HEALING

A Sermon by the Rev. Patrick A. Rose

 “And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all.” (Lk. 6:19)

IN THE UNITED STATES huge and growing amounts of money are spent on healthcare.  In the year 2000 the cost was about $4500 per person, and some project that this will have doubled by the year 2011.  Physical health is of course extremely important to our lives in this world.  Illness brings with it the inability to function, pain, desperation and sometimes an early death.  Where medicine can cure illness, or at least relieve some of the pain and suffering, then it of great benefit to people’s lives here on earth.

When the Lord was here on earth, He healed many, many people.  The medicine of those days was very primitive, and there were countless people who because of physical ailments were living lives of abject misery.  The Gospels give countless examples: blind people, deaf people, lame people, paralyzed people, people whose bodies were being eaten away with leprosy.  One woman had had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had spent all her money on physicians but to no avail.  There was the man lying by the healing waters of Bethesda, unable to walk, afflicted for thirty-eight years, with no one to help him reach the water in time for a healing.  The sheer amount of human misery in those days was staggering, as it still is, sadly, in many undeveloped parts of the world today.

The Lord Jesus Christ, while He lived and walked on the earth, healed countless numbers of these poor wretched people.  For example, we read in our second lesson: “And He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and be healed of their diseases, as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits. And they were healed.”

Why did the Lord’s miracles focus so much on the healing of the sick?  The most obvious reason was that He was a God of compassion.  Indeed we read in Matthew of how  “when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick.“  By healing these multitudes of wretchedly sick people, He showed His compassion.0

The Lord’s compassion and love, though, were Divine.  He was not simply moved at seeing the physical suffering of those around Him.  Because He was Divine He could see into the very souls of those around Him.  He knew their thoughts, their feelings, their hopes, their fears.  And looking deep into the souls of people, He saw sickness far more devastating that the physical ailments that plagued their bodies.  He saw within them spiritual sickness, diseases of the soul that resulted in misery deep down inside, devastating misery that could last forever.  It was this sickness, spiritual sickness, that the Lord had come to heal, and His miracles of healing represented His healing of spiritual diseases.

We are taught in the Arcana that “since sicknesses represented the unrighteous ways and the evils of spiritual life, the sicknesses which the Lord healed have as their meaning deliverance from the different kinds of evil and falsity that were molesting the Church and human race and that would have brought spiritual death.”  

Yes, the Lord did perform many miraculous acts of physical healing.  Far more important though, and far more wonderful, was the spiritual healing He was bringing to people’s souls.  The Lord, because He is Divine, looks always towards what is eternal.  And those miracles He performs, Divine miracles, also look towards eternal spiritual things.  As we read also in the Arcana, “Divine miracles are distinguishable from other miracles by the fact that they involve and have regard to states of the Church and the heavenly kingdom; and this is why the Lord's miracles were primarily healing of sicknesses.”  Simply put, the reason why the Lord healed so many people of their physical diseases was that He might represent and portray that deeper healing for which He had come to earth.  And, no matter how serious the physical diseases of the multitudes might have been, far more serious were the diseases that threatened their souls.

Many people do not see it this way, of course.  The multitudes who followed the Lord were mostly unaware of having any spiritual diseases.  What they sought was healing from their physical diseases.  They were not aware that the hells were close, threatening the salvation, and indeed the very survival, of everybody here on earth.  And today, if someone is diagnosed with a serious physical illness, it will get his attention far more than it would if he were told that his spirit was sick.  Living in this world our tendency is to be short-sighted and to think primarily of this world.  Our worldly welfare, our physical health, are important to us.  Spiritual things seem far less important and so often are given a much lower priority.

What people do is ignore the obvious.  They ignore the fact that they will live on this earth only a relatively short time, but will live to all eternity in the world to come.  They ignore their spiritual health.  They ignore those diseases that afflict their spirits, perhaps not realizing just how sick they really are.

