The Scripture Readings this Sunday are:
- Psalm 34 (VU p.761)
- Mark 10:46-52
The Sermon title is Jesus the Healer
Early Thoughts: Miracles in general, healing miracles in particular are not something we talk about a lot in many of our churches. Some people see them as superstitious relics of a less "educated" time (note that educated and knowledgeable and wise are not the same things). Some see these stories as difficult to reconcile with a modern scientific worldview.
And yet it is undeniable that people experienced Jesus of Nazareth as a healer. We can spiritualize and theologize those stories all we want (and in doing so we can get some great sermons) but the witness that Jesus healed people is right there in the text. What do we do with those stories in the here and now?
To be honest, I don't really know. I have not spent much time in my lifetime reflecting on the healing stories. When healing stories in contemporary religious culture come to the news I generally skip over them. Still it is undeniable that for a substantial segment of contemporary Christian culture faith healing stories are a part of their understanding of faith and life. To become a Saint in the Roman Catholic tradition at least 3 miracles need to be ascribed to the individual and these are usually healings (the church has a method for verifying these claims).
Jesus was a healer. God's healing power is still active in the world. IT defies our modern scientific mindset. Hopefully by Sunday I'll have a better idea of what it means in today's worldview to talk about Jesus as a healer....
--Gord
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