Citizen Columns
Citizen Columns >> Answer (February 24th, 2007)
Question
Does your faith group preach that some diseases can be miraculously cured?
Answer
There are some diseases that can only be cured miraculously.
Men and women are physical, mental, emotional and spiritual beings, and all
of these aspects interact with each other. This is especially true in times
of illness. There is much attention to this in today's medical world, where
concepts like "mindfulness" and "whole person care" are now viewed as
mainstream medicine. This is a good step toward acknowledging the
multi-dimensional reality of life, but it is still not the same as
engagement with the personal God of Christian faith. Our claim is that God
is involved in every act of healing. He acts together with the health
professionals whose intelligence and skills have their origin in the divine
wisdom permeating the universe. This is perfectly expressed in the sign I
saw at the entrance of a Jewish hospital I once visited: "I the Lord am your
healer" (Exodus 15:26). In this sense, every healing is a miracle. But there
are also wondrous cures that leave everyone scratching their heads in
perplexity.
Of course, God is equally present during those times when physical healing
does not take place. Like every pastor, I have seen the healing of a
person's spiritual disease even while the other aspects of disease rage on.
But I've also seen cures that leave spiritual disease untouched: anger,
bitterness, inability to forgive or ask forgiveness, lusts, vanity,
selfishness and pride. Some symptoms of spiritual disease can be treated by
counseling, meditation and various techniques of self-mastery. But the
Christian claim is that ultimate healing of the diseased human condition
takes place only by God's direct intervention. We have to humble ourselves,
get on our knees, and ask. How difficult this is when we are filled with
pride!
Jesus' ministry was full of miraculous physical healings, but all of this
was to point us in the direction of a deeper miracle, the spiritual healing
that was - and is - available to all who ask.
Father John Jillions
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