WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.299 Well, good morning. 00:00:06.980 --> 00:00:12.560 It is great to be back with you, but to be back with you in a different building. 00:00:12.880 --> 00:00:17.100 This is my first time worshiping with you all here, and it's so great to be with you 00:00:17.100 --> 00:00:17.500 this morning. 00:00:17.640 --> 00:00:22.620 Thank you to Church of the Advent staff and parish council for the kind invitation to 00:00:22.620 --> 00:00:24.219 come here this morning. 00:00:24.600 --> 00:00:27.879 It's so great to see so many old friends that I haven't seen in a while. 00:00:27.879 --> 00:00:30.719 So it's just a joy and privilege to be here this morning. 00:00:31.559 --> 00:00:36.479 We are going to be in Matthew chapter 8, the gospel reading that was just read by Lisa. 00:00:37.140 --> 00:00:41.500 And it's just four verses, but there's a lot packed in here. 00:00:41.859 --> 00:00:46.200 And I'm excited to read through it and to look at it with you. 00:00:46.679 --> 00:00:51.099 We're going to look at three things from Matthew chapter 8, this gospel reading. 00:00:51.620 --> 00:00:53.759 We're going to look at who Jesus heals. 00:00:54.439 --> 00:00:56.219 We're going to look at how Jesus heals. 00:00:56.219 --> 00:00:59.600 And finally, we're going to look at what that means for us. 00:00:59.899 --> 00:01:03.619 Before we do that, let me just read the passage again real quick. 00:01:03.719 --> 00:01:04.760 Matthew 8, 1 through 4. 00:01:05.200 --> 00:01:08.920 When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. 00:01:09.480 --> 00:01:14.120 And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, Lord, if you will, you can make 00:01:14.120 --> 00:01:14.560 me clean. 00:01:14.560 --> 00:01:19.680 And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, I will be clean. 00:01:20.240 --> 00:01:22.719 And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 00:01:23.040 --> 00:01:27.140 And Jesus said to him, see that you say nothing to anyone, but go show yourself to the priest 00:01:27.140 --> 00:01:29.920 and offer the gift that Moses commanded for a proof to them. 00:01:30.800 --> 00:01:35.040 So first, I want us to notice who it is that Jesus heals. 00:01:35.040 --> 00:01:40.080 In verse 1, it says that a man with leprosy came to Jesus. 00:01:40.700 --> 00:01:42.400 Now, leprosy is this condition. 00:01:42.860 --> 00:01:48.200 It's this infectious skin disease that causes nerve and muscle damage. 00:01:48.500 --> 00:01:54.120 And sometimes it can lead to a loss of a sense of touch, which can allow infections and wounds 00:01:54.120 --> 00:01:54.980 to happen easily. 00:01:55.480 --> 00:02:01.340 And we don't know how long this man had this, but it wasn't just his skin that was affected 00:02:01.340 --> 00:02:01.680 by this. 00:02:01.719 --> 00:02:02.900 It was his whole nervous system. 00:02:02.900 --> 00:02:08.180 In order to prevent the spread of this disease, the Old Testament law actually had prescriptions 00:02:08.180 --> 00:02:09.939 for how to deal with it. 00:02:10.099 --> 00:02:15.480 So Leviticus 13, if you're looking for a way to fall asleep some night, there's actually 00:02:15.480 --> 00:02:18.740 a whole chapter on how to deal with infectious skin diseases. 00:02:19.659 --> 00:02:22.040 There were a number of things that a person had to do. 00:02:22.159 --> 00:02:25.080 First, they had to change their physical appearance. 00:02:25.620 --> 00:02:29.379 So they had to wear out, they had to grow out their hair. 00:02:29.379 --> 00:02:32.819 They had to wear, they had to wear torn clothes. 00:02:33.860 --> 00:02:38.460 They also, when anyone got near to them, they had to cry out, unclean, unclean. 00:02:38.879 --> 00:02:43.080 So that way they would know to stay away so that the infection wouldn't pass. 00:02:43.580 --> 00:02:45.180 They also had to live alone. 00:02:45.740 --> 00:02:49.819 They had to live in isolation outside the city, away from the rest of the community. 