Physician, Heal Thyself

The title of this blog is probably familiar even if you haven’t read the Bible recently.  With so many medical dramas on TV, this quote gets used at least once a season! This is the King James Version of Luke 4:23. Jesus has returned to Nazareth after his time of temptation to begin his ministry.  He goes to the temple and reads from the prophet Isaiah, ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’ (61:1) After he finishes reading and proclaims that the words of the prophet have been fulfilled, and those around him, who think they know him best, believe he is delusional.

I find it interesting that Jesus then quotes a Greek proverb from an ancient play by Aeschylus entitled Prometheus Bound. Translated into English, the line is: Like some inferior doctor who's become ill / You're in despair and are unable to discover / By what medicine you yourself can be cured. Clarence E. Glad interprets this to mean in his book Paul and Philodemus (pp. 21–22.): “The concept is that of a sick doctor who has at his disposal the means to relieve the suffering of others but not his own suffering, in other words, a chastising of someone who gives a moral directive that they do not apply to themselves.”

Rather than trying to argue with his detractors using religious tenets, Jesus refers to a popular secular sentiment to get at the heart of their dismissal – how dare you think you are better than we are! Jesus does elaborate his argument by referring to the faith of widow at Zarephath and Naaman the leper, both of whom were Gentiles.  Essentially Jesus is saying, “Even those outside the law understand God’s presence and power better than you do!”

I think the people in Nazareth wanted to believe that Jesus was not capable of actually doing what he said he could and would, because then it would mean that they had to give up their preconceived notions of who and what Jesus was (and is!), or the implication of that in their lives.  They couldn’t simply dismiss him and move on; they were confronted with their unwillingness to be transformed – truly healed – by believing that God had come to them.

Do we also need to reconsider our ideas of what Jesus can do?  I have meet people who were convinced that they were beyond redemption for one reason or another, which broke my heart because they wouldn’t allow for God’s love to move in their lives.  Others have a very clear idea of what they want from God and if God cannot provide that, then they want nothing to do with God.  They miss the opportunity to learn and grow because they are convinced they know better than God.

This Sunday we will have a Healing Service to commemorate the Feast of St. Luke (October 18th). As we have done in the past, you will have the opportunity to come forward for prayers of healing.  I invite you to consider what you will ask for, perhaps broadening your expectations to allow God to work in your life and offer you health in a way you never imagined. 

Unlike Prometheus, Jesus was quite aware of the moral directives he gave and was willing to die for them – to die for us.  Are we willing to accept his invitation into a new way of being, to die to self and be transformed?

In Christ,
Rev. Valerie+

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