Cover of "Wonder" by R.J. Palacio
And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.
Matthew 4:23(KJV)
Sometimes you are given the gift of words and that is what happened, specifically, a sermon delivered by Dr. Sam Wells at Duke Chapel on February 15, 2009, titled “Does God Heal?” . His words were “good old news”! How did I miss this sermon? At about the same time, I began reading my granddaughter’s recommended novel, Wonder, by R. J. Palacio. Here is a story of healing that is a hit among 9 year olds!
The problem is how we understand what we are asking for and how this is relates to the healing as reported in the Bible. What is clear is that we all need to know where “God Is?” in the midst of disease and pain! An emphasis of Dr. Wells is the importance of the definitions and how they help us understand our deepest questions. For Auggie, the protagonist in Wonder, we become part of a story of courage and caring in the real world of suspicion, doubt and fear. This is a wonderful story of healing!
For Christians we have the powerful model of Jesus Christ who not only healed those around him, but brought healing to a suffering world where we have the privilege to be a part of His work. We have been blessed with stories/sermons that get us close to the healing that is around us that we fail to name!
Thanks,
Marvin
References;
Sermon by Dr. Sam Wells, 2/15/’2009 at Duke Chapel
Palacio, R. J. (2013). Wonder. Random House.
Interview with the author RJ Palacio
Hage, M. L. (2010). Healing Agents: Christian Perspectives Second Edition (2 ed.)
CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.
Hage, M. L. (2011). The Mystery of Healing.
Hage, M. L. (2012). Recognizing Healing.
Hage, M. L. (2013). The Nature of Healing. Retrieved from
No comments:
Post a Comment