00:02:50.520 --> 00:02:53.500 And they became ceremonially unclean. 00:02:53.860 --> 00:02:58.360 Which means that they were unable to worship with the people of God in corporate worship. 00:02:59.220 --> 00:03:02.460 And so imagine for a moment what life must have been like for this man. 00:03:03.240 --> 00:03:06.400 The only thing that we hear about him is that he had leprosy. 00:03:06.460 --> 00:03:08.400 But let's imagine what life must have been like for him. 00:03:08.780 --> 00:03:12.880 Physically, he was dealing with a pain and suffering of living with a terrible disease. 00:03:13.820 --> 00:03:17.000 Socially, he was isolated from his family, his friends, his community. 00:03:17.000 --> 00:03:22.939 Emotionally, he probably felt some degree of psychological pain, maybe shame, self-contempt. 00:03:23.580 --> 00:03:26.340 And spiritually, he was disconnected from the people of God. 00:03:26.419 --> 00:03:29.319 He couldn't worship with his spiritual family. 00:03:30.360 --> 00:03:35.699 And so for a lot of these reasons, people in the first century who had these kinds of leprous diseases 00:03:35.699 --> 00:03:40.500 were some of the most vulnerable and isolated people in first century society. 00:03:40.500 --> 00:03:48.620 And yet, despite this man's incredible vulnerability, he shows us, he's a model for us for what it means to have great faith. 00:03:49.180 --> 00:03:51.879 He's incredibly bold in how he approaches Jesus. 00:03:52.099 --> 00:03:56.840 In verse 2, we're told that he kneels before Jesus in front of a crowd of great people. 00:03:57.180 --> 00:03:58.240 A large crowd of people. 00:03:59.039 --> 00:04:00.259 And so imagine this scene. 00:04:00.360 --> 00:04:08.379 Imagine what it would take for you to get up in front of a large crowd of people and kneel down in desperation. 00:04:08.379 --> 00:04:14.639 Like, how desperate a situation would you need to be in to risk the vulnerability of that moment? 00:04:16.120 --> 00:04:17.620 It's a pretty incredible thing. 00:04:17.759 --> 00:04:19.459 And he kneels before Jesus and he says, 00:04:19.639 --> 00:04:22.659 Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean. 00:04:24.360 --> 00:04:26.819 This isn't just a request for healing. 00:04:26.920 --> 00:04:29.759 This is also a beautiful, bold confession of faith. 00:04:30.699 --> 00:04:31.360 He says, 00:04:31.360 --> 00:04:49.040 And so this man shows us that the prerequisite for experiencing the healing power of Jesus is our own neediness. 00:04:50.000 --> 00:04:54.379 Jesus only heals those who understand their need. 00:04:54.460 --> 00:04:56.520 Who understand that they can't heal themselves. 00:04:57.220 --> 00:04:59.840 And they're willing to come to him with empty hands. 00:04:59.839 --> 00:05:01.899 So that's who Jesus heals. 00:05:02.000 --> 00:05:03.739 Now I want to look at how Jesus heals. 00:05:04.199 --> 00:05:05.639 How Jesus heals this man. 00:05:06.379 --> 00:05:10.679 Verse 3 says that Jesus stretched out his hand and touched this man. 00:05:11.379 --> 00:05:15.419 Now we should feel the drama and the emotion of this moment for a couple reasons. 00:05:16.139 --> 00:05:19.399 And the first is that this is a man who Jesus should have been repelled by. 00:05:20.599 --> 00:05:25.699 It was a risky thing to go near or to touch a person with leprosy. 00:05:25.699 --> 00:05:31.539 So you'd risk not only getting affected, but you would risk becoming ceremonially unclean yourself. 00:05:32.479 --> 00:05:38.399 And so you can imagine the gasps in the crowd that might have occurred as Jesus, this man, comes before him. 00:05:38.500 --> 00:05:43.839 And he doesn't back away, but he gets closer to him and actually stretches out his hand and touches him. 00:05:43.839 --> 00:05:48.679 We should also feel the kind of drama and emotion of this scene for another reason. 00:05:49.679 --> 00:06:00.439 And that is because I wonder how long it had been since this man had been touched by another human being. 