No, today’s reflection is not advertising for a chiropractic office, or a new age medical spa. In today’s Gospel, I will focus on the healing touch of Jesus, and others, and the miraculous outcomes achieved.
Today’s Gospel speaks of Jesus bringing the daughter of the official back to life. This is perhaps the most extreme miracle that can be performed, bringing a dead person back to life with just prayer and God’s power. No medical technology to restart a heart, or to get blood flowing through the body. There was no access to Heaven yet, as Jesus had not been raised, so I wonder what sort of experience the young girl had during her soul’s brief stay out of her body? Perhaps Joseph had the same pre-Heaven experience, as well as John the Baptist, and other Biblical heroes in pre-resurrection times. We do not know the experience, so I will leave this to trained theologians to try to figure out for us.
Other Healing Attributed to Jesus
Even as fascinating as the story is, I am equally fascinated by the other healing attributed to Jesus in the Gospel. A woman who believed in Jesus touched his cloak and was healed. There were not an elaborate number of steps to take to achieve the healing, and it was quite simple. Faith and a simple act, period. Similar examples of physical healing with a simple procedure included Naaman in the Old Testament, who washed seven times in the Jordan to be cured of leprosy. Or, Jesus simply telling the ten lepers to be healed, and to go see the Head Priest. Sometimes Jesus used mud to touch the eyes or ears of a person to heal them, as a personal healthy touch. Laying of the hands conferred the Holy Spirit, as is often mentioned in the Bible.
These days, we can still have healing experiences done simply by touch, or with simple prayers. Our priests have authority from God to absolve our sins with a blessing and prayers. The newly baptized have original sin removed with the touch of water, and oil, and a Godparent who speaks to the priest on behalf of the newly baptized. Anointing of the sick involves touch, with oil to the forehead and hands, to prepare the body and soul for a serious upcoming event. What about turning ordinary bread and wine into the body, blood, and divinity of Christ during consecration at Mass? These modern-day priestly miracles happen every day, and perhaps we don’t feel the “wow” factor in them, but they are real. There are healing prayers and documented miracles that happen, but this is often done privately or with small groups. We had one in our family, which I will share in a future reflection.
Boom
Today is the Fourth of July, a holiday in the USA that is often celebrated with fireworks. Our neighborhood tradition is to light off large fireworks that scream into the sky, and explode into beautiful patterns, and colors, and often include a loud “boom.” To relate this to healing touch and simple miracles, here is a Fourth of July analogy.
A match is lit, which is our desire for help or change. A fuse is lit with the match. The fuse brings energy to the rocket/miracle, sort of like a prayer. A tremendous amount of power is released, as the rocket/miracle springs into action. At the peak of flight, a miraculous burst of light, color and sound occurs, perhaps seeming miraculous. We simply light that first match. The rocket power and demanding work and the glory comes from Jesus, and the results can be dramatic. Sometimes the fuse is long, sometimes short. Sometimes the match burns out. Perhaps we are not sure exactly what color the miracle will be, but something will happen if a simple sequence of events happens, with all the pieces of the process in place.
After a few minutes, we tend to forget about how cool this is, and the miracle(s) seem suddenly less important. Let us try to remember that the healing touch of Jesus never goes out of style, it is just our human nature that moves on, looking for the next “thing.”
Happy Fourth of July!
