To Be Ministers of Healing

Acts 3:3-8 (NRSV): To be Ministers of Healing

When [the lame beggar] saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked them for alms. Peter looked intently at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, “I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk.” And he took him by the right hand and raised him up; and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. Jumping up, he stood and began to walk, and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.

Peter and John were Jesus’ closest friends and disciples, so when we read this account it is easy to pass off the ministry of miraculous healing to those of the apostolic age. As modern thinkers, we may even pass off this miracle as a metaphor for the inner healing that the gospel of Jesus brings. But there is something more at work here. Jesus uses Peter and John to bring his healing to a sick and crippled world, both literally and figuratively. The beggar at the gate begs for alms and receives healing in Christs’ name. We are modern-day apostles commissioned with the same healing ministry as Peter and John. How can we approach others in faith and provide them with the healing grace of Christ?

When a student chooses to fail, educators work to intervene. One of my students is in his second year of ninth grade, and he is currently failing most classes. His behaviors are the same in all classes: He refuses to do any work. He, like the lame man in Acts 3, is stuck, cries out, and needs healing. This student has a sad story, however: His parents have no time, he is depressed, and he needs outside counseling. This child struggles to breathe, lives a life of neglect, and barely keeps his head above emotional water. No wonder he is failing. School work is the least of his concerns. Witnessing this struggle, begs the following question: How can I channel the healing ministry of Christ to those who hurt?  

Richard J. Foster, in his book Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home, outlines a method in which the faithful can reach out to those who need healing. He presents a process that includes four primary steps: Listen, ask, believe, and thank. We listen with a discerning heart to the needs of others, ask God in faith to use us as instruments of his healing, believe with assurance that Christ’s healing radiates through us to others, and thank God with heart-filled gratitude for those moments that we witness his healing.

As Peter and John brought miraculous healing to those around them, we, too, are called in Christ to do the same. It does not have to be in a formal context. Instead, Christ’s healing can radiate in the small circles of what we know -- our families, our friends, and the people we serve. Simple healing comes in many forms. We can listen to someone vent, ask if those who suffer need prayer, spend time with the ones who need us when we would rather do “our thing,” or write a letter to bridge a distanced relationship. In all, we thank God for the opportunity to be present.

Heavenly Father, we ask you to use us as agents of your grace in this world. Send us, Lord, to be your healing light to others. We pray in Jesus Christ’s name. Amen.

Have a blessed week.

Stan