Forgiveness and Healing

“But they could not find a way to take him in because of so many people. They made a hole in the roof over where Jesus stood. Then they let the bed with the sick man on it down before Jesus. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, ‘Friend, your sins are forgiven.’” —Luke 5:19-20.

Many of the healing stories of Jesus describe him first forgiving the sins of those who are afflicted, and then healing their physical ills. He sees a person’s spiritual condition as a higher priority than any physical malady. He knows that he can bring more comfort by leading us to give up our resentments and abuses—before he tackles the physical pain. This has been my experience.

Awareness of the spiritual harms I have afflicted on others has brought me more pain than any physical illness. The pain I have caused my partners at work, my spouse, my children, my friends has been more overwhelming than the physical pain of broken bones or diseased organs. Of course, I have attempted to ease that spiritual pain with many remedies: food, alcohol, work, or busyness so that I do not have time to dwell on the wrongs I have done. Or perhaps I engage in good works in some other area, hoping that will make up for the harm I perpetuated in other parts of my life.

The people coming to Jesus do not ask him for forgiveness of their sins. They ask for physical healing. They are deaf or blind to the spiritual ills that are blocking them. The good news is that Jesus knows where our pain is greatest, even when we do not realize it; and he lets us know that we are forgiven even before we ask!

This does not mean that we do not need to ask for forgiveness. My experience is that until we are aware of how we have harmed others and ourselves and ask for forgiveness, we live with a terrible emotional pain. Sometimes we do not know where this pain is coming from, we just know it is there.

This story also can remind us that often it is our friends who bring us to Jesus for healing and forgiveness when we are “crippled,” or out of answers, because the “pain relievers” are no longer working.

Awareness comes with prayer, spiritual exercises, spiritual direction, dreams. The good news is that once we have some awareness, the Gospel tells us that we will be forgiven even before we ask! It is like going to your supervisor to ask for a raise and knowing before you get there that you will receive it!

Joanna. Joannaseibert.com

Rule of Life

“The Rule of Benedict is concerned with life: what it’s about, what it demands, how to love it. And it has not failed a single generation.” —Joan Chittister in The Rule of Benedict: A Spirituality for the 21st Century (Crossroad, 2010), p. 2.

Brother Michael Gallagher, OSB, spoke at last weekend’s Community of Hope Retreat about evaluating our Benedictine Rule of Life. He asked us to consider what was the good news our religion talks about. His belief is that the good news is that we are one with God. We have been loved into life by God. God calls us constantly in order to maintain that connection. How do we maintain it?

Michael then asked us to carry with us a pad on which to write down for one week everything we did on an hourly basis. That sounded like a daunting task. At the very least we would get some ideas of where we were spending our energy; how well and when we were eating; how often we listened to the news; how much time we were spending with family; and how much work we were required to do at home. This assignment reminded me of looking at our checkbook or credit card report to see where we are spending our energy and our money.

Next he recommended we put on our calendar for each day a time for morning prayers. The time spent and the type of prayer were not as important as doing it at the same time each day. Then he asked us to schedule a time for evening prayers—again, the same time each day. Lastly, he wanted us to write in a regular time at which to eat our meals each day. I am beginning to get his message. God calls us to faithfulness. If we make an effort to invite God to be a part of a regular rhythm in our lives, we will find that God connection.

Michael promises us that we do not have to worry as much about what we do in between the meals and prayers. God fills in the blanks: we will be led, especially through the interruptions in our lives. Michael did make one suggestion regarding prayer, and that was that we include prayers of gratitude. My experience is that gratitude is the holy stickiness that can hold our life together. Well, now we are called to more adventure, a new look at our rule of life. More will be revealed.

Joanna. Joannaseibert.com

Buechner: Prayer

“WE ALL PRAY whether we think of it as praying or not.” —Frederick Buechner.

hanny naibaho . unsplash

Frederick Buechner reminds us that the sigh that automatically leaps from us when we see beauty, art, music, mouth-watering comfort food, or old friends can be identified as the thanks, wow prayers that Anne Lamott has written about in Help, Thanks, Wow: The Three Essential Prayers (Riverhead, 2012). There is something inside of us, the God in us, the Christ in us, the Spirit within us, that cannot help but direct us back to the connection we came from. This is another word for prayer: a connection to the place from which we came.

Buechner also reminds us of all the stories in the New Testament about how God assures us that persistence in prayer can make a difference in our lives. The Hound of Heaven is in pursuit of us, and we are to follow that example. If nothing else, we are also heeding C. S. Lewis’ advice to “act as if” we believe in that power greater than ourselves—and eventually something happens. The 12-step groups put it more simply, “fake it, till you make it.”

Buechner also suggests that even if we consider prayer to be merely talking to ourselves, it is not a bad practice. It can be similar to the Ignatian examen, in which we consider what is happening in our life. We review our day and discover insights that we might never have known if we had not stopped to consider where we need help and which path might be best. We soon learn that we are probably called to the road less traveled—which, of course, leads to many more prayers.

Joanna. Joannaseibert.com