00:06:00.439 --> 00:06:06.079 Part of the prescription was that he had to live alone by himself. 00:06:07.279 --> 00:06:10.199 How long had it been since he had had a hug? 00:06:11.620 --> 00:06:14.459 How long had it been since he had had a handshake, a fist bump? 00:06:15.300 --> 00:06:17.980 I don't know if they did fist bumps back then, but you can imagine. 00:06:18.620 --> 00:06:19.339 Had it been months? 00:06:19.759 --> 00:06:20.480 Had it been years? 00:06:20.480 --> 00:06:26.240 Years, we know that we shrivel up spiritually and emotionally when we don't have physical touch. 00:06:26.240 --> 00:06:37.280 You may have seen a couple articles come out in a couple different outlets this past year about people, numbers across the board of people who were struggling with mental health during COVID. 00:06:37.700 --> 00:06:45.840 Because the isolation of the quarantine kept them from having the regular kind of physical touch that they normally had in life. 00:06:45.839 --> 00:06:53.759 And that was a side effect of living in isolation, living in quarantine, is when we don't have physical touch, we shrivel up. 00:06:55.739 --> 00:06:56.359 Here's the other thing. 00:06:56.439 --> 00:06:58.279 Jesus could have just said, be healed. 00:06:59.019 --> 00:07:00.120 He could have just spoken it. 00:07:00.179 --> 00:07:01.939 And in fact, he does this all the time. 00:07:02.059 --> 00:07:05.959 In fact, he does this in the next two stories after this passage. 00:07:06.899 --> 00:07:09.699 Like, he heals the servant of the centurion. 00:07:10.579 --> 00:07:12.239 And they're not even in the same zip code. 00:07:12.679 --> 00:07:15.459 Like, Jesus says, like, just be healed. 00:07:15.459 --> 00:07:16.099 And he's healed. 00:07:17.699 --> 00:07:26.439 And what's so powerful and beautiful about Jesus right here in this moment is that he meets this man's vulnerability with his own vulnerability. 00:07:28.060 --> 00:07:31.740 Humanly speaking, he puts himself at great risk. 00:07:31.859 --> 00:07:36.740 It is this moment where Jesus combines great power with great love. 00:07:37.019 --> 00:07:38.699 He reaches out and he touches him. 00:07:39.779 --> 00:07:43.919 And he not only heals him, but he gives him something that no one else could give him. 00:07:43.920 --> 00:07:46.439 The power of the physical touch. 00:07:47.120 --> 00:07:48.759 And then something happens next in verse 4. 00:07:49.660 --> 00:07:58.980 And Jesus says to him, see that you say nothing to anyone, but go show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded for a proof to them. 00:07:58.980 --> 00:08:02.939 What is happening right here in this moment? 00:08:02.939 --> 00:08:18.220 Well, the passage that we read that is in Leviticus 13 that talks about the protocols for how to deal with an infectious skin disease says that if a person was, in fact, healed, that they had to go to the priest at that time. 00:08:18.220 --> 00:08:22.300 And that the priest had to make a sacrifice of atonement. 00:08:22.700 --> 00:08:26.480 And to pronounce that this disease had been healed. 00:08:26.980 --> 00:08:30.460 And this pronouncement wasn't just for the person who had the disease. 00:08:30.560 --> 00:08:32.000 It was also for the whole community. 00:08:32.660 --> 00:08:39.240 This pronouncement was a message that this person could worship God again in the covenant community. 00:08:39.240 --> 00:08:42.299 They could, again, hang out with their friends and family. 00:08:42.919 --> 00:08:49.860 And, like, this guy could hug his kids and hug his wife and, like, give people, you know, handshakes again. 00:08:50.259 --> 00:08:51.879 He no longer had to hide in shame. 00:08:52.919 --> 00:08:56.419 And so when Jesus heals this man, he heals him physically, yes. 00:08:57.220 --> 00:08:59.180 But he also heals him socially. 00:08:59.659 --> 00:09:00.919 He heals him emotionally. 00:09:01.060 --> 00:09:01.940 He heals him spiritually. 