. Soon afterwards he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went with him. As he approached the gate of the town, a man who had died was being carried out. He was his mother's only son, and she was a widow; and with her was a large crowd from the town. When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her and said to her, "Do not weep." Then he came forward and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, "Young man, I say to you, rise!" The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Fear seized all of them; and they glorified God, saying, "A great prophet has risen among us!" and "God has looked favorably on his people!" This word about him spread throughout Judea and all the surrounding country. - Luke 7:1-17
In today's reading from Luke's Gospel, Jesus shows compassion for two people: one who is sick and the other who has died.
In the first case, Jesus was moved by the centurion's faith.
The man had gone to great lengths to help his slave. What I think so moved Jesus was the man's love for his slave. The centurion reached out to a total stranger he had heard about, rushing his position and power.
This is why Jesus said he has not seen such faith in all of Israel.
The other act of healing was not based on faith at all. At least it doesn't seem to be. Jesus saw the woman and had pity on her.
Somehow, Jesus knows that this dead man is the woman's only son. Perhaps he asked the people as they mourned him, carrying his body out of the city to be buried.
For all of us who have lost a loved one, this miracle of compassion is both a blessing and a curse.
Why not my loved one?
If I didn't even have to show faith for Jesus to act, why not me, one who believes and prays for help?
This is why I believe that Jesus never set out to perform miracles. From the very first recorded miracle at Cana, he was reluctant.
I can see why. How can you help one and not all?
Perhaps that is the lesson for us. We cannot help everyone. Jesus even said that there will always be the poor among us.
There will always be those who are not cured of their illnesses. But we are all healed in his blood.
That mat not be much consolation for those of us who mourn. We suffer in our grief and loss. But if we can see that these miracles are not to show us that some are worthy and others are not, we can endure.
Our faith will help carry us through.
In a way, that is healing, isn't it?
More to come...