…for power came out from[Jesus] and healed all of them. –Luke 6:19
American mainstream culture is a death defying culture.
I say “defying” rather than “denying” because we seem to do everything we can to stop it from coming. Death is seen as an affront to life, as an enemy to be beaten, as something we delude ourselves into thinking we can overcome. We are always trying to find ways to fend off death. Eat right. Exercise. Get more sleep. Take this pill or that supplement. Meditate. Buy this product. Adopt this lifestyle. And on and on. The ads promise us eternal life: “Reduce your chances of death by 100%!” Now, don’t get me wrong. I watch my diet, exercise (though probably not enough), meditate and do other things to stay healthy. But defy death? I doubt it. One day, I will die and so will you.
The reality of our mortality causes Paul to write,
“For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have died in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.” (1 Corinthians 15:12-50)
Christianity does not defy death, it posits that death does not have the last word. That, in Christ, the promise of life follows the reality of death. Easter follows Good Friday. This is amazingly good news for a culture that spends millions trying to defy the inevitable.
In this week’s text, the crowds are pressing in on Jesus, hoping to tap into his healing power. They understand both their urgent need for healing and his ability to meet that need. And, Luke tells us, Jesus healed them all.
Luke follows this scene with his form of the beatitudes. In Luke’s version, unlikely candidates receive blessing while those who the world would call blessed receive woes. For Luke, Jesus is the one who turns the world upside down.
Our culture, while very different from First Century Galilee, bears some similarities. Like that ancient time, we often covet riches, fullness, laughter and people speaking well of us. And we often benevolently pity those who are poor, or hungry, or mourning. So, why then would Jesus say those who are suffering and struggling are blessed, while those who are well-off are not? Perhaps, it is because those who suffer and struggle in life know their need for God, while those who have the world’s blessings delude themselves into thinking they can take care of themselves. I can just see a small group of rich folks, having just come from a good lunch, surrounded by their adoring friends, looking down on the melee on the plain, shaking their heads at those trying to touch Jesus and saying dismissively, “how sad.” When, in fact, they are just as mortal as every single member of the multitude.
When we think we can “fix” the problem of death by ourselves, we too can miss our need for Jesus’ healing touch, and miss out on the abundant life he offers. On those days when I get caught up in my own death defying delusions, I am grateful that, like the crowds that day in Galilee, Jesus’ powerful life is enough to heal us all.
Peace,
Bishop Mike
Thank-you for reading. I pray that those who are in any need will experience God’s healing presence and power in their lives.
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