All Gods promises

All God’s promises are ‘Yes’ and ‘Amen!’ The prophet Isaiah declares God is going to do a new thing, and He says, “I, I am He who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.”

The psalmist responds, “As for me, I said, ‘O LORD, be gracious to me; heal me, for I have sinned against you.’”

And so the promise and response are brought together in the gospel. The man of broken body is lowered down. Jesus declares your sins are forgiven, which he tells the Pharisees is the same breath as saying be healed; the same spirit. I don’t think this degrades the healing tradition of those like Kuhlman, Roberts, and Hinn. There is a place for healing now just as there was in Jesus’ ministry. Instead it shows what they are eager to demonstrate to those who would look beyond the excitement and sign to the truth of the Gospel. Wholeness is ours in Christ.

Paul, in telling the Corinthians how much weight he put on his plans also gives us a glimpse into the plans of God. His plans aren’t subject to the snap yes and no’s that I use to pick my socks for the day. Rather his plans are promises, and promises are always yes; always Amen. His promise for us is wholeness. His plan includes the suffering of the psalmist and the proclamation of the prophet—the helplessness of the invalid and the discipleship of the apostle.

Bodily Discipleship

Our bodies are important to God.  Our act of discipleship is about our lives now; it is about what we do with this material body.  We must resist the dualisms that would pit spiritual against physical, heaven against earth, the tangible against the intangible.

Naaman has a great feat to accomplish to win his body back.  It is a task worthy of Quixote in its foolish simplicity.  He must simply dip himself in the muddy Jordan.  

The psalmist cries forth praises to the God who has healed him.  After all:

“What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the Pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it tell of your faithfulness?”

Jesus chooses to make the leper clean.  In his body he proclaimed the secret.

Paul tells us to follow him in disciplining our bodies, to make them serve the God of our soul. Discipleship is just that, exercising our whole being to the honor of God: body, soul and mind.

Teaching and Healing

“Significant, too, is the link between Jesus’ authoritative teaching and his power to heal, seen in the way these two themes are woven together in 1.21-8. Mark has already told us in 1.14f. the theme of Jesus’ teaching—it is the proclamat6ion of the Kingdom of God. Now we know that this proclamation involves healing: in Jesus the power of God’s Kingdom is at work, destroying the unclean spirits. Elsewhere, we discover that the inbreaking of the Kingdom in Jesus’ healing miracles means more than mere physical healing: those who were excluded from the community because of their infirmity are restored to the membership of God’s people.”

Mark gives me the impression that Jesus teaching and his miracles are interchangeable. They both equally proclaim the position of the Kingdom and are intended when Jesus says he must go and preach in other villages.

Jesus at the bed of Peter's Mother-in-law

“Can you imagine Jesus standing before your bed and you continue sleeping? It is absurd that you would remain in bed in his presence,” said Saint Jerome. Just five more minutes Jesus. I said, leave me alone Jesus. I’m tired! “Therefore, let us ask the Lord to grasp our hand.”

The gospel is not one of textbook and doctrine, but of wonder and miracle. That is where we see the kingdom of God manifest.

Transcendant Message

Again this week, we see God’s Transcendence against our discipleship. There is Good News in the air! “Have you not seen? Have you not heard?” Ours is a God of wonder, might, and creation. “He is worthy of our praise”

Indeed his divine nature, his transcendence commands us to praise. Our praise cannot remain shut up in our bones. His greatness excites it from us.

Paul like Jeremiah knew the power of the Word of His Greatness shut up within him.

“If I proclaim the gospel, this gives me no ground for boasting, for an obligation is laid on me, and woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel!”

In his preaching of the goodness, holiness and transcendence of God, Paul is willing for his life itself to cry the message, even to “becoming all things to all people.”

What is the good news? Jesus. And he made it plain. The kingdom of God is among you! Only this week we don’t see him speaking the message with his mouth. We see him showing the nearness. He literally brings God’s power to bear in their midst, healing all. God, who does not grow weary gave strength to an old mother in-law. He ministered all the day long to the multitudes brought to him. He got up early and communed with the Father.

Then he tells his disciples, it is time to go. “Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do."

Have we heard? Do we not know? The message is before us. God is in our midst. Will we praise, will we proclaim?

Angel and demon

Father John cracked me up today with an illustration:

In the cartoons the wresting between good and evil takes place on the shoulders of men.  The little angel and demon whisper in your ear trying to sway you.  You always see the angel meek, hand ringing with a high-pitched weak voice, “Now God would like you to be nice…”  While the demon speaks loudly and confidently, “Hit your sister she deserves it!”

John pointed out that today’s Gospel turns that scene around.  The voice of God thunders from the mountain and the demon rings his hands and says, “I am overwhelmed!”