{"id":24685,"date":"2025-01-27T09:54:24","date_gmt":"2025-01-27T14:54:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/?p=24685"},"modified":"2025-01-27T11:30:23","modified_gmt":"2025-01-27T16:30:23","slug":"24685","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/?p=24685","title":{"rendered":"The Significance of Healing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Casting Crowns - Healer (Lyrics)\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/HD71plysnVQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Father Richard Rohr focuses on the Gospel of Mark to explore the significance of Jesus\u2019 healing ministry:&nbsp;<\/em>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Gospel of Mark is primarily a gospel of action. Jesus is constantly on the move from place to place, preaching and healing, preaching and healing. Jesus is conveying the good news of God\u2019s big picture into people\u2019s small worlds, and he&nbsp;<em>does&nbsp;<\/em>this much more than he&nbsp;<em>talks&nbsp;<\/em>about it. Jesus\u2019 actions and physical healings consistently rearrange faulty relationships\u2014with people\u2019s own self-image, with others, with society, and with God who is henceforth seen as on their side. The same is true for us today.\u202f&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There\u2019s not much profit in just thinking, \u201cWow, Jesus worked another miracle!\u201d<strong> But there is much profit in noting the changed status, self-image, courage, and relationship to family or community that the cure invariably entails.<\/strong> This is the real transformative message. I am not denying that Jesus could and undoubtedly did perform physical healings. It still happens, and over the years I have seen it many times. At the same time, <strong>the healings and exorcisms in Mark\u2019s Gospel are primarily to make statements about power, abuse, relationships, class, addiction, money, exclusion, the state of women and the poor, and the connections between soul and body\u2014the same issues we face today.\u202f<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jesus also doesn\u2019t heal as a reward for good behavior. Usually there is <strong>no mention whatsoever of any prerequisites,<\/strong> and sometimes it\u2019s not even the one cured, but those around them, who have faith. Neither in Mark\u2019s Gospel is there any primary concern about life after death or heaven. We projected that onto the text. <strong>All of the healing stories are&nbsp;<em>present-tense concerns for human suffering in this world<\/em>. <\/strong>They tell us that God cares deeply about the tragic human condition&nbsp;<em>now<\/em>. How could we miss this?<strong> In general, rewards and punishments are inherent and current. Sin is its own punishment, and virtue is its own reward&nbsp;<em>now<\/em>.<\/strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Jesus\u2019 healing ministry reveals God\u2019s solidarity with suffering.<\/em>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We are all initially created in the image of God, and <strong>Jesus\u2019 public ministry is always recreating and restoring that image. We could say that is all he is doing<\/strong>! Christians believe that we cannot know the mind of God until we see what God was doing in, through, and with Jesus. <strong>Transformed people, like Jesus, naturally transform others<\/strong>. In Jesus\u2019 ministry of healing and exorcism, the transformations were immediately verifiable and visible.\u202fThe real message here is not a medical cure or whether Jesus could do such a thing, but that <strong>(1) God cares about human pain, (2) God cares about it in this world now, (3) God\u2019s action actually changes people, and (4) the people who have experienced God\u2019s grace are equipped to pass on the real message<\/strong>.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Possessed by the Wrong Perspective<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Richard Rohr offers one way we might understand the exorcisms Jesus performed:&nbsp;<\/em>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When a person has a constantly changing reference point, they have a very insecure life. They will take on any persona, negative or positive, and become incapable of much personal integrity. This is the celebrity-obsessed world in which we are living today. The biblical tradition uses the language of \u201chaving a demon\u201d to describe such negative identity. We post-enlightenment, educated people don\u2019t like this language very much, but <strong>one way to think of \u201cbeing possessed\u201d is when there is&nbsp;<em>an unhealthy other (or others!)&nbsp;<\/em>who is defining us\u2014and usually rather poorly<\/strong>.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In that sense, I\u2019ve personally known a lot of possessed people. It\u2019s no surprise that Jesus exorcised so many demons from people who seemed to carry the negative projections of the surrounding crowd (Luke 9:37\u201343), synagogue worshippers (Mark 1:21\u201327; Luke 13:10\u201317), or the Gerasene residents (Mark 5:1\u201320; Luke 8:26\u201339). The ancients were not as naive as we might think. In these stories, we see exactly what the internalization of negative judgment means. Such people do need healing, even a major \u201cexorcism\u201d! While we tend to send them to therapists instead of holy people, <strong>in general, the only cure for negative possession is a positive repossession! Jesus is always \u201crepossessing\u201d people\u2014for themselves and for God.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When a good therapist, a wise and holy (meaning whole or healed) person, or a totally accepting friend becomes our chosen mirror, we are, in fact, being healed! I hope it doesn\u2019t sound too presumptuous, but I think I have exorcised a good number of people in my life\u2014primarily <strong>because&nbsp;<em>they&nbsp;<\/em>had the trust and the humility to let me mirror them&nbsp;<em>positively&nbsp;<\/em>and replace the old mirror of their abusive dad, their toxic church, or their racist neighborhood.