LITURGY
WORD OF GOD
A leper came to Jesus
and pleaded on his knees:
‘If you want to, you can cure me.’
(Mark 1:40)
WORD FOR TODAY
God’s greatest desire is for us to be healthy, whole, connected to him and to
each other. When Jesus cures the leper he brings him back literally within the
community again by restoring him to his family and friends. At the Eucharist we
eat and drink that gift of health and wholeness and are renewed by the body and
blood of Christ as we join in the community’s prayer of praise and thanksgiving.
WORDS
FOR WORSHIP
Blessed be God the Father who grants you wholeness of mind and body.
Amen.
Blessed be God the Son who enlightens you with words of everlasting life.
Amen.
Blessed be God the Holy Spirit who preserves you from all sin and division.
Amen.
And may the God whom we bless return his blessing upon us, the Father, and the
Son and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
FAITH
IN FOCUS: IF YOU WANT TO...
It seems that Jesus couldn’t go very long without curing people. There’s no
doubt that he was a healer but he was not a doctor and he never claimed to be
setting himself up as a physician. Yet he does want us to enjoy three types of
healing:
Physical: Following Jesus' example and command the Church continues to call upon
God’s healing power to restore its sick members to health. This is not magic. It
is the simple request that the person may not be laid low by illness, but may be
sustained to bear the trials and hardships of sickness without being
overwhelmed. We cannot say why some people recover through prayer and anointing
while others do not. Only God knows. Yet we remain faithful to the age-old
practice of prayer for the sick.
Psychological: Isolation is a negative thing. We were made to belong, to be part
of God’s family and to be in the company of supportive friends and family.
Sickness can cut us off from feeling that we are part of things. When Jesus
cured the leper he restored him once more to where he belonged, to the
community, to his family and friends. ‘Go and show yourself to the priests’ was
Jesus' way of asserting that the man was to be recognised as fully part of the
community.
Spiritual: Health is about
wholeness and wholeness is about knowing that we are made in God’s image: to be
holy, loving and creative. Spiritual healing recognises that our actions
sometimes obscure this image within us. To know that we are forgiven, that we
are ransomed and restored in Christ, allows us to live the inner life that God
intends for us. It lets us be at peace even in the midst of suffering. And more
importantly it affirms us as integral members of the Body of Christ.
Maybe that’s why Jesus told the leper, ‘Of course I want to cure you!’
OUR LADY OF LOURDES FLEMING FIELD SHOTTON COLLIERY DURHAM DH6 2JQ