Expectations of Healing

As we start, we need to be clear about what we mean by ‘healing’, and the distinction between being healed and being cured. Often churches will talk of wholeness rather than cure as an outcome of their Healing Ministry, so we need to explore what is meant by this. We can start by considering what the Bible means by ‘Shalom’ and what Jesus meant in John 14 by the ‘peace’ that he gives.

Some comments and definitions from various sources:

“In the Bible, the word Shalom is most commonly used to refer to a state of affairs, one of well-being, tranquillity, prosperity, and security, circumstances unblemished by any sort of defect, a state of harmony in all levels of life – physical, spiritual, emotional. Shalom is a blessing, a sign of divine grace. ‘Shalom’ means peace, and is rooted in the word shaleim, which means completion. Without peace, there can be no completion.”

“According to Strong’s Concordance 7965 Shalom means completeness, wholeness, health, peace, welfare, safety, soundness, tranquillity, prosperity, perfectness, fullness, rest, harmony, the absence of agitation or discord. Shalom comes from the root verb shalom meaning to be complete, perfect and full. Shalom, like many Hebrew words, has more than one meaning, and is commonly used as a greeting and salutation. Shalom is also one of the Divine names, as such one should not greet a friend with “Shalom!” when in a place, such as a lavatory, where it is forbidden to pronounce G*d’s name.”

“Jesus promises that kingdom people will be not just Shalom lovers or even Shalom keepers, but Shalom makers. God wants to include his children in the family business. Peacemaking is a mandate each of us is called to live out inside our own skin and circumstances, whether we work for the UN or not.”

Rabbi Mordechai Liebling is a member of the Board of The Shalom Center. He is a former director of the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation, and former vice-president of the Jewish Funds for Justice. He writes: “Jewish rabbis taught that the pursuit of peace is the purpose of our existence. Even truth could be sacrificed for peace. They taught: “All falsehood is forbidden, but it is permissible to utter a falsehood for the purpose of making peace between a man and his fellow.” In the Talmud Rabbi Joshua ben Korha taught: “Where there is strict justice there is no peace, and where there is peace there is no strict justice.” He consequently instructed the judge to act as an arbiter; that is, to rule for compromise which is justice tempered with peace. Other rabbis tried to reconcile these competing values differently. The Talmud also says “By three things the world is preserved — by justice, by truth and by peace and these three are one: if justice has been accomplished, so has truth and so has peace.” There is an ongoing tension in rabbinic literature between justice and peace. We are commanded both to pursue justice in a just fashion and to seek peace and pursue it.”

Rabbi David Zaslow writes: “Contrary to popular opinion the Hebrew word shalom does not mean “peace,” at least not in the English sense of the word. It comes from a Hebrew root- word that means “wholeness.” And what is wholeness? In the Hebraic way of thinking, wholeness is the joining together of opposites. That’s why we say “shalom” when we greet friends and when we wish them farewell. In the most opposite of situations (coming and going) we use the same word, “shalom.” There is a hidden connection to all our comings and goings; they are wondrously linked together. When I come from somewhere, I am going to someplace else. When I realize this, I feel “wholeness,” and that is the source of peace – the knowledge that all my opposing energies are somehow linked and part of a single whole. True peace must have wholeness as its foundation.”

Do you pray that God will find you a parking meter? Many do: is this OK? You can talk to God about anything you like, he is your heavenly Father, or ‘Dad’ as Jesus called him and encouraged his followers

to call him. Earthly Dads and Mums generally know best, but have limited vision. Heavenly Dad sees the big picture, which is why Jesus taught us to say ‘your will be done’.

James wrote: You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures. (James 4:2-3)

But Jesus said: Ask, and it will be given to you … for everyone who asks receives … if you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! (Luke 11:9-13) …..

Very truly I tell you, if you ask anything of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will received, so that your joy may be complete. (John 16:23-24).

Jesus prayed to be spared the cross, but it was not to be; Paul prayed to be cured of a sickness, but he was not.

So how do we hold these competing ideas together?

The answer seems to be in what is meant by ‘God’s will’ and ‘in the name of Jesus’. When we pray what God wants us to pray for, we can be confident of the outcome: the problem is getting to this first base. But this is where the Holy Spirit helps us: we are to wrestle, listen and wait.

The answer will come, but it may not be what we expect. Often it will come with an inner sense of peace and reassurance and Shalom.

Jesus did not heal all the sick people of his time, and in his home town it was a real struggle. We have to be careful that we do not raise expectations with pious optimism. If we pray for an illness to be cured, and it is not, how does the sick person feel? Did we promise it would be?