<\/strong> That\u2019s why Jesus says, \u201c<em>Your&nbsp;<\/em>faith has saved you\u201d (Luke 7:50). I am just saying the same. [1]&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Drawing on the healing of \u201cLegion\u201d in&nbsp;<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/email.cac.org\/t\/d-l-sjjuho-tlkrdrec-r\/\"><em>Luke 8:26\u201339<\/em><\/a><em>, Father Greg Boyle describes a similar experience from his work through Homeboy Industries:&nbsp;<\/em>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jesus asks the demoniac who is terrorizing the neighbors, writing on walls, selling drugs, shooting at people, harassing folks as they walk by, \u201cWhat is your name?\u201d The guy says, \u201cLegion,\u201d which at first bounce means, \u201cThere are a lot of my homies to back me up.\u201d But the word actually means \u201cI am what has afflicted me.\u201d The invitation and plea is for healing. And Jesus does. Even though it would appear he \u201cdrives out the demon,\u201d<strong> he\u2019s actually freeing him of his affliction and asking him not to define himself this way anymore. More liberation than salvation<\/strong>. <strong>The demoniac\u2019s \u201cgrowth\u201d is not about becoming less sinful, but more joyful. He is now connected to a community, having been liberated from his isolation. Jesus has made him whole.<\/strong> [2]&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">The Idol of Politics: Misplacing Power<\/span><\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"auto\" height=\"15\" src=\"https:\/\/mcusercontent.com\/87188c8737bc50c1a2fb8e2c9\/images\/b66516eb-1f2d-8d90-0e02-d4223f78f6f7.png\"><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/withgoddaily.us2.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=87188c8737bc50c1a2fb8e2c9&amp;id=46b4957dcb&amp;e=f52fc38132\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/withgoddaily.us2.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=87188c8737bc50c1a2fb8e2c9&amp;id=874a0cfdd4&amp;e=f52fc38132\" target=\"_blank\">Click Here for Audio<\/a><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/withgoddaily.us2.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=87188c8737bc50c1a2fb8e2c9&amp;id=927ed2b17a&amp;e=f52fc38132\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"auto\" height=\"35\" src=\"https:\/\/mcusercontent.com\/87188c8737bc50c1a2fb8e2c9\/images\/b66516eb-1f2d-8d90-0e02-d4223f78f6f7.png\"><br>One of the more curious characters in the narrative of Jesus\u2019 betrayal, arrest, trial, and crucifixion is Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea. The exchanges recorded between Pilate, Jesus, and the crowds of Jerusalem are fascinating.&nbsp;More than once, Pilate admitted that he could find no crime necessitating Jesus\u2019 execution, and he could not understand why Jesus refused to defend himself. \u201cDo you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?\u201d Pilate said. Jesus answered him, \u201cYou would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given to you from above\u201d (Luke 19:10\u201311).<br><br>With this exchange, we see the disconnect between Pilate and Jesus regarding the source of true power. Pilate believed power was ultimately political\u2014granted to him by the state and its emperor, Caesar. Jesus understood that ultimate power rested in God alone, and his fate resided with his heavenly Father, not the Roman governor of Judea.&nbsp;<strong>Pilate\u2019s error is the same made by all who worship the idol of politics today. They bow themselves to a king, state, or constituency believing safety and well-being are rooted in securing political advantage<\/strong>. <br><br>But, <strong>the very political power we think will liberate us ultimately enslaves us; we become servants of the false god we ourselves have erected<\/strong>.&nbsp;This is exactly what happened to Pilate. Although his conscience told him Jesus was innocent and he looked to release him, Pilate did as the people wanted. He ordered Jesus to be crucified. Pilate boasted that his political position gave him the power to free or kill Jesus but in the end, Pilate was beholden to the crowds and their threats. If a riot occurred in Jerusalem he risked losing his political power\u2014the thing he loved most. <strong>Because Pilate could not betray his idol, his conscience had to submit to political expediency.<\/strong> <br><br>At least to Pilate, Jesus was an innocent man whose life he willingly sacrificed to appease the false god of politics.&nbsp;Unlike Pilate, Jesus was able to defy the crowds, the religious leaders, the Roman Empire, and even his own followers because his allegiance was to his Father alone. He shows us how <strong>worshipping the living God leads to true freedom while worshipping a false god always leads to slavery and injustice.&nbsp;<\/strong><br><br>DAILY SCRIPTURE<a href=\"https:\/\/withgoddaily.us2.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=87188c8737bc50c1a2fb8e2c9&amp;id=2c6ce12302&amp;e=f52fc38132\">J<\/a><br><a href=\"https:\/\/withgoddaily.us2.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=87188c8737bc50c1a2fb8e2c9&amp;id=2c6ce12302&amp;e=f52fc38132\">OHN 19:1\u201316<br>1 PETER 2:13\u201325<\/a><br><br>WEEKLY PRAYER.    Thomas Ken (1637\u20131711)<br>O our God, amidst the deplorable division of your Church, let us never widen its breaches, but give us universal charity to all who are called by your name. O deliver us from the sins and errors, from the schisms and heresies of the age. O give us grace daily to pray for the peace of your Church, and earnestly to seek it and to excite all we can to praise and to love you; through Jesus Christ, our one Savior and Redeemer,<br>Amen.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Father Richard Rohr focuses on the Gospel of Mark to explore the significance of Jesus\u2019 healing ministry:&nbsp;&nbsp; The Gospel of Mark is primarily a gospel of action. Jesus is constantly on the move from place to place, preaching and healing, preaching and healing. Jesus is conveying the good news of God\u2019s big picture into people\u2019s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24685"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24685"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24685\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24693,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24685\/revisions\/24693"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24685"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24685"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24685"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}