00:09:02.940 --> 00:09:07.460 And this is a sign of the kind of healing that Jesus wants to do in our lives. 00:09:07.780 --> 00:09:10.080 He wants to heal us holistically in every way. 00:09:10.520 --> 00:09:15.780 It is a sign and a foretaste of the kingdom of God that God has come to heal the world. 00:09:16.420 --> 00:09:21.000 That he has, in the words of Isaac Watts in his famous hymn, Joy to the World, 00:09:21.060 --> 00:09:25.080 that he has come to make his blessings flow far as the curse is found. 00:09:25.960 --> 00:09:29.980 And in the verses that follow, Jesus tells us two more stories of Jesus healing people. 00:09:29.980 --> 00:09:34.259 And then he makes kind of a beautiful editorial comment at the end in verse 17. 00:09:35.000 --> 00:09:35.460 And he says, 00:09:35.700 --> 00:09:48.080 And here he's quoting Isaiah 53, which prophesies about the Messiah who would come and bring salvation to Israel. 00:09:48.220 --> 00:09:49.159 And Matthew is saying, 00:09:49.159 --> 00:09:56.159 What Isaiah prophesies in Isaiah 53, Jesus is fulfilling right now in these stories. 00:09:56.939 --> 00:10:02.319 He's the Messiah who came to heal a world that is sick with sin and all its consequences. 00:10:03.139 --> 00:10:07.500 By taking upon himself the sickness of the world through his death on the cross. 00:10:08.439 --> 00:10:10.919 So Jesus heals this man through his own vulnerability. 00:10:11.559 --> 00:10:14.860 He heals him holistically, physically, socially, spiritually, emotionally. 00:10:14.860 --> 00:10:20.120 And he heals him as a sign that the kingdom of God is here as a living, present reality. 00:10:21.279 --> 00:10:27.460 And so next I want to talk about, finally I want to talk about what this means for us. 00:10:27.960 --> 00:10:33.300 Because this, I don't know about you, but stories of healing in the Bible are sometimes the stories that I feel most distant from. 00:10:34.120 --> 00:10:36.840 But I think this has a number of implications for us today. 00:10:37.300 --> 00:10:38.440 So what does this mean for us? 00:10:38.580 --> 00:10:39.860 I want to look at three things. 00:10:39.860 --> 00:10:47.779 The first thing is that I think that stories of healing in the Gospels raise a question for us. 00:10:48.340 --> 00:10:50.000 And that is, one of the questions it raises is, 00:10:50.320 --> 00:10:52.320 Is the healing that Jesus comes to bring, 00:10:52.940 --> 00:10:56.440 Is it primarily physical or is it primarily spiritual? 00:10:57.340 --> 00:10:59.779 And there's a tension here that I want to address. 00:10:59.899 --> 00:11:06.159 That on one hand the Gospel is the good news that Jesus has come to forgive and deliver us from sin and death. 00:11:06.159 --> 00:11:11.379 But on the other hand, no one can read this account in Matthew or any of the stories of Jesus' healing 00:11:11.379 --> 00:11:15.179 And deny that Jesus has also come to heal our bodies too. 00:11:16.459 --> 00:11:22.500 Other people, I think in general, we kind of attempt to either over-spiritualize Jesus or under-spiritualize him. 00:11:23.219 --> 00:11:26.819 I think some people are tempted to, we were tempted to under-spiritualize him 00:11:26.819 --> 00:11:32.600 By seeing him as just a good moral teacher who cared about the poor and physical and social healing. 00:11:32.600 --> 00:11:37.820 Others are tempted to over-spiritualize him and to focus only how Jesus brings spiritual healing 00:11:37.820 --> 00:11:39.960 Through the forgiveness of sin and eternal life. 00:11:40.019 --> 00:11:41.759 But we have to avoid both temptations. 00:11:43.360 --> 00:11:46.519 And this is because in Jesus Christ, there is a deep connection 00:11:46.519 --> 00:11:50.620 Between the forgiveness of sins and the healing of the world. 00:11:51.519 --> 00:11:54.800 Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world 00:11:54.800 --> 00:11:57.000 And he's also the one who sits on the throne and says, 00:11:57.120 --> 00:11:58.820 Behold, I am making all things new. 00:11:58.820 --> 00:12:06.000 And the reason for that is that sin is the underlying disease for all the symptoms that we see in a fallen world. 