Now this does not mean that physical health is unimportant.  Physical health is important, because the body is the vessel of the spirit, and where the body is unhealthy, the health of the mind also suffers.  Neither should we overlook the fact that there is a close connection, indeed a correspondence, between the health of the spirit and the health of the body.  What we need to realize though is that what goes on in the spirit is of fundamental importance to our happiness not only in this world but for eternity.  When we are sick and ill inside our spirits, then we truly are very sick and very ill indeed.

What, then, is spiritual disease?  In the Writings it is said that “in the spiritual world diseases are evils and falsities, spiritual diseases being nothing else; for evils and falsities take away health from the internal man, and induce sicknesses on the mind, and at last pains.”  We often think of evil as something that we do to someone else.  And we often think of falsity as a wrong idea we have about something.  Evil and falsity are these things.  But evil and falsity are also diseases, diseases that eat away at our souls.

Think for example, of unjustified anger, vengeful anger.  A person may be angry at someone else, but the real victim is the one who harbors this anger.  Anger is fire and it is a fire that consumes the person who holds on to it.  Remember the Lord’s words in the Sermon on the Mount: “But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.”  A more literal translation is “the hell of fire.”  Hell is something we create for ourselves, and when a person harbors revenge and anger, the fire of this anger then consumes his spirit, eating away at it, poisoning it.  It is like having a fever, a terrible fever, in your very own soul, a fever that is hellish.  So too with another evil, the evil of adultery.  Adultery destroys marriage, but it also destroys the soul.  It also is a fire, a “fire lit from impurities,” a fire that eats away at the spirit.  As it is said in the Book of Proverbs, “Can a man take fire to his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? . . . So is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife; whoever touches her shall not be innocent.”

People who harbor evils in their heart are sick in their spirits.  They are miserable deep down inside.  They are suffering.  They are being burned away or eaten away by the very things that they have chosen to love.  Lest there be any doubt how sick such people really are, consider how those look who love evil and have gone to hell.  Their faces are monstrous, ugly, distorted.  Some no longer even have a face.  They are ill people, very ill indeed.  And they are ill because they have chosen things that destroy them.  And they are ill because while they were in this world they did not seek to be healed of their evils.

Now think once more of those multitudes of sick people that came to the Lord for Him to heal them.  These people were miserable and wretched.  Imagine being blind at a time in history when nobody would help you because you were blind.  You might be thrown a few coins, but that was all.  Or, imagine the horror of leprosy, seeing your hands and face being eaten away, and being feared and shunned by everybody.  They were miserable people.  But people can also be miserable in a similar way deep down inside.  It might not be as obvious a misery, but it is a misery nevertheless.

Take for example a man who is arrogant, who thinks of himself as always right and who has contempt for the opinions of others.  Such a man is blind.  Because his mind is closed, he is completely without wisdom.  Spiritually he is very stupid indeed.  It is as if his mind was hardened.  Not only are the deeper parts of his mind unable to function, able to see things, but he is also, deep down inside, completely alone.  He cuts himself off from everybody else.

Or what of the man who has contempt for the things of religion and for people who believe in religion.  His mind becomes dead to what is good and true.  It is as if parts of his spirit were being eaten away or dying.  He is alone, completely alone, in the universe, for he has become cynical about everybody and everything, so that not only does he have no real friends, but he does not even believe in a God who watches over him.

Now these are perhaps extreme examples, but when we look inside of ourselves we can all see that there are things inside of us that are not healthy.  We have ways of thinking and ways of feeling that are sick, and that do harm to our spirits and make us miserable deep inside of ourselves.  All of us need healing in one way or another.  And the wonderful thing is that the Lord can heal us.  He provides us with many different things that can help restore our spiritual health.  In fact, not only do the Gospels speak many times about the Lord’s healing people, as also does the Old Testament, but the Heavenly Doctrines also teach a great deal about the ways in which the Lord heals our spirits.

