Jesus is frequently portrayed healing people. He cured those who were physically sick and those who were in mental anguish. In his Gospel St Mark adds a brief comment: ‘and everyone was amazed’. This always makes me smile, truly Jesus is amazing.
Today there are Christians of many denominations who continue the healing ministry of Jesus both through prayer and faith healing, and by working in hospitals and healthcare settings. Compassion and care for the sick is an essential part of our faith. Many people are healed, but there are also many who are not. Why? This is a question I heard frequently when I worked as a nurse, and really there is no answer. Sickness can afflict the strong as well as the weak, people who live good lives and people who don’t bother, people who have faith and those who never give God a thought. It is outside our control. What I do believe is that God is love and we can trust God in sickness and in health.
But the healings of Jesus point beyond the individuals who are cured to the great restoration of all things in the Kingdom of God, when every tear will be wiped away, every sickness healed, and every sin forgiven. We will all experience the healing of God. Jesus has already initiated this kingdom by his life, death and resurrection, but we still await its fulness at the end of time.
