Physical Wellness – Part 2

When you consider the time of Jesus on earth, what actions come to mind for him? “Messiah” or “Christ” is a confession of his prominence and his role in faith, but what do you remember about Jesus in action, what he did? Teaching probably comes to mind; flashy actions like walking on water, perhaps are remembered; but, I guess the most frequent image of Jesus for most of us is Jesus the Healer, the touch of his hands bringing health and wellness, the power of just his voice restoring physical wholeness. We may think initially about the spiritual aspects of the Jesus experience, but as the old Epiphany Hymn puts it:” Manifest in making whole - Palsied limbs and fainting soul.”
Yes, we are a spiritual community gathered in prayer and praise, assembling regularly (every Sunday is a good idea!) for an encounter with the holy. That aspect of faith cannot be denied, but also we cannot neglect the fact that an encounter with God leaves one physically changed: a few drops of water refreshing the body in baptism; the Altar encounter with real bread and wine / real body and blood that offers much more - a taste of God; sometimes a modern healing experience – cancer in remission, pain alleviated or tolerable, bones knitting together, even a “miracle” cure. All these are physical encounters with the holy, with Jesus. And even when we do not see a medical breakthrough, we are reassured that Jesus has a real place for us by his side.
It is, of course, a fine line to walk to claim a physical encounter with Jesus almost 2000 years after the crucifixion and resurrection, but even to embrace a spiritual encounter is to violate most folks’ understanding of reality. So, we Christians claim both the spiritual and physical. And we need a Jesus encounter, a God nod, a Spirit contact, and the creative Father. That means that we live as the Lord’s people in our spiritual life as well as physical, and it means that God is concerned about both.