This morning, let us consider just a few of the many things the Lord gives us which can help heal us of whatever evil is eating away at our insides.

First, there is spiritual water, or truth.  Remember the man lying near the pool of Bethesda who had been infirm for thirty-eight years.  He was there because those waters could heal people.  Think of Naaman the leper in the Old Testament who was told to wash seven times in the Jordan.  We are told in the Arcana that “every healing from sickness carried out by the Lord implies purification from evils and falsities, or restoration of spiritual life.”  And if there is to be purification, then there have to be the truths of faith, represented by water.  Truths help us see clearly what we need to do.  Truths help us see what we must rid ourselves of.  Truths, when lived, are one of the means of reformation and regeneration.  And so, if you want to be healthy in your spirit, take the time to learn about spiritual things.  Don’t let all the concerns related to temporary life in this world prevent you from reading and thinking about the Word.  What you learn from the Lord’s Word is pure and living water, water that is vital for your spiritual health.

Second, consider the healing power of spiritual oil.  Remember the man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho who was wounded by thieves and left half-dead.  It was a Samaritan who stopped to help, and who bandaged him, pouring on oil and wine, representing the good of love and the good of faith, or the good and truth of the church.  Oil or love is very much a part of the healing of the spirit.  This is why the disciples also anointed the sick with oil.  As we read in Apocalypse Explained, “Because ‘oil’ signified the good of love and charity, and by this those are healed who are spiritually sick, therefore it is said of the Lord's disciples: that they anointed many with oil and healed them (Mark 6:13).”  The good of love and charity is fundamental to the healing of the spirit.  It is so important when someone is sick in his spirit that he practice love and charity, refusing to do evil to others, and seeking to do what is good.  It is a principle that has so many applications.  If you are burning with anger against someone, make it a point, a principle, that you will do that person no harm.  If your spirit is low, and if you are consumed with self-pity, go out and help someone worse off that yourself.  Practice charity and love, for these things are like spiritual oil, oil that can heal spiritual wounds and sickness.

Third, to be healed of spiritual illness, do what those multitudes did in the days of the New Testament.  Go to the Lord.  Approach Him directly.  Pray to Him.  Ask Him for His help.  He is the source of all health and all healing.  This was something He taught to the Israelites.  In the Book of Exodus he told them, “I am the LORD who heals you.”  And in the New Testament He speaks of Himself as a physician.  “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”  The Lord has within Himself the power of healing.  The words of our text this morning make this clear: “And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all.”  All people had to do was just touch the Lord, and they were healed.  People would beg the Lord to be allowed to touch only the hem of His garment.  People would crowd around Him, pressing against Him, just to touch Him.  The Lord’s touch represented the transmission and reception of Divine power.

These people approached the Lord because they had faith in Him.  They believed in His power.  For many of them their faith was, to begin with, external.  But still they had faith and they believed.  And so many times the Lord asked people if they had faith before healing them, and told people that it was their faith that had healed them.

Think how much more we know about the Lord than did those multitudes.  We know that He has power, power to cure us of evil, power to restore our spiritual health.  He will not rid us of evil without our cooperation, but neither will He rid us of evil without our turning to Him.  And this is something we can do.  We can turn to Him.  The Lord made it clear when He rose from the sepulcher that He was with people here on earth and that He would never leave us.  He is with us here and now.  He is present with the power to heal, the power to save.

If you find yourself being eaten up with resentment, if you find yourself burning with hatred or with lust, if you find yourself lacking trust in the Lord’s leading and are consumed with worry – whatever the nature of the disease might be that is afflicting your spirit – the Lord can cure you.  Reach out to Him.  Have faith in Him.  Pray to Him.  Touch Him.  And He will touch your heart and touch your spirit.  Follow Him, and He will heal you.

Amen.

Lessons:        Ps. 103:1-5.

Lk. 6:6-19.

