Notes on Lessons for Feb 12, 2012

Why do Jesus and the prophets perform signs and wonders, miracles?

Have modern Christians lost the power to heal the sick in similar fashion or was this more meaningful in the context of the ancient understanding of illness?

Why does so-called ‘faith-healing’ invoke connotations of charlatanism?

In the context of these healing acts what factors at play have prominence:

God’s healing power
The ability of the ‘healer’ to channel that power
The faith of the person seeking healing

Has medical science supplanted our trust in God’s healing power and the power of prayer to effect a change in our lives?

To what degree is the individual responsible for making wise decisions regarding lifestyle, diet, exercise, sleep to maintain health. Viz 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

What part does our participation in the life of the church and worship in particular play in maintaining a healthy outlook, a positive attitude, coping with life’s stresses?

2 Kings 5:1-14

If you take your malady to a surgeon you are likely to be given a surgical intervention, an internist will have medical recommendations, a psychologist may deal with psychosomatic disorders, a chiropractor will adjust your spine, a herbalist doze you with naturopathic remedies, an acupuncturist insert needles. How would we describe the spiritual modality?

Are there any limits to God's healing resources, or are there limits we place upon God's ability to heal.

How important are our expectations and atitudes to the healing process?

Naman's King sends his general to the King of Isreal as an enemy general entering his kingdom would have alarmed any king. It seems Elisha was unknown to his King. It is noted that Elisha never meets Naman.

Psalm 30

A song of praise for God's Healing Power

Tears may flow in the night, but joy comes in the morning.

Mourning is a necessary process but through it all our faith leads out of death to life, from sorrow to joy, from sickness to new life, from mourning to dancing.

The exegete splits the Psalm into 5 stanzas:

1 1-3 song of thanksgiving
2 4-5 hymn of praise
3 6-7 retrospection on taking good times for granted
4 8-10 recalling the prayer for help
5 11-12 song of rejoicing

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

What is important here is not winning but how one runs the race. One trains with a purpose in mind, we exercise self-control and discipline. The race Paul is involved in is the proclamation of the Gospel.

Mark 1:40-45

Again the disease is leprosy. The man is healed but ignores the admonition that he tell no one but his priest of his good fortune. The fact that the man spreads the word makes it impossible for Christ to do his work as his fame drew dangerous crowds around him forcing Jesus to flee the district. It is noted that the leper's and Jesus roles are reversed. The leper is freed to enter society, Jesus is forced into isolation.

I've been to Saint Joseph's Oratory in Montreal and seen the cript storing the items left behind by those healed, half the size of this church. Similar storage areas grace St Marie among the Hurons in Midland and St Anne de Beaupré in Quebec. I wonder if such organizations require liability insurance in Canada. I can imagine the circus that would result if someone actually began performing successful prayer-healing here.