Prayer

God of hope,
you call us home from the exile of selfish oppression
to the freedom of justice,
the balm of healing,
and the joy of sharing.
Make us strong to join you in your holy work,
as friends of strangers and victims,
companions of those whom others shun,
and as the happiness of those whose hearts are broken.
We make our prayer through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Scripture

Matthew 8:14-17

¹⁴ And when Jesus entered Peter’s house, he saw his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever. ¹⁵ He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she rose and began to serve him. ¹⁶ That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. ¹⁷ This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.”

Meditation

In the in between, the now and not yet, our lives can be filled with sickness and brokenness.  Mental, physical, emotional, spiritual illness invades our lives and breaks us down.  We have a promise of healing.  We are taken to Him and He heals.  In the in between, the now and not yet, it is hard to remember that we have a healer and that is why we need those others around us who can bring us to the healer.  We need each other to carry those in need of healing to the healer.  And we cannot forget that we are all in need of healing.  He is our healer bringing us wholeness in our particular-ness and in combined lives.