Sept. 15: Heal Me Now

Heal Me Now!     Mark 8: 22-26   September 15, 2024

(Crosby read the Bold Print)

                How often have we prayed this prayer: “God, heal me now!”

          It was my prayer twenty years ago on my annual canoe trip to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in northern Minnesota with my best friend and mentor at the time, Allan.

Let me read from my journal: “Day Three – Thursday

          We went fishing this morning. We caught four bass and a northern this morning. Allan also caught his thumb with the hooks of the fishing lure. It took him a long time to get the hook out. Finally, he had to resort to using the pliers and yanking that thing out. It was very painful.

          There was a lot of pain on this trip!!!

          We ate our four bass this morning for a late shore breakfast at camp. At breakfast, I realized that the pain in my neck was getting worse.

There is so much pain and beauty this afternoon. The pain is emanating from my neck – every time I move my head. The pain gets more intense as the day wears on. The beauty is all around me on this glorious day in this heavenly spot. Both the pain and beauty lead me to God.

          The pain is so intense I can’t write. I have to wait to write till the next day. I wonder: could my life be altered by what started on September 4^th, 03?

          We fish in late afternoon and catch four more bass and another northern. We have a cold supper in the evening because the pain is too much for me to handle making or eating a regular hot meal. I go to bed early and pray for relief. I’m praying for an end to the pain.”

          That was my journal entry twenty years ago.

          How often have we prayed this prayer: “God, heal me now!” That was my prayer on that canoe-fishing trip. “God, heal me now!”

          It was the prayer of the blind man in our Scripture reading. Let’s listen to the blind man tell his story:

          Looking back at my story, what strikes me most is this: God’s quiet, gentle healing comes gradually.

It all started with a prayer: God, heal me now!

I remember the first day I prayed that prayer. One of our sheep was missing. So my son and I went looking for it.

We walk for a while before I ask: “I wonder where that lost sheep is at?”

“Are you teasing, dad?”

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t you see that little sheep right over there.”

I look where his finger is pointing. “No, I don’t see a thing. It’s just blurry.”

“Why is it blurry, dad?”

“I don’t know.”

“Can you see that hill over there?”

“No, it’s too far away. It’s just a blur.”

“Dad, something is wrong.”

Over the next few weeks, my eyesight deteriorates more and more…until I can’t see at all.

Every night before I go to bed, I kneel and pray, “God, heal me now. God heal me now!”

Every night after my prayer all I hear is: silence.

How often have you and I prayed this prayer: “God, heal me now!” We want it fixed now. We want the wound to be all healed now. We want the pain and the grief to be finished now. We want everything to be back to normal now. We want relief now.

Let’s listen to the blind man continue his story:

At first I’m impatient. I pray more insistently. “God, heal me now! Heal my blind eyes. Let me see.”

It’s followed by silence.

Soon my impatience turns to questioning. “Why God? Why don’t you heal me now? Why don’t you let me see? What’s going on? Is there something I’m supposed to learn through this? Is there something you want me to do to make it better? Are you punishing me for something I’ve done?”

It’s followed by silence.

After impatience and questioning, I start struggling with anger. My prayers often go like this: “I am so angry at you God for not healing me. I am so angry for my blindness. I am so angry with you for not doing anything. You must not care. Or you must not care about me.”

It’s followed by silence.

Eventually my anger dissipates and I’m left with hopelessness. I give up. I stop praying. I stop caring about the things I used to love. I settle into a mild case of depression.

Fortunately, I have friends…”

We cry out, “Heal me now.” When our prayers are not answered, we too struggle with impatience, questioning, anger, and depression.

Let’s continue listening to this blind man,

“Looking back at my story, what strikes me most is this: God’s quiet, gentle healing comes gradually.

I was always praying, “God heal me now.” And the only response I seemed to get was silence. But fortunately, I had friends and a God who is still in the healing business.

There are so many factors that played a part in the healing from my blindness. Healing never is about one thing. Healing is about the many things God uses to quietly and gently bring healing.

One factor God used to bring me healing from my blindness was my friends. What would I have done without my friends? You don’t realize how much you need friends until you go through something like I did. I thank God for them. They visited me. They assisted me when I needed help because of my blindness. They talked with me almost daily. They prayed with me and for me constantly. But most of all, my friends led me to Jesus.

I wanted to see Jesus. But I couldn’t have gotten to where Jesus was speaking without my friends. When we arrived at the home where Jesus was staying, they cried out. They said, “Jesus, come out and heal our blind friend. We beg you. Heal our friend, now.”

There was silence.

So they cried out again, “Jesus, come out and heal our blind friend. We beg you. Heal our friend, now.”

There was silence.

So a third time they cried out, “Jesus, come out and heal our blind friend. We beg you. Heal our friend, now.”