00:12:06.680 --> 00:12:12.100 The symptoms that we see of things like disease, things like violence, injustice, death, poverty. 00:12:13.060 --> 00:12:14.860 All of these are symptoms. 00:12:15.900 --> 00:12:19.220 They're symptoms of the disease of sin. 00:12:19.560 --> 00:12:21.520 They're symptoms, but they're not the disease itself. 00:12:21.519 --> 00:12:26.539 And Jesus Christ is the great healer who doesn't just treat our symptoms. 00:12:26.679 --> 00:12:28.819 He comes to treat the disease. 00:12:29.600 --> 00:12:33.919 You don't just go to a doctor and say, go into the doctor's office and say, 00:12:34.039 --> 00:12:35.679 Okay, are you going to treat my symptoms? 00:12:36.480 --> 00:12:37.579 Or are you going to treat my disease? 00:12:38.439 --> 00:12:41.600 Like if you were to ask the doctor that question, they would look at you like you're crazy. 00:12:42.199 --> 00:12:44.600 They would say, well, of course I'm going to treat your symptoms. 00:12:44.600 --> 00:12:51.639 But you better bet that we're going to go after the underlying condition that's causing your symptoms. 00:12:52.720 --> 00:13:00.340 It is because Jesus cares so much about the healing of our bodies that he comes to heal our sin through his suffering and death on the cross. 00:13:01.279 --> 00:13:04.060 The other thing that I want to talk about, about what this means for us, 00:13:04.560 --> 00:13:10.240 is a little bit of an elephant in the room when it comes to passages like this. 00:13:10.240 --> 00:13:15.419 And I think that one of the elephants in the room for us when we read a passage like this is, 00:13:15.639 --> 00:13:20.500 if Jesus is able to heal, like if he was willing to heal this man, 00:13:21.440 --> 00:13:23.299 why doesn't he always heal? 00:13:24.680 --> 00:13:27.379 Why didn't he heal my family member? 00:13:28.379 --> 00:13:30.379 Why doesn't he choose to heal me? 00:13:30.460 --> 00:13:32.779 Like if he's willing, what's he waiting for? 00:13:33.440 --> 00:13:33.560 Right? 00:13:35.039 --> 00:13:38.279 And the first thing that I want to say is, I don't know. 00:13:39.279 --> 00:13:40.159 I'm not God. 00:13:40.240 --> 00:13:44.100 And I think to offer a rational explanation for that would not only be proud, 00:13:44.779 --> 00:13:48.039 and to assume a level of knowledge that none of us have, but also it would be unloving. 00:13:48.460 --> 00:13:52.240 As Christians, our response to suffering is not to explain it away, but to grieve it. 00:13:52.919 --> 00:13:54.360 We don't explain away suffering. 00:13:54.600 --> 00:13:56.320 We lament and weep over it. 00:13:57.879 --> 00:14:01.600 But in the midst of this lament, we can also have incredible hope. 00:14:01.600 --> 00:14:06.019 Kelly Kapik is a theology professor at Covenant College, 00:14:06.019 --> 00:14:11.919 and he wrote a book called Embodied Hope, a theological meditation on pain and suffering. 00:14:12.399 --> 00:14:13.019 It's a great book. 00:14:13.059 --> 00:14:13.639 I'd recommend it. 00:14:13.720 --> 00:14:17.139 It's not like an intellectual abstract book about the problem of evil. 00:14:17.480 --> 00:14:23.960 It's actually a personal pastoral meditation on his experience of walking through pain and suffering himself and with his wife. 00:14:23.960 --> 00:14:29.820 And in this book, he shares the words of a friend who suffers greatly physically, 00:14:30.400 --> 00:14:33.580 and yet who still has profound hope in the midst of it because of Jesus. 00:14:34.060 --> 00:14:36.800 And I want you to hear these words. 00:14:36.799 --> 00:15:06.779 His friend says, 00:15:06.799 --> 00:15:33.059 Yet these realities point me to my greater need of being restored spiritually to fellowship with my Heavenly Father, 00:15:33.159 --> 00:15:35.859 before whom I am hopelessly disabled by my sin, 00:15:35.860 --> 00:15:37.919 apart from his work to redeem me through Christ. 