In the Old Testament they stoned prophets whose predictions did not come true. It was that serious. In the Church of England we no longer burn or stone those who get it wrong, but we do have to think seriously about how we talk to and relate to people who claim to speak for God and fail to deliver.

There are prayers of faith and prayers of compassion. Prayers of faith come with a prior assurance that God will cure the sickness. Prayers of compassion are what we do each Sunday in the intercessions: we pray for the sick and their families, asking for Shalom which will be different for each person. It may be that God will give the blessing of relief from pain, it may be the blessing of a cure from sickness, but it may be death, which has been called the ultimate healing.

The words we use to those who are suffering and those who are caring for them are so important: Jesus hated hypocrisy, and that includes telling people something we do not believe ourselves. But a word of testimony as to what God has been teaching us on our journey can be powerful and encouraging, especially if we have been through the same pain and grief.

No: as John Maynard Keynes famously said, in the long term we are all dead. All the people Jesus cured died, including Lazarus. But what our amazing Heavenly Father does is give us ’blessings’ to encourage us on our journey, and sometimes when we are particularly distressed he will give us some respite from sickness to enable us to build some strength for the next stage of the journey.

We are in a war zone as well as on a journey. There will be wounds and injuries, but the victory has been won.

For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places… Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. (Ephesians 6. 12, 18)

1. How would you explain ‘Shalom’ to the person next to you? Do you feel you ever (or always?) experience shalom? What increases it, and what decreases it? How do you understand Jesus’s promise in John 14:27?

2. What would you expect if you had an incurable or terminal illness and a Christian friend or Church leader invited you to come to a Healing Service?

3. If you were not a Christian, how would you hear that? Would you think they expected you to be cured?

4. According to the website and the Medical Council of Lourdes, 69 people have definitely been cured miraculously since 1858 (the last in 2013) and 7,000 alleged miracles have been investigated. It is estimated that 200m pilgrims have visited, and around 5m go each year. The odds of a cure are therefore 1 in 2.9m compared with the chance of winning the lottery of 1 in 14m. So would you go?

5. Does sickness, pain and disability mean you cannot experience ‘Shalom’?

6. Is my Shalom the same as yours?

7. What would you say are the top three things that prevent you from experiencing the Shalom that Jesus came to give you? When Jesus says in John 14:27 ‘not as the world gives’ what do you think he meant?

8. Would a life of perpetual Shalom be boring?

9. Is it selfish to spend life working towards your own personal Shalom? Does not caring for others and fighting injustice endanger your own personal internal Shalom?

10. Do you agree that where there is a choice between Shalom/peace and justice then it is acceptable to lie or distribute fake news to make or preserve peace?

11. Do you agree that it is often hard to work out the difference between what I think or want and what the Holy Spirit has in mind? How do you sense God speaking to you? Have you ever got it spectacularly wrong?

12. How far do you think God likes to be told in prayer what he already knows, and how far do you think we should pray for specific solutions? If we ask for nothing, is that what we get?

13. Do you believe that God always answers prayer, but it could be ‘yes’, ‘no’ or ‘wait’ (or ‘maybe’ or ‘depends’)? Does that sound like Heads-God-Wins and Tails-I-Lose? How do you explain Luke 11:9-13 and John 16:23-24 to children? Does your practice and experience of prayer include any ‘wrestling, listening and waiting’?

14. “Of the 3,773 verses in the four gospels, 484 relate specifically to the healing of physical and mentalillness and the resurrection of the dead… of the 1,257 narrative verses in the gospels, 484 – 38.5% – are devoted to describing Jesus’ healing miracles.” (John Wimber). Should 30-40% of the church’s ministry be to the sick?

15. Should the Church have a policy of ‘no buts’ when praying for the sick? In other words, is a cure unlikely if you hedge your bets by holding out the possibility that Jesus might not cure the sick person?

16. There were many sick people at the Pool of Siloam, but Jesus only cured one. Jesus would have passed the beggar at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple at least five times, but it was Peter who cured him after Pentecost. What does this teach us about the Healing Ministry of the Church?

17. Paul’s ‘thorn in the flesh’: do you find Paul’s rationalisation of this in II Corinthians 12 helpful?

18. When things are going well, should we tone down our celebrations for the sake of those who are grieving? Do you agree with the idea of ‘more parties less meetings’ as a Church policy?

Would you like to talk with someone about this course or give feedback? Contact us via the link below!