Jesus finally came out of the house.

But like I said, “God’s quiet, gentle healing comes how?” Join me in saying it together: “Gradually.”

Instead of Jesus touching me right there… Instead of Jesus performing some dramatic miracle in the middle of the village… Instead of healing me now…

Jesus took my hand.

Jesus led me out of the village of Bethsaida. We walked hand in hand on a dusty road. We followed that road up a nearby hill.

I’m not sure why Jesus did this. Maybe Jesus felt the environment was not conducive to healing. Later, I heard Jesus say, “Woe to you people of Bethsaida. I tell you on the day of judgment the people of Tyre and Sidon will get off easier than you will.” Maybe Jesus found it difficult to heal in a place where there is a lack of faith.

Maybe Jesus did it because he wanted to heal in a quiet way. The crowds of the village would create a stir if Jesus healed me there.

Maybe I needed to be in a new environment. Jesus knew how my identity in Bethsaida centered around my blindness. Maybe I needed to get away from those expectations and roles. Maybe I could be more open to the healing away from my safe, secure, comfortable home.

For whatever reason, Jesus decided not to heal me now. Instead, he led me outside the village to a nearby hill. There is where the healing continues. 

Like I said, “God’s quiet, gentle healing comes how?” “Gradually.”

The healing begins when Jesus takes me by the hand and leads me. It continues when Jesus spits into his hands. Then Jesus places the spit on my eyes. I feel this moist mixture on my eyeballs. But the healing is not completed.

Jesus lays his hands on my eyes. He prays a brief prayer and asks me, “Do you see anything?”

Everything is still blurry. But it’s clearer than it used to be. So I say, “I see people, but they look like trees walking around.” The healing is not complete.

Like I said, “God’s quiet, gentle healing comes how?” “Gradually.”

Jesus lays his hands on my eyes again. He prays another prayer and asks, “How about now?”

I open my eyes farther. It’s amazing. I can see. I can see without the blur or the darkness.

But the healing is not complete.

Jesus says, “You may return home now, but don’t go into the village.”

Jesus knew that my physical healing needed to be complemented by a spiritual healing. Jesus knew I needed to retreat from the village life for a while. My spiritual transformation needed time to catch up with my physical healing. I needed a time of solitude to maximize God’s healing. Only after a period of time of prayer alone with God was I ready to re-enter my world a new man.

At that point in one sense, my healing was complete. But in another sense, God healing hand continues to work in my life. I don’t think any of us are ever fully healed until we get to heaven.

Like I said, “God’s quiet, gentle healing comes how?” “Gradually.”

Don’t you find that to be true as well? Don’t you find that God usually works in gradual rather than dramatic ways? Isn’t that how God brings you healing?

I believe God uses so many different factors to bring healing but all of them usually involve gradual improvement instead of instantaneous results.

God uses traditional medicine like surgery and medicinal drugs to bring healing. God uses spiritual factors like the laying on of hands, prayer, and the anointing with oil. God uses alternative and complementary medicine like massage, hypnosis and vitamins. God uses the systems in our own bodies like the immune system and the cardiovascular system. God uses good living habits like diet and exercise. The one thing that all of these factors have in common is the gradual healing that comes forth instead of dramatic and instantaneous results.

I think of my experience three years ago on my canoe-fishing trip. I go to bed early and pray for relief. I’m praying for an end to the pain. “God, heal me now!”

God does not heal me that night or the next day or the day after that. But a few days later as we canoe back to our starting spot, my neck feels just a little better. As soon as we make it back to the outfitter’s lodge I call Lori. I tell her what happened. I ask her to make a doctor appointment for me. The next day we travel in the car back to Allan’s home in Wisconsin. My neck is feeling a little better.

From there I feel good enough to drive home, using the car ferry to get across the Lake. By the time I get to my doctor’s appointment a few days later, guess how I feel?

Fine. All the pain has gone.

You see, like the blind man said, “God’s quiet, gentle healing comes how?” “Gradually.”

This gives us a hope to continue seeking God’s healing even when we don’t see immediate results. There is hope for our physical problems. There is hope for our emotional struggles. There is hope for our broken hearts. There is hope for our strained relationships.

This also gives us a hope to continue seeking God’s healing for others even when we don’t see immediate results. There is hope for our family members who are struggling. There is hope for our friends. There is hope for people we hear about at church.

We can be persistent in seeking God’s healing for both ourselves and for others.

We can do this in hope because like the blind man said, “God’s quiet, gentle healing comes how?” “Gradually.”

                 As we sing our next hymn you’re invited to raise your hand and receive an anointing with oil for your healing or the healing of someone you know. God can use this tool to bring God’s quiet, gentle healing touch.         I will pray now from our UCC Book of Worship