00:15:38.419 --> 00:15:43.480 I view my disabilities as reminders of my utter dependence upon Christ for salvation and life, 00:15:43.980 --> 00:15:46.779 and I am sure that in eternity he will restore me to wholeness. 00:15:47.480 --> 00:15:49.600 By carrying me through the trials in my life, 00:15:49.680 --> 00:15:52.200 he has given me a longing for the coming new creation, 00:15:52.680 --> 00:15:56.039 when he will restore me physically as I behold him in restored communion, 00:15:56.720 --> 00:15:59.340 unhindered by my sin, which he will have eradicated forever. 00:15:59.960 --> 00:16:04.320 The coming resurrection gives me hope that a day is coming when I will be made like Christ, 00:16:04.320 --> 00:16:06.560 and freed from the curse of sin. 00:16:06.559 --> 00:16:11.819 Secondarily, I rejoice in the hope that he will give me the gift of the resurrected body, 00:16:12.239 --> 00:16:15.039 free from physical infirmities I have wrestled with my whole life. 00:16:15.619 --> 00:16:17.959 There will be a day when I will be able to bend my knee, 00:16:18.039 --> 00:16:21.919 and the first time that I do so will be at the feet of Jesus when I see him face to face, 00:16:22.299 --> 00:16:24.719 and bow down before him as his redeemed child. 00:16:25.419 --> 00:16:28.199 On that day I will love and embrace him with a resurrected heart, 00:16:28.279 --> 00:16:29.399 made whole by his touch, 00:16:29.779 --> 00:16:32.059 and freed from the power of death forever. 00:16:32.059 --> 00:16:34.419 Oh, for that day to come. 00:16:35.799 --> 00:16:36.679 Incredible words. 00:16:36.799 --> 00:16:40.000 I don't understand why God heals sometimes, 00:16:40.139 --> 00:16:41.539 and why he doesn't heal other times, 00:16:41.559 --> 00:16:42.539 but here's what I do know. 00:16:42.779 --> 00:16:45.359 I want to have resurrection hope like this man has, 00:16:45.619 --> 00:16:47.379 regardless of what happens in my life. 00:16:47.959 --> 00:16:51.399 What we get in Jesus Christ is not a vending machine or a good luck charm 00:16:51.399 --> 00:16:53.579 that cures us from temporary pain and suffering. 00:16:53.679 --> 00:16:55.399 What we get is something infinitely better. 00:16:55.799 --> 00:16:58.039 We get one who has destroyed the power of sin, 00:16:58.039 --> 00:17:01.839 and who will one day give us resurrected, restored, healed bodies. 00:17:03.339 --> 00:17:06.299 And he stands resurrected as the ascended Lord, 00:17:06.359 --> 00:17:11.659 and he longs to give us glimpses and foretastes of that ultimate healing even now. 00:17:13.319 --> 00:17:16.839 And so that leads into my final point, 00:17:17.519 --> 00:17:20.599 which is that I want to kind of talk about what it would be like, 00:17:20.599 --> 00:17:28.319 what it looks like to experience those glimpses and those foretastes of Jesus' healing power today. 00:17:28.539 --> 00:17:32.819 What does it look like to access the healing power of Jesus in our own lives today? 00:17:33.659 --> 00:17:35.240 I think there's a lot we could talk about. 00:17:36.159 --> 00:17:39.819 I'm relatively familiar that this church has just started a healing prayer ministry, 00:17:40.079 --> 00:17:44.359 and I think that would be a great application to learn more about that or be involved in that. 00:17:44.359 --> 00:17:50.759 But what I want to do is to draw our attention one more time to how this man approaches Jesus. 00:17:51.659 --> 00:17:55.639 He comes to him on his knees with utter dependence and vulnerability. 00:17:57.119 --> 00:18:03.359 And I want you to think about that image as you think about places in your life 00:18:03.359 --> 00:18:07.519 that you long for Jesus to bring his healing power into your life. 00:18:08.219 --> 00:18:10.939 Maybe you have a deep wound from your past. 00:18:10.940 --> 00:18:15.660 Maybe you have places in your life where you feel shame and guilt, 00:18:15.900 --> 00:18:17.480 and that feels suffocating. 