Context
For months, the problems of the NHS have been an almost daily part of the diet of news stories in the UK. For example, most recently:
- A group of health campaigners has called for a judicial review of government health policy, which, they argue, will lead to the privatisation of the NHS;
- a Tory MP is calling for a referendum on NHS spending;
- a report that NHS staff shortages mean that doctors are working in a system that isn’t safe.
Almost every news story about the NHS is about how it is struggling to cope and resources are not matching demands. It all seems to be bad news.
The Church Times of 26 January 2018 included a story by Sarah Meyrick about Kate Nicholas, a spiritual seeker who came to faith after being healed from an inoperable cancer. Once, Chief of Communications for World Vision, Kate now runs her own management and communications company. Kate Nicholas’ story is told in her book, Sea Changed.
Reflection
In a world without any kind of health service, least of all a service that is free at the point of delivery, a healer turns up. He doesn’t charge, he doesn’t create barriers, he heals all comers. And as soon as the word gets out, all are coming to him. In the morning, Jesus had exorcised a demon and thereby healed a man, and by the evening, everyone is at the door. There was a huge appetite for health then, as now. Health is good in itself, but it is also necessary to enable people to function well in their families and in society. We know that it is those who are poor and struggling who are more likely to suffer illness and find it harder to find their way to health. Those who are richer find it easier to pay for doctors and treatment.
There is a good tradition of those who can serve others from a position of weakness and ill-health. Certainly, all those who serve need to be aware of their own vulnerabilities, mentally, physically and spiritually. We get a hint of this from Paul in the reading from the letter to the Corinthians (‘to the weak I became weak, so that I might win the weak’).
There is also a sense in today’s Gospel that healing enables service. That is true for Simon’s mother-in-law, who doesn’t sit back with a cup of tea to recuperate after she has been healed, but gets up and serves her guests. The healing is total and it enables action.
In the morning, Jesus goes away to pray, until Simon comes looking for him. The implication is that more people have turned up wanting healing, and there is a risk that Jesus’ healing gifts are going to be institutionalised in Capernaum. Jesus says no, they must move on to proclaim the message in other towns. Healing is part of the proclamation of the gospel. It is both a metaphor of the good news that brings spiritual as well as physical health, but also an actual embodiment of God’s good news. This is what God wants for all people.
Prayer
These prayers of intercession could be used in a church service, or with a group meeting to talk about the week’s readings.
Heavenly Father, we wait on your healing power.
Heal those who are sick.
Restore those who are struggling.
Comfort those who are distressed.
As we wait:
Lord, renew our strength.
Heavenly Father, we wait on your cleansing power.
Forgive us our sins.
Change our bad habits.
Transform our attitudes.
As we wait:
Lord, renew our strength.
Heavenly Father, we wait on the power of your good news.
Open the eyes of those who are searching.
Bring your light into places of darkness.
Give your hope to those who are despairing.
As we wait:
Lord, renew our strength.
Heavenly Father, we wait on the power of your Spirit.
Give courage and strength to those who serve.
Refresh those who are weary.
Give a new vision to those who dream.
As we wait:
Lord, renew our strength.
Questions
- In your own experience, what is the link between prayer and healing?
- The reference to casting out demons does not fit well in modern society. Why do you think it was so important to Jesus?
- What kind of pressures do you see building up for Jesus right at the start of his ministry? How do these compare with pressures on healers and ministers in our age?
All-age activity
An active prayer for healing.
Foam hand shapes are easily available from craft shops, and often from pound shops. Get a packet or two of these – enough for everyone. Alternatively, cut out hand shapes from paper or card.
Give a hand shape to everybody present. Invite them to think about the people they know whom they would like Jesus to reach out to and lift up, as he took Simon’s mother-in-law by hand and lifted her up. Write their names on the hand shape. Or draw them. Gather up the hand shapes in a basket and put the basket at the foot of a cross, as a prayer for Jesus to lift up each person named.
Young people
The story says that Jesus ‘cured many who were sick with various diseases’.
- Make a list of all the diseases you can think of. What would be needed to cure them?
For many diseases there is existing treatment that works well. For some conditions, time is the best cure – they will get better on their own. Some diseases are not well understood and treatment options are not great.
- Write a prayer together as a group asking God to increase knowledge and improve outcomes.
Meg Gilley is an Anglican parish priest serving in Gateshead.
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