Your Faith Has Made You Well
Today
is Christ the King Sunday, the last Sunday of the Church calendar year. Next week we begin the new Church year with
the hope and excitement that comes with Advent; a season of preparation for the
celebration of the birth of our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ. Today seems an appropriate day for a healing
service. It is a reminder that Jesus
Christ is our only source of healing for the wounds and burdens that we carry. And when we look at the cross, we are
reminded that the healing process is not easy or comfortable.
Each
person sitting here today has a need for healing. It may be physical in nature, emotional, or
maybe even spiritual. The necessity for
healing hasn’t changed since the beginning of time. We desire our own wills over God’s leading to
a sinful world filled with pain and difficulty.
But through the ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ,
healing became synonymous with forgiveness of sins.
There
are people who are dealing with physical illnesses, broken bones, and
diseases. Some physical ailments may
have been a result of carelessness, but in most cases they were accidents or diseases
that showed up out of our control. And
in some cases the treatment is almost as harsh as the illness. Such physical limitations can cause us to
question our purpose or to face the disappointment of unrealized expectations.
The
heart/spirit is probably the location of most of our pain. We have been disrespected, called hurtful
names, been taken advantage of, and even in some cases abused. The result is personal shame and guilt and it
causes us to believe that our worth as humans is measured by good works or lack
of them.
When
we are suffering from guilt and shame, symptoms such as a desire for control,
defensiveness, lack of trust, judgment, and the need to be recognized for good
works begin to pop up. We want to
control and manipulate people, things, and processes to right past wrongs…to
have revenge on those who have hurt us. Our
defensive attitudes arise when critiqued or challenged, as these things are
perceived as personal attacks against our human worth. There is a fear of trusting anyone and
therefore we judge everybody. And we
live busy lives proving how worthy we are to society.
Unfortunately,
there is nothing that can be said or done to completely repair brokenness. We cannot change the past. We can never take back what has been said or
done. No matter how many times someone
says they are sorry, the memory remains.
We cannot control our environment.
And our words and actions of revenge are as evil as the original
wound. Attempting to get even brings no
healing, but instead continues to pour gas on the flames of festering wounds and continues the cycle of hurting others. In the field of counseling, the saying is “Hurt
people (descriptive), hurt people (action)”.
I read
in a novel yesterday, “When you have no future, you live in the past, and Lonny
would be stuck there forever.” All too
often we seek earthly saviors to remedy our despair such as politicians,
doctors, science, pastors, drugs, careers, money, and significant others to
name a few. But they too are going to
fall short of our expectations leaving us in despair. For all have fallen short of the glory of
God.
We must
accept what has been said and done, learn from it, and move forward into the
uncomfortable future of changed plans trusting that God is in control. And in order to begin the long and difficult
journey of healing (similar to rehab after surgery), we must stop pointing out
the sins of others and repent of our own sinfulness.
Jesus’
promise of love and forgiveness is the foundation of our faith. Let’s remember what God’s grace means to
us. I ask you to repeat after me...I am
a sinner in need of God’s forgiveness through Jesus Christ. Through his blood, I am forgiven. My slate is clean. I owe nothing. I am a loved child of God. By his love and mercy, I leave my burdens and
wounds at the cross. Let his healing and
renewal begin. Amen