Wonder of Healing

Personal photo from Japanese Garden 

Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park

Grand Rapids, Michigan

“Can you fathom the mysteries of God?
    Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?

Job 11:7 (NIV)

The recent books by Brian Zahndt and James Smith ask hard questions about the meaning of their lives and the mystery of their faiths.    Both report the critical role of mystery: 

“At its core Christianity confesses a participation with the unseen existences of heaven; and in its practices, liturgies, and sacraments, Christianity sets forth the sacred paths into these unseen existences. This is what is meant by mystery.”

“The evocation of wonder has two primary sources: the beautiful and the mysterious”

Brian Zahndt 

“The mystical willingness to make a home in the dark, to dwell amid uncertainty with wonder and curiosity, nourishes our capacity to face suffering and fight fearlessly against those systems and forces that foment it. Philosophy in this mystical mode does not fly off into irrelevant reveries about esoteric intellectual puzzles. Philosophy is called to wonder not only at the beautiful mysteries of divine love, but also at the bedeviling complexity of evil, suffering, and social injustice.”

James K. A. Smith

While reading these authors, I immediately thought of my wonderful experiences at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park; specifically the Japanese Garden— there life’s mysteries and struggles find artistic expression.   That mystery of healing is what I experienced in clinical medicine.

Like the book’s authors, I struggled to define healing and share what is still a mystery.  A key observation is that “wonder” is a key to experiencing healing.  This “wonder” is best understood as a verb— an action that finds meaning in asking hard questions.  We all stand with Job and his friends when we confront suffering and healing.

So at the end of all the words and hard questions, what remains is gratitude for the wonder of and mystery of healing!

Marvin

  

References

Zahnd, B. (2026). Unseen Existences: Of Heaven, Earth, and the Divine Mystery in All Things. InterVarsity Press.

Zahnd, Brian. Unseen Existences: Of Heaven, Earth, and the Divine Mystery in All Things (p. 23  &. 37)  (Function). Kindle Edition. 

Smith, J. K. A. (2026). Make Your Home in This Luminous Dark: Mysticism, Art, and the Path of Unknowing. Yale University Press.

Smith, James K. A.. Make Your Home in This Luminous Dark: Mysticism, Art, and the Path of Unknowing (p. 202). (Function). Kindle Edition

Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park

https://www.meijergardens.org/

Hage, M. L. (2011). The Mystery of Healing.

http://healingagents.blogspot.com/2011/04/mystery-of-healing.html