I once had a doctor who notified me when his staff was to receive their annual flu shots. I was to come in a receive one then too. Why notify me? My doctor was a religious man who while not a\u00a0member of my church or denomination\u00a0called all his clergy\u00a0patients in to get a free flu shot. Why?\u00a0He said, \u201cI consider you a health care professional. You visit patients in the hospitals and that makes you\u00a0more at risk. You are needed by those patients.\u201d<\/p>\n
I appreciated what he said. And I believe he was right to consider clergy members and church workers \u201chealth care professionals.\u201d It is a consideration many people including us forget. My present day doctor does not do this. I am just an old person who needs the flu shot.<\/p>\n
The gift of healing is often\u00a0neglected by the church these days. Yes, I know\u00a0many churches have \u201chealing services of worship.\u201d Most Christians pray for the healing of another person. I know these things because I too practice them. What I mean is that the church has since its\u2019 inception been given a ministry to heal.\u00a0Most of the gospels\u2019 stories of Jesus are about healing from illness, crippling afflictions, possessions, and even death. We call them miracles or at the very least mysteries.\u00a0My congregation today\u00a0celebrates healings. We still have a ministry of healing that we often neglect because in our culture we have \u201chealth care professionals\u201d\u00a0to whom we go for\u00a0a variety of complaints and receive treatments.\u00a0The church takes\u00a0a position with regard to\u00a0healing by standing back and praying the treatment works.<\/p>\n
The whole argument over health insurance in our culture is about how we should limit and pay for the treatments the medical professionals give us. There is also an argument over whether we should have faith in God or scientific materialist treatments. There is another argument over church sponsored medical centers. And there is another debate over whether healing in the New Testament was simply miraculous or mythical while today we should trust the medical institutions for the treatment of disease. These arguments are of the \u201ceither\/or\u201d variety and debate how we should limit healing.<\/p>\n
I do not believe the limit we have put on the gift of healing\u00a0fits the gospel definition of it. Former Surgeon General of the United States C. Everett Koop argued that what is really missing in present medical practice in the US is \u201cthe care.\u201d Patch Adams famously argues that \u201cpracticing medicine\u201d is not the domain of medical professionals. The church once agreed with both of these views.\u00a0Even in\u00a021st century America the\u00a0majority of examples\u00a0of medical practice and treatment is done at home. Medical care is primarily done by family and friends. Neighbors may bring food to a sick person. Certain foods are said to help certain illnesses. Chicken soup is still a recognized remedy by most people. A family member or a trusted friend will often administer prescribed drugs to a patient. Seeing to the cleanliness of the patient and his or her room will be done by someone who \u201ccares.\u201d Please note the word. All too often we equate the word \u201chealing\u201d with the word \u201ccuring.\u201d They are different words with different definitions.<\/p>\n
The Gift of Healing is given to the church to be given to anyone who needs it. Yes, by all means, pray for healing. I believe that prayers can help us focus our care. I believe we communicate love both human and divine love through prayers. I once gave a new-born\u00a0child in intensive care a blessing for healing. God allowed her to live. She is now five years old and a beautiful little girl. Christopher Hitchens journalist, atheist, and contrarian thanked people who prayed for his healing because he knew it meant they cared. When we are nearby a person who is ill we should not limit ourselves to prayer. We can help in some way. The church should show care. We should give the gift of healing.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I once had a doctor who notified me when his staff was to receive their annual flu shots. I was to come in a receive one then too. Why notify me? My doctor was a religious man who while not a\u00a0member of my church or denomination\u00a0called all his clergy\u00a0patients in to get a free flu […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4332,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n