AE 815:3-5

Psalm 103:1-5 1Bless the LORD, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! 2Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: 3Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, 4Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, 5Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

Luke 6:6-19 6Now it happened on another Sabbath, also, that He entered the synagogue and taught. And a man was there whose right hand was withered. 7So the scribes and Pharisees watched Him closely, whether He would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against Him. 8But He knew their thoughts, and said to the man who had the withered hand, “Arise and stand here.” And he arose and stood. 9Then Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or £to destroy?” 10And when He had looked around at them all, He said to £the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored £as whole as the other. 11But they were filled with rage, and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus. 12Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. 13And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles: 14Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; 15Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot; 16Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot who also became a traitor. 17And He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and be healed of their diseases, 18as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits. And they were healed. 19And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all.

AE 815. [3] The passages of the Word where "faith" and "believing" are mentioned are the following. In Matthew: There came a centurion to the Lord, saying, Lord, I am not worthy that Thou shouldst come under my roof; but say the word only, and my boy shall be healed. Jesus hearing, marveled and said to them that followed Him, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith in Israel. And He said unto the centurion, Go thy way, and as thou hast believed be it done unto thee; and his boy was healed in that hour (8:8, 10, 13). The Lord healed this person and others according to their faith, because the first and primary thing of the church then to be established was to believe that the Lord is God Almighty, for without that faith no church could have been established. For the Lord was the God of heaven and the God of earth, with whom no conjunction is possible except by an acknowledgment of His Divinity, which acknowledgment is faith. The centurion evidently acknowledged the Lord to be God Almighty, for he said, "I am not worthy that Thou shouldst come under my roof; but say the word only, and my boy shall be healed." [4] In the same: A woman afflicted with an issue of blood touched the hem of Jesus' garment; for she said within herself, If I shall but touch His garment I shall be healed. Jesus turning and seeing her, said, Daughter be of good cheer, thy faith hath made thee whole; and she was healed in that hour (Matt. 9:20-22). In the same: They brought unto Him one sick of the palsy lying on a bed; Jesus seeing their faith, said unto the sick of the palsy, Be of good cheer, thy sins are forgiven. Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thy house (Matt. 9:2-7; Luke 5:19-25). In the same: Two blind men cried, saying, Have mercy on us, Thou Son of David. Jesus said unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They say unto Him, Yea, Lord. Then touched He their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it done unto you; and their eyes were opened (Matt. 9:27-30). No other faith than that which is called historical, which at that time was a miraculous faith, was meant by this faith whereby the sick were healed; consequently by this faith many wrought miracles at that time. This faith was, that the Lord was Almighty, because He was able to do miracles of Himself; for this reason He also allowed Himself to be worshiped, which was not the case with the prophets of the Old Testament, who were not worshiped. But there must always be this historical faith before it becomes a saving faith; for a historical faith becomes a saving faith with man by his learning truths from the Word, and living according to them. [5] . . . There were three reasons why faith in the Lord healed these; first, because they acknowledged His Divine omnipotence, and that He was God; secondly, because faith is acknowledgment, and from acknowledgment intuition; and all intuition from acknowledgment makes another to be present; this is a common thing in the spiritual world. So now, when a New Church was to be established by the Lord, it was this intuition from an acknowledgment of the Lord's omnipotence from which they were first to look to the Lord; and from this it is clear what is here meant by faith. The third reason was, that all the diseases healed by the Lord represented and thus signified the spiritual diseases that correspond to these natural diseases; and spiritual diseases can be healed only by the Lord, and in fact by looking to His Divine omnipotence and by repentance of life. This is why He sometimes said, "Thy sins are forgiven thee; go and sin no more." This faith also was represented and signified by their miraculous faith; but the faith by which spiritual diseases are healed by the Lord can be given only through truths from the Word and a life according to them; the truths themselves and the life itself according to them make the quality of the faith. But more about this in what follows.

Sermon Date: July 11, 2004