Maggie our next door senior neighbor calls to say that her refrigerator is not working. “Who’ya gonna call” when your appliance is broke? It’s a stretch to find someone willing to do this old fashion grunt repair work. Lucky for this priest who was replacing some light fixtures when he asked the salesperson, Tony, for a referral and Jim came to mind. No clue about this vendor except I was told that he prefers to get a text. So, this “beggar priest” puts out the hook: “senior, food spoiling, refrigerator not working, help!” Luckily, I get this response, “get the make and serial number”. Next day, I get this text message, “I’m in Leroy, be at the house in half an hour.”
I think this must be my guardian angel.
It reminds me that God gives us lots of names to call him by: Yahweh, Abba, Father, Jehovah. And one wonderful Hebrew old Jewish names for God is Rapha. It means Healer. God is your healer. When we need repair, we call on God as Rapha.
The gospel of Mark devotes more time to Jesus’ healing than any other gospel. In Mark, Jesus heals a man with an unclean spirit. He heals Peter's mother-in-law. He heals all the sick who came to him. He heals a leper. He heals a paralyzed man. He heals a man with a deformed hand. He heals a man possessed by a legion of demons. He heals a little girl near death. He heals a woman hemorrhaging for years. He heals the sick wherever he went. He heals a Syrophoenician woman's daughter. He heals a deaf man, a blind man, a boy with a spirit, and he heals blind Bartimaeus. In this short gospel that's barely 16 chapters, there are at least 16 stories of healing. Do you think the Gospel writer Mark is trying to teach us something?
In the Gospel story, Jesus heals a man who is deaf and has a speech impediment. As he does that, the people are, "astonished beyond measure.” And they say he has done all things well, Rapha. God is your healer.
In a Harvard study, 90% of doctors think faith has a healing effect. Sadly, only 70% of the population thinks that. In other words, more doctors than patients believe in the power of faith. And, Lord, do we need your healing? Sadly, only 61% of the people in our country are vaccinated, yet 100% of the doctors know this will keep you out of our overcrowded ICU units
Lord, we need your healing. As a grief therapist, I am often called to provide grief support to employees whose coworkers have died. I come at a time when hearts are loaded with grief, Lord, we need your healing. For a mind addicted to prescription medication, Lord, we need your healing. For a soul attached to gambling, Lord, we need your healing. For a heart restless in life, seeking purpose, never finding it, Lord, we need your healing. For a relationship broken and torn apart, Lord, we need your healing. For a country divided over the freedom to decide whether to get vaccinated or not, Lord, we need your healing. Say it with me,” Lord, we need your healing.”
How does God heal? Sometimes, God works through miracles. Sometimes God heals through the faith of family and friends like the deaf man brought by his friends who ask Jesus to heal him. He's healed because of them. Their faith. Sometimes God heals through the faith of the people around us. God heals through doctors and medicine. And of course, sometimes God heals through time.
Remember that broken refrigerator, Jim has been in appliance repair for over 36 years. He shared that he had three emergency calls today for broken freezers and Maggie was next on his list. This angel shared that in 2020, he survived two heart attacks and his wife is a cancer survivor. But instead of retiring, God blessed him to be a healer of appliances and broken freezers are at the top of his list. While he is exchanging the broken computer board, I am emptying the freezer, defrosting the shelves and drying the parts.
No doubt Maggie was grateful to get her food back into the freezer before it spoiled. I was delighted to connect with a man of faith, a healer of appliances who had his share of health problems but who chose to continue to repair the broken appliances that we do not understand nor have a clue how to fix.
However, sometimes despite his best efforts he can’t save the appliance. When I work with someone who's just lost a spouse I know that it's going to take time to heal. Time and prayer for the grief and the pain will possibly be healed. No one fully understands how God heals or God's timing or even all of his ways. We don't always know how. We can't fully explain why. And sometimes God doesn't heal the way we expect. But that doesn't make it any less true. We have faith. If something doesn't work right, if it's broken, you take it to the one who can fix it, right? Jesus is the Great Physician. The one who made you. The one who will make you whole. His name is Healer.
Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends who need your healing, so in my Masses these past three months, I have prayed for…Cheryl, Patti, Yvonne, Rosalie, Ted, little Henry, Brad, Bishop Mack, Fr. Adam Fr. Nadeem, let’s add our refrigerator repairman Bill, his spouse and think of people you know who need healing and spend a minute in silent prayer. Bring to mind the healing you need and perhaps give yourself a gentle hug and hold yourself for a moment. Invite Jesus’ healing touch in your life. For it's true, God is your healer. He has done all things well and he loves you more than you will ever know.
