Jesus’ Sacramental, Healing Presence
- davidwperk
- Jun 11, 2024
- 6 min read
Devotional Reflection, Tuesday, June 11, 2024
Proper 5, the week of the third Sunday after Pentecost
The Rev. David W. Perkins, Th.D.
Key phrases for reflection from today’s reading:
29 After Jesus had left that place, he passed along the Sea of Galilee, and he went up the mountain, where he sat down. 30Great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the maimed, the blind, the mute, and many others. They put them at his feet, and he cured them, 31so that the crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.
You will find the full text of today’s Gospel reading at the end of this reflection.
Daily Office Lectionary Readings (BCP, 971)
AM Psalm 61, 62; PM Psalm 68:1-20 (21-23) 24-36
Eccles. 8:14-9:10; Gal. 4:21-31; Matt. 15:29-39
Today we celebrate the Feast of Barnabas. (See below.)
David’s Reflections
Commenting on Jesus’ healing ministry, Eduard Schweizer wrote: "God's power lives, almost sacramentally, in the bodily nature of Jesus and will lay hold of the bodily nature of (people) man also." * That vivid sentence very much describes what is happening in the first paragraph of today’s Gospel. Jesus went up onto a mountain, and people brought the lame, the mute, the blind, and many other ill people, placing them at his feet. Jesus healed them. When people saw the power of God living in Jesus’ body and laying hold of those they had brought, they glorified God.
We are a church that lives with the mystery of sacramental power each Sunday. That Jesus, in whose bodily nature God’s power continues to live “almost sacramentally” in Schweizer’s words, lives again each Sunday in bread and wine and lays hold of our bodily and soulful natures when we receive him. (The New Testament teaches that Jesus’ humanity continues after the Ascension. See Hebrews 4:15-16.) We cannot begin to measure the healing that takes place each time he lays hold of us in bread and wine.
It seems to me a short step from the experience of sacramental presence to embrace the accounts of Jesus’ healings. Any God who can find a way to us through living in bread and wine can find a way through the bodily touch of Jesus or someone with a gift for healing to lame, blind, deaf, wounded, and otherwise afflicted people.
What about those people who brought the sick and placed them before Jesus? Who were/are they? Could they be us? Could we be the people serving those ill and afflicted through prayer, loving care, and the exercise of sacramental and healing ministries in the church? Could we be those bringing others before the healer even by a simple invitation to someone to attend church with us on Sunday? Could we be those through whose touch Jesus touches? Could we be the ones a loving community places at Jesus' feet?
With such possibility brimming just beneath the level of human sensual perception, how can we avoid living with intense excitement and anticipation? If we lack those, does that say something about our needing to be taken hold of again by this healing Christ? I invite you to go with holy anticipation to worship and to God’s table on Sunday.
* Eduard Schweizer, The Good News According to Luke, trans. David E. Green (Atlanta: John Knox, 1984), p. 58.
Collect of the Day, Proper 5, the second Sunday after Pentecost
O God, from whom all good proceeds: Grant that by your inspiration we may think those things that are right, and by your merciful guiding may do them; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (BCP, 229)
Today we celebrate the Feast of Barnabas, missionary and companion of Paul.
(Note: This link calls Barnabas an Apostle. That is misleading. He was an apostle, lower case “a,” meaning a missionary. Paul uses the word in that sense is Romans 16. But, Barnabas was not a member of the twelve or an Apostle in the sense the 12, Paul, and James were Apostles.)
Collect of the Feast of Barnabas
Grant, O God, that we may follow the example of your faithful servant Barnabas, who, seeking not his own renown but the well-being of your church, gave generously of his life and substance for the relief of the poor and the spread of the Gospel; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
A Collect for Grace
Lord God, almighty and everlasting Father, you have brought us in safety to this new day: Preserve us with your mighty power, that we may not fall into sin, nor be overcome by adversity; and in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP, 100)
For the Church
Give to your Church, O God, a bold vision and a daring charity, a refreshed wisdom and a courteous understanding, that the eternal message of your Son may be acclaimed as the good news of the age; through him who makes all things new, even Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
In the Order of Worship for Evening
Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers, creator of the changes of day and night, giving rest to the weary, renewing the strength of those who are spent, bestowing upon us occasions of song in the evening. As you have protected us in the day that is past, so be with us in the coming night; keep us from every sin, every evil, and every fear; for you are our light and salvation, and the strength of our life. To you be glory for endless ages. Amen. (BCP, 113)
A Collect for Mission
Lord Jesus Christ, you stretched out your arms of love on the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come within the reach of your saving embrace: So clothe us in your Spirit that we, reaching forth our hands in love, may bring those who do not know you to the knowledge and love of you; for the honor of your Name. Amen. (BCP, 101)
Daily Office Gospel, Matthew 15:29-39
29 After Jesus had left that place, he passed along the Sea of Galilee, and he went up the mountain, where he sat down. 30Great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the maimed, the blind, the mute, and many others. They put them at his feet, and he cured them, 31so that the crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.
32 Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, ‘I have compassion for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way.’ 33The disciples said to him, ‘Where are we to get enough bread in the desert to feed so great a crowd?’ 34Jesus asked them, ‘How many loaves have you?’ They said, ‘Seven, and a few small fish.’ 35Then ordering the crowd to sit down on the ground, 36he took the seven loaves and the fish; and after giving thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 37And all of them ate and were filled; and they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. 38Those who had eaten were four thousand men, besides women and children. 39After sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.
Daily Offices in the Book of Common Prayer
Morning Prayer, Rite 2, page 75, The Book of Common Prayer
Noonday Prayer, page 103, Book of Common Prayer
Order of Worship for Evening (Vespers), p 109, Book of Common Prayer
Evening Prayer, Rite 2, page 115, Book of Common Prayer
Compline (Night Prayer), page 127, Book of Common Prayer
Daily Devotionals, page 136, Book of Common Prayer
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