Friday, July 1, 2022
Storms May Pound At Us,
From Above and Within,
and From Others,
Thundering All Sorts of Threats.
God’s Word, Jesus,
Heals All That Ails Us,
and Calms All the Storms In Us.
Psalm 6:5
For in death there is no remembrance of you; in Sheol who can give you praise?
Matthew 9:22
Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, ‘Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.’ And instantly the woman was made well.
Words of Grace For Today
Life is full of challenges, suffering, and grief.
Life is full of memories for which we can give thanks, and praise God for God’s abundant goodness … even for us undeserving sinners.
Life is full of illnesses that divert all our energies from living fully, to trying to cope with this painful moment or that overwhelming demand on us, a demand we must meet if we want to survive.
God knows this. God knew this before God began to create the universe, and us in it.
God sends Jesus, and Jesus’ followers, to heal us, not just in body, but also in our minds and spirits, so that our faith will make us well.
Jesus and Jesus’ followers save us from death and from the places where/when we have no memories of God’s great works for us and our ancestors.
Like the woman, pushing through the crowd to get close to Jesus, to just ‘touch’ his garment, we often find ourselves pushing against the crowds of people that think they know all that is to be known about life and that they have the ‘keys to the cities’ or to the counties or countrysides (or as it is: municipal districts) in which we live. Then, when we finally reach through the mass of discontent and querdenkers and bullies, we feel the goodness and life-giving healing power of Jesus’ Word and Being.
We are instantly made well. Or sometimes over months or years we are made well. Or sometimes we get to go home to the dwelling Jesus has prepared for us, where no one forgets to give thanks and praise to God for all God’s goodness, grace, love, and mercy.
It’s a dance, to a lovely melody, with great harmonies in all the parts, with a great partner, with pauses when we get tired or stiff from arthritis, or simply tired of the foolishness of other people in this good creation.
So today, we dance on, to the beat of Jesus’ drum. (Some used to call it Thor’s hammer.)