On Healing
“On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.” Revelation 22:2
In the end, there is healing. Psalm 103:3 names God as the one who “heals all your diseases.” That’s difficult to believe in our broken world where wholeness and health often seem far off and incomplete. The promise of the verse above from Revelation is that eventually, in the end, there is full healing in Jesus.
Beyond that full and final hope for healing at history’s conclusion, there is the hope of healing here and now by the Holy Spirit. By God’s grace we can and do experience healing today, foretastes of the complete restoration that will be offered to us when God’s kingdom is fully realized. Healing in body, soul, heart and mind can be known and experienced today, in Jesus, through the Holy Spirit.
This Sunday, the fifth in the month, will involve an opportunity to seek the Lord and ask for healing by His Holy Spirit. Following the sermon, we will have a devoted time of prayer and worship, with prayer workers available in the room to pray for specific needs for healing that we all have. For the those participating online, there will be a Zoom link shared on Sunday through which you can receive prayer. I want to encourage you to be preparing for this time of worship and prayer. Are there physical, emotional or spiritual needs that you might bring before the Lord in this time? I wonder how our God, the Great Physician, might wish to minister to us.
There are also two other opportunities related to this theme of healing. First, a reading group at COTC is forming to read Francis MacNutt’s book Healing. MacNutt was a theologian and leader in the church regarding prayer and healing ministry. Engaging with this book together should be rich and helpful for anyone interested in these topics. See below for more details.
Second, Christ Church, our sending and sister church, is hosting an upcoming weekend seminar related to inner healing. Entitled “Healing our Wounds”, this seminar is led by Bishop Trevor Walters and specifically focuses on parent wounds and burnout, family of origin healing, and inviting the Spirit deeper into every corner of our lives. I’m excited for the focus of this time and how the Spirit might work through it. There is a cost involved, but if that is an obstacle for you please let me know and the church can help cover it.
Over these past weeks, even with the covid-related challenges, I have had a deep sense of the Spirit’s movement and work among us. I am grateful for this mercy of God, and excited for how it is connected with this next vital season of our life in community. Please pray with me for the sustained and healing work of Christ’s Spirit among and through us.
In expectancy with you,
Peter+
Ps. We are planning to have our regular Seeds and Seedlings (nursery) care available again on Sunday, February 6th. Thanks for your patience and flexibility. We’ll have more information next week. On another administrative note, we are at the last stages of completing our directory. If you have yet to update your information please do so using this doc by Friday, February 4th.
Pps. This week, the clergy of COTC participated in a diocesan training put on by GRACE related to fostering a culture of safety. The training was heavy in many ways as it touches on the reality of exploitation and abuse in the church. However, I am deeply grateful for the diocese’s leadership and care in relation to this topic. You can learn more about C4SO’s work in regard to this topic here.