What We Mean When We Say Healing

Words and their meanings have a fluid quality. It seems that we are always clarifying or redefining certain terms in the English language. I can remember when the words “wicked” and “bad” found new meanings as slang for “good” or “awesome.” This change was very confusing to my grandmother, as I recall – especially when my cousin said that her homemade jam was “wicked good, grandma.” Now my daughters are doing the same thing to me. The word “slay” is now slang for just about anything, as far as I can tell. They are trying to educate me. But sometimes I have to ask, “What do you mean when you say ______?” 
Our theme this Lent at Trinity is Cross of Healing. We will explore how healing comes into the world through Christ’s cross and how we actually experience this healing in our lives. Healing is one of those words that often needs further explanation, especially in the context of faith. Health and wholeness concern our whole person – body, mind, spirit, relationships, etc. – and creation, the world in which we live. Healing is the restoration of wholeness in any of those areas. It addresses the inevitable suffering caused by the brokenness of the world and the reality that we are mortal beings. 
Sometimes healing involves the curing of disease. But healing embraces more than just a cure. When we limit illness to disease and healing to a cure, we miss the deeper dimensions of healing and restoration to God. The Bible speaks powerfully about healing, including in Matthew 8:17, where it says that Jesus “took our infirmities and bore our diseases.” By his cross, Jesus takes all that is broken and hurting and carries it into the heart of God. In return, Christ gives us healing and life. We can experience this healing in many ways – knowing we are forgiven, in broken relationships restored, in recovery from illness, or even a sense of well-being while we are amid sickness or struggle.
I hope you will join us this Lent as we gather around the Cross of Healing. I am particularly excited for our midweek services beginning February 29, when we will worship in the Gathering Space using a Taize-style service called Prayers Around the Cross. (For the complete Lent schedule, CLICK HERE.)