00:18:18.120 --> 00:18:19.480 Maybe you have a broken relationship. 00:18:20.640 --> 00:18:25.500 Maybe you have a pattern of unwanted behavior that you don't know how to stop. 00:18:26.660 --> 00:18:32.039 Whatever it is, I want to suggest this morning that the power for healing that comes through vulnerability. 00:18:32.960 --> 00:18:34.900 It comes through vulnerability with Jesus, 00:18:35.100 --> 00:18:39.860 and it comes through vulnerability with people that we trust that God has placed in our life. 00:18:39.859 --> 00:18:42.619 And this is both a direct insight from this text, 00:18:42.699 --> 00:18:46.559 and it's something that a lot of Christian counselors who I respect would affirm. 00:18:47.319 --> 00:18:51.379 Whether we're going to the doctor or whether we're going to a counselor for help, 00:18:52.319 --> 00:18:55.659 the healing process can't begin without vulnerability. 00:18:56.419 --> 00:18:58.599 It can't begin unless we admit that we're needy. 00:19:00.279 --> 00:19:03.399 If we want to experience the healing in the deepest parts of our life, 00:19:03.459 --> 00:19:06.299 we have to let Jesus and people that we trust into those places. 00:19:06.299 --> 00:19:10.480 I think a lot of us, myself included, 00:19:11.019 --> 00:19:16.279 are a lot better at retrospective vulnerability than real-time vulnerability. 00:19:17.119 --> 00:19:18.819 Like, it's a lot easier to say, 00:19:19.180 --> 00:19:22.139 yeah, I struggled with that three or four months ago, three or four years ago, 00:19:22.139 --> 00:19:24.759 and God helped me with that, and I'm better. 00:19:26.359 --> 00:19:27.839 What's harder to say is, 00:19:28.619 --> 00:19:30.220 my life is a wreck right now. 00:19:31.079 --> 00:19:33.339 And there's this thing in my life that I don't know how to control, 00:19:33.339 --> 00:19:36.000 I don't know what to do, but I just want someone to know. 00:19:36.759 --> 00:19:40.359 That takes a lot more boldness, a lot more courage. 00:19:40.720 --> 00:19:42.480 This is a very, it's a scary thing to do. 00:19:42.599 --> 00:19:44.599 It's one of the things that we fear most. 00:19:44.720 --> 00:19:47.439 One of the things we fear most is that we would be vulnerable, 00:19:47.579 --> 00:19:48.839 that we would open up our lives, 00:19:49.439 --> 00:19:51.659 and have someone know something about us, 00:19:52.539 --> 00:19:54.220 and not love us. 00:19:54.379 --> 00:19:56.099 And to reject us in return. 00:19:56.659 --> 00:19:58.039 To either not know what to do, 00:19:58.039 --> 00:20:00.099 to kind of leave. 00:20:01.859 --> 00:20:03.519 That we would be deeply known, 00:20:04.000 --> 00:20:04.879 but not loved, 00:20:05.359 --> 00:20:06.399 is one of our deepest fears. 00:20:06.519 --> 00:20:07.519 And for many of us, 00:20:07.960 --> 00:20:09.619 it's sadly been some of our realities. 00:20:10.720 --> 00:20:12.440 But the beauty of the gospel is that, 00:20:12.579 --> 00:20:13.420 in Jesus Christ, 00:20:13.480 --> 00:20:14.399 we have a God 00:20:14.399 --> 00:20:16.839 who meets our vulnerability 00:20:16.839 --> 00:20:18.779 with his own vulnerability. 00:20:19.579 --> 00:20:21.240 Like, he takes the initiative 00:20:21.240 --> 00:20:23.559 in being vulnerable with us. 00:20:24.119 --> 00:20:25.000 In his incarnation, 00:20:25.220 --> 00:20:26.059 he made himself open 00:20:26.059 --> 00:20:27.220 to all kinds of pain, 00:20:27.319 --> 00:20:27.759 and rejection, 00:20:27.919 --> 00:20:29.240 and suffering that we experience. 00:20:29.839 --> 00:20:30.759 And we see the fullness 00:20:30.759 --> 00:20:32.460 of this vulnerability on the cross. 00:20:32.619 --> 00:20:33.779 He opened himself 00:20:33.779 --> 00:20:35.659 to a shameful, humiliating death. 00:20:36.200 --> 00:20:38.579 His body was exposed and naked, 00:20:39.000 --> 00:20:39.619 dying for us, 00:20:39.679 --> 00:20:40.559 and for the whole world. 