In the Apostle Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians (v.23) he wrote, “May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely, and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.“

What a beautiful statement! In the mainline church, we have spoken at length for years about the state of one’s soul; however, we speak less our bodies. It is a widely held opinion that actually our bodies, spirits, and souls are very closely linked, and that our bodies carry traumatic memories and hurts that can affect us physically.

In my study of Gestalt Pastoral Care, I have learned to specifically look at the body for what it is trying to tell us – the wisdom it has for us. There is even research proving that our bodies hold generational wisdom without our awareness which can lead or guide us to approach a problem in a certain manner. Actually, I find it quite amazing!

I bring this up today because both of our scripture texts involve bodily healing.

I want to begin with the story of the unnamed man whose friends bring him to Jesus for healing and who are SO persistent that they make a hole in the roof of the house to lower him into the crowded space with Jesus. Here, it is the friends’ faith that is noted, and Jesus’ response to the paralyzed man is to say, “Child, your sins are forgiven.”

There are two things I hear in that response. First, an acknowledgment of the relationship between the man & Jesus. Even though Jesus didn’t know his name, he used a familial term, indicating that he is a child of God without stipulation – no need to prove anything – no need to work for it. And then Jesus gives a statement of forgiveness. I hear this as telling the paralyzed man that whatever limitations he was putting on himself – in whatever ways he thought he was unworthy of love or forgiveness- he was wrong. The unnamed man was loved and given mercy just as he was. And in this way, Jesus empowered him to be more than the unnamed man thought possible.

Now, when the religious authorities were rattled by his words, Jesus went even further and said, “Stand up, take your mat, and go to your home.” And the unnamed man does! His life has been radically changed, as has the crowd’s, by what was possible.

In Mark 10:46-52, Bartimaeus advocates for himself. He is the one who wants Jesus’ attention and does so by shouting, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” And as in several other stories, the disciples and those around him try to silence him, but he will not be deterred: “Son of David, have mercy on me!” He is a believer. We might say, “His spirit and soul are right with God,” as he recognizes his own need for mercy AND he knows Jesus is the one who can grant him the mercy.

By calling Jesus “Son of David,” Bartimaeus indicates that he believes Jesus is the royal Messiah, the long-awaited One. It would be my guess that he has keen hearing to help offset his visual disability. So, he has probably heard things about Jesus and what he has done. When he is called over, Bartimaeus feels so empowered he throws off his cloak – which was probably his most valuable asset, as it keeps him warm at night and provides a place to receive donations when he spreads it out in front of him. Bartimaeus is healed by Jesus, and Jesus says, “Go, your faith has made you well.”

But rather than leaving, Bartimaeus followed Jesus on the way. His life was changed so drastically that Bartimaeus chose to stay with Jesus and the disciples. He acted to be with them, which allowed him to learn more. Bartimaeus has become a character who understands, as opposed to the disciples who have been with Jesus all along and who, in the story right before Bartimaeus, had been asking to sit at his right and left hands – Thinking of power and privilege in contrast to this one who seeks only to follow.

When thinking about these stories, I was reminded of Tom Rex, a member who has been dead for a while but whose story has stayed with me, and who loved telling his story.

Tom had lived a hard life and had gotten into plenty of trouble. But one night, after being shot and thinking he was going to die, he realized that he didn’t want to die and prayed for God’s help. I cannot remember if he actually had an experience of the afterlife or not, but the doctors were able to fix his body, and he then dedicated himself to sharing his story and helping others find the love and mercy of Jesus that he had found.

He felt that God had given him another chance, and he was going to make the best of it for God. For those of us who have not had a traumatic experience or a challenging disability that has healed, we can still know within our soul, our spirit, and our body that we are loved and forgiven.

And with that knowledge, seek to help others experience belovedness too!

May it be so. Amen.
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