Healing Nations
adapted from a sermon by Fr Daniel Fanous
Passage: Luke 5:17-26
17 Now it happened on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was present to heal them. 18 Then behold, men brought on a bed a man who was paralyzed, whom they sought to bring in and lay before Him. 19 And when they could not find how they might bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the housetop and let him down with his bed through the tiling into the midst before Jesus.20 When He saw their faith, He said to him, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.”
There are a number of things in this passage that are fascinating that we can easily overlook. The first is, “And the power of the Lord was present to heal them.”
It does not say, “He was there to heal him.” The word used is, “them.” Sometimes, in certain translations it may mean, “the power of the Lord was there to heal the sick.” But that is not what we read here. We read the word, “them.” The healing was for all those present before our Lord.
Christ was not only there to heal the sick but to heal them- all of them. That means that even the friends that carried the man, were present before the Lord for their own healing too.
You can imagine the scene- a small house in a small village that was filled to the brim with people all around. No one could enter. The only entry way they found was through the roof, carried by four men. They had to make their own way to see Jesus and the only way they say fit was by making a hole through the roof to let the man down. You can imagine the scene, the embarrassment, the height of disturbance that was caused in the process. They had utter compassion for their friend, they took on his suffering as their own. They are embarrassed with him, and now, somehow, they are healed too.
Sharing in the burdens of others transforms us. It happens both practically and mystically. Years ago I spent a few months living with nuns that had consecrated their lives to serving others. One of the things that I observed in all of them was that like all humans, they have weaknesses. Even as nuns, they each had a set of weaknesses. But the other thing that I observed in all of them was that there was so little focus on themselves. There was so little time to even dwell on themselves. Their entire being was consumed by other people. Everything that they did was for somebody else. Every meal that they had was after a meal that they shared with somebody else. Every moment of rest that they had was after consuming themselves all day in the service of others.
This made them free. Unlike others who are so obsessed with their problems, so focused on what is happening in their own hearts and so disturbed by their own circumstances. It was as if they had no time for these things. The same applies to anyone that dedicates their life for others. Whether clergy of layman – those who are aware of the problems and sufferings of others and are living for them, do not have time to be entrapped in by their own problems. Somehow, this heals them. By living for others, we can be healed through the healing of others.
Our life and our death is with our neighbour. If we gain our brother, we have gained God
St Anthony the Great
Somehow, sharing in the healing and in the lifting of the burdens of the person next to me, helps me gain God. The power of God was present to heal him. It was not one man healed in this story, but five.
Once they enter through the roof and cause a huge disturbance, scattering hay and mud throughout the house, our Lord looks upon their face and says, “your sins are forgiven you.” It does not say, “when He saw his faith” but “when He saw their faith.”
When He saw the faith of the four men that were carrying him, He forgave the sins of the paralytic man and healed him.
Healing is communal. We lift each other up with healing and repentance. It also means that my healing affects those around me. The Lord saw the faith and the love of those four men, He healed their friend. It wasn’t only about the paralytic man, but his friends also. Healing, forgiveness and restoration are all communal. This is why we do it as an act, as a church, when we pray the Liturgy. Repentance, although it is personal and something that I do on my own behalf, is communal in that it affects those around me.
Our repentance goes beyond us in ways we cannot see. If you are cold, you put your hands together and you become warm, and in turn, brings warmth to your whole body. The same applies to our repentance. When someone around us repents and shows us love, this increases our own repentance.
If you find peace, thousands around you will be saved
St Seraphim of Sarov
When we share in the healing of someone else, there is transformation within us as well. My own healing can go beyond me, goes beyond my family, and the walls of the church.