00:20:41.960 --> 00:20:43.139 There is no one 00:20:43.139 --> 00:20:46.299 who has been more vulnerable with you 00:20:46.299 --> 00:20:47.220 than Jesus Christ. 00:20:47.899 --> 00:20:50.159 And it is through his vulnerability 00:20:50.159 --> 00:20:52.299 that the healing power for the world comes. 00:20:52.299 --> 00:20:54.639 Like, that is how God heals the world, 00:20:54.740 --> 00:20:56.639 is through the vulnerability of Christ. 00:20:57.599 --> 00:20:58.559 And there is no one 00:20:58.559 --> 00:21:00.139 who loves you 00:21:00.139 --> 00:21:02.139 and delights in you more than him. 00:21:03.619 --> 00:21:05.799 Our respected Christian counselor, 00:21:06.059 --> 00:21:06.599 Dan Allender, 00:21:07.720 --> 00:21:09.480 says that the only antidote to shame 00:21:09.480 --> 00:21:12.980 is the word and the touch 00:21:12.980 --> 00:21:15.200 of someone who delights in us. 00:21:16.220 --> 00:21:17.779 The only antidote to shame 00:21:17.779 --> 00:21:18.859 is the word and the touch 00:21:18.859 --> 00:21:20.039 of someone who delights in us, 00:21:20.039 --> 00:21:22.480 and that is what we get in Jesus. 00:21:23.259 --> 00:21:23.940 And every week, 00:21:24.019 --> 00:21:24.839 we get the opportunity 00:21:24.839 --> 00:21:25.599 in the Eucharist 00:21:25.599 --> 00:21:26.139 to be reminded 00:21:26.139 --> 00:21:27.359 that Jesus loves us 00:21:27.359 --> 00:21:28.220 and delights in us 00:21:28.220 --> 00:21:28.899 and that this is not 00:21:28.899 --> 00:21:30.379 an abstract reality. 00:21:30.539 --> 00:21:31.599 He made himself utterly 00:21:31.599 --> 00:21:33.539 vulnerable to show us this. 00:21:34.599 --> 00:21:36.319 His body was broken for us. 00:21:36.859 --> 00:21:38.779 His blood was spilled for us. 00:21:39.220 --> 00:21:40.299 And his vulnerability 00:21:40.299 --> 00:21:42.240 is an invitation 00:21:42.240 --> 00:21:44.799 for us to be vulnerable with him 00:21:44.799 --> 00:21:46.879 and with people that we trust. 00:21:46.880 --> 00:21:48.520 And so as we close, 00:21:48.620 --> 00:21:50.340 I want you to hear Jesus' words again 00:21:50.340 --> 00:21:51.440 from Matthew chapter 8. 00:21:52.140 --> 00:21:53.940 That as you think about 00:21:53.940 --> 00:21:55.100 the places in your life 00:21:55.100 --> 00:21:57.560 where you long to Jesus come 00:21:57.560 --> 00:21:58.820 and bring about restoration 00:21:58.820 --> 00:21:59.540 and healing, 00:22:00.540 --> 00:22:02.580 I want you to think about those places. 00:22:04.780 --> 00:22:05.700 And I want him, 00:22:05.960 --> 00:22:08.220 I want you to hear him say to you, 00:22:09.220 --> 00:22:10.420 I am willing. 00:22:10.420 --> 00:22:11.100 I am willing. 00:22:12.160 --> 00:22:13.100 I am willing. 00:22:13.200 --> 00:22:14.640 I am willing to go there. 00:22:15.779 --> 00:22:17.240 I am willing to touch that. 00:22:18.180 --> 00:22:19.880 I am willing to heal that. 00:22:20.380 --> 00:22:21.860 I am not repelled 00:22:21.860 --> 00:22:22.980 by that thing in your life. 00:22:24.000 --> 00:22:25.460 It doesn't make me cringe. 00:22:26.779 --> 00:22:28.100 I'm actually drawn to it. 00:22:28.960 --> 00:22:30.160 Like that's the thing in your life 00:22:30.160 --> 00:22:31.460 that I am most drawn to 00:22:31.460 --> 00:22:33.300 because I love you 00:22:33.300 --> 00:22:34.960 and I delight in you. 00:22:35.900 --> 00:22:38.180 And I know that for most of us, 00:22:39.180 --> 00:22:41.120 healing will be a process, 00:22:41.600 --> 00:22:43.700 maybe even a lifelong process. 00:22:43.840 --> 00:22:44.559 And I don't know 00:22:44.559 --> 00:22:46.840 where that journey will take you, 00:22:47.600 --> 00:22:48.900 but I do know 00:22:48.900 --> 00:22:51.240 that this is where it starts. 00:22:52.480 --> 00:22:53.559 This is where it starts. 00:22:54.500 --> 00:22:55.279 In the name of the Father, 00:22:55.440 --> 00:22:55.840 and the Son, 00:22:56.120 --> 00:22:56.740 and the Holy Spirit. 00:22:56.740 --> 00:22:57.539 Amen. 00:23:04.960 --> 00:23:05.960 Amen.