September 29, 2024 — Nineteenth Sunday After Pentecost
Kahu Gary Percesepe
Every person on earth needs some kind of healing. God desires to heal us. What then prevents healing from happening? Three things, primarily. First, the persistent belief that we are fine, that there is no weakness in us, we are not broken, not finite, not sinful, we feel no pain, acknowledge no wrongdoing, there are no deficits in our accounts, and there is nothing in us that is broken that we cannot fix ourselves with enough diligence, hard work, and effort. We cannot be given sight if we refuse to accept that we are blind.
The second thing that prevents healing is our persistent belief that we don’t deserve it. We may have done terrible things that were destructive of our environment, that hurt or interrupted the flourishing life of a fellow human, perhaps someone close to us, perhaps someone whom we failed to love, or whose love we were unable to receive because we did not consider ourselves worthy of it. If the one we have hurt or the one who has hurt us has died, we may feel sealed off from any hope of forgiveness, walled in by a chorus of condemnation. When the guilt and shame of our past assaults us, afflicting our bodies, inducing disease and despair, we may feel we deserve it. This too is an impediment to healing.
The third thing that impedes healing is confusing healing with cure.
To those who trusted in themselves and felt no need of a physician, Jesus told a story of a man who had all this world’s goods. Not content with what he had, he tore down his barns to build bigger ones, counseling himself to eat, drink, and be merry. But the message reached him at last: you fool, this very day your life will be required of you. Of what use now are your barns filled with treasures, which were gifts of God which you scorned by believing they were all of your making, and now what can you give in exchange for your soul? So it is with those with eyes who cannot see, and those with ears who cannot hear.
To those who believe they deserve their suffering and disease, that it is the mark of God’s judgment in retribution for their sin, and that they are condemned to carry their guilt and shame to the grave, there is a simple word from scripture: God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that everyone who believes in Jesus will enjoy eternal flourishing with God, because God did not send Jesus into the world to condemn the world but in order that the world might be saved through him. There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. To you this day who have condemned yourselves to a life of guilt and shame, let me ask you: Who are you to believe you are condemned to be ill when God has said you are not condemned? Are you greater than God? By the authority of Jesus Christ and from him alone I now proclaim that you are forgiven all your sin, yes, even that one that has haunted you and held you captive for so long, it is gone! Gone! Believe the good news. God is for you; God is not against you. You are free to go from this place and take up your true life, whole and forgiven.
To those who are skeptical of claims about healing, remember this simple truth: with God, nothing is impossible. I have witnessed miraculous deliverance from diseases once pronounced incurable by doctors. Jesus is the great physician. But it is also true that one may not receive a desired cure yet still experience the healing power of God. There are illnesses with no known cures; millions have learned to adapt to conditions called cancer, heart disease, Parkinson’s, and the list goes on. But even people with terminal conditions of cancer may be healed and made whole.
We gather this morning for a service of healing. It is appropriate that we do this, because we are followers of Jesus, who during his earthly life visited nearly every town and village in Galilee healing the sick and setting free the captives.
In his very first sermon, Jesus proclaimed: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed,to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
The apostles continued the healing ministry of Jesus on earth. Today we have heard the word from James: Is any one of you in trouble? They should pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? They should call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
That is what we here to do this morning.
We have come to praise God in song and in prayer, and to anoint the sick, and to keep the commandments of our God. We are here in testimony to the words of
David in Psalm 23: “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my
enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” We are here so
that God may fulfil God’s word among us.
At Keawala’i, we offer our prayers for healing each week. Today we offer the laying on of hands and the ancient practice of the anointing of oil, as well as a blessing. The blessing is for light and strength.
In a moment, those of you who wish to come forward may do so. The prayer of blessing may be for yourself, for someone who is dear to you, for a stranger who has no one to pray for her, or for a friend. Or you may come to offer yourself as a source of healing for the troubles that seem to burden our world.
Come if you wish. Amene.