Jesus Heals – Br. Jack Crowley

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Luke 7:19-23

Jesus heals. Jesus heals so often, so many, and so much, that it is easy to forget about. If you stick your finger in a random page in the Gospel, chances are your finger is close to healing.

Our Gospel today features yet another situation where someone asks Jesus what he is all about. This particular day it is followers of John the Baptist asking Jesus if he is the real deal. Jesus’ answer is both vague and blunt. He tells the men to go back to John the Baptist and literally just say what they saw and heard going on around Jesus.

So what was going on around Jesus? Well, tons of healing. We are told by Luke that Jesus had just healed many people right before this conversation happened. Can you imagine those followers of John the Baptist going back and explaining themselves to John? They would have to say something like well John, this Jesus guy wouldn’t give us a straight answer, but man he’s healing a ton of people so he must be doing something right.

We all have days were we feel like John the Baptist, indirectly sending out feelers out to God. Days when we ask the big questions like what are we doing here, why are some days awful and other days are awesome, and just what is my relationship to God? When praying through these questions, it’s easy to forget about healing.

It’s easy to forget about all the healing we have done and need to do. For better or worse, we are dependent on God’s help in healing. No one likes to be dependent on anything. It’s not fun. It’s humbling. It’s humbling to admit to all the pain we all feel inside, it’s humbling to confess we crave healing more than our veneers can express.

Don’t forget that Jesus was mortally wounded on the cross. When Jesus came back to see his Apostles, Jesus didn’t say to his Apostles hey look at this pristine body my Dad got me. No. Jesus showed his wounds. He showed his wounds as if to say I am the real the deal, I’ve been to hell and back, and I’ve got the scars to prove it.

Healing is a process we’ve all been through. Healing centers ourselves and gives us a reason to get out of bed in the morning. Healing answers those big questions we have in our head by making us find God where we need him most, which isn’t always where we want him most.