The Ministry of Healing

Wednesday, April 25, 2007 -- Week of 3 Easter
Feast of St. Mark

"Morning Reflections" is a brief thought about the scripture readings from the Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer according to the practice found in the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church.

Morning Prayer begins on p. 80 of the Book of Common Prayer.
Evening Prayer begins on p. 117
An online resource for praying the Daily Office is found at www.missionstclare.com
Another form of the office from Phyllis Tickle's "Divine Hours" is available on our partner web site www.ExploreFaith.org at this location -- http://explorefaith.org/prayer/fixed/index.html


Today's Readings for the Daily Office

Either
Readings for Wednesday of 3 Easter (p. 960)
Psalms 38 (morning) 119:25-48 (evening)
Daniel 5:1-12
1 John 5:1-12
Luke 4:38-44

OR
Readings for St. Mark's Day (p. 997)
Morning Prayer: Psalm 145 Ecclesiasticus 2:1-11 Acts 12:25-13:3
Evening Prayer: Psalms 67, 96 Isaiah 62:6-12 Timothy 4:1-11

(I used the readings for 3 Easter)

As we see the opening of Jesus' ministry in Luke's account, we see the centrality of healing as a focus of his work. He first heals Peter's mother-in-law (presumably on the sabbath -- again a violation of the traditional interpretation of the 4th Commandment). Then as the sun sets and the next day begins, according to Jewish reckoning, he continues his work of healing the sick.

In response to this tradition it has been a focus of Christian ministry to promote healing and health care. Throughout the world, many hospitals have their origins in the work of churches or Christian groups. I did my Clinical Pastoral Education in an Episcopal hospital, St. Luke's on the upper west side of Manhattan. In Fort Smith where I formerly served, Sparks Hospital had its start as St. John's Hospital when the Rector of St. John's Episcopal Church saw a need for medical care, especially when a dock worker was hurt on the Arkansas River. The other hospital is still administered by the Roman Catholic Sisters of Mercy. Our congregation and diocese here began the St. Francis House to offer medical and dental care to people without insurance or with bars to access. That ministry has grown into an expanding $5-million a year clinic that is our region's largest clinic serving the medically underserved.

When Medicare was created to insure coverage for elderly Americans and when Medicaid increased care for the poor, many of the people who supported such legislation did so out of religious conviction. Many church-related individuals and groups are among those who are urging our legislators to create some form of universal access to basic medical care for our nation. The partnership between committed Christians and the healing professions has been a consistent and natural one.

I am also increasingly moved by the wonder and effectiveness of prayer and the church's healing ministry of intercession. Our growing Healing Touch ministry at St. Paul's is having a tremendous impact, especially for people who live with chronic pain. In my 27 years of ministry I have seen the same kinds of healing that we read about from the ministry of Jesus. One of the ways we remain faithful to the Spirit of Jesus is in our activities of healing.
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Just a quick background note as we start the story of Belshazzar's feast in Daniel. One of the motivations for the writing of Daniel was the sacrilege of Antiochus IV who sacrificed a pig on the altar of the Jerusalem Temple and tried to force Jewish men to eat it. Pork is an unclean meat and swine is unclean according to the Jewish purity code. When the Jews refused to eat, he had their tongues cut out, scalped them, cut off their hands and feet and had them burned on the Temple altar. His actions provoked the successful revolt of Judas Maccabeaus. The book of Daniel was written between the time of Antiochus' sacrilege and the rededication of the Temple in 164 BCE, commemorated today in the festival of Hanukkah.

In the Daniel story, Belshazzar has a feast using the gold and silver vessels taken from the Jerusalem Temple by the Babylonians in 597 BCE. There is a supernatural response from God to Belshazzar's sacrilege. (Historical note: Belshazzar was not king of Babylon, but served as its regent in place of his father Nabonidus (556-539 BCE). For a while Nabonidus lived in an oasis in the desert of Arabia while his son ruled in his place. It is thought that the story in chapter 4 of the dream of Nebuchadnezzar -- "let his lot be with the animals of the field in the grass of the earth" -- may have historical roots in the absentee reign of Nabonidus.)

Lowell
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The Rev. Lowell Grisham
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, AR

The Mission of St. Paul's Episcopal Church is to explore and celebrate
God's infinite grace, acceptance, and love.

See our Web site at www.stpaulsfay.org

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worship weekly
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