And a leper came to him beseeching him, and kneeling said to him, "If you will, you can make me clean." Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, "I will; be clean." And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean.
     Mark 1:40-42

Now we know!

During the Christmastide, we asked, "What child is this?" We met a surprised and bewildered young woman named Mary, who pondered in her heart what was said about her newborn son. We encountered a stunned, dumbfounded Joseph, who was baffled by Mary's pregnancy. We stood with shocked, astonished shepherds, walked with wondering wanderers, and came face to face with an innkeeper who simply didn't get it. Perplexed and puzzled, we asked:

"What child is this, who, laid to rest,
On Mary's lap is sleeping?"

Now, in the season of the Epiphany, we learn that the babe of Bethlehem, the son of Mary, is Christ the healer!

In a reading for the Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany, Mark lets us in on the secret (1:40-45). Christ the Lord, the Savior born in the city of David, is the One who heals. According to Mark, this child is the One who cleanses the leper, gives sight to the blind, and enables the paralytic to walk again. This is the One who restores the silent ear and causes the deaf to hear. This is the One who releases the speechless tongue and allows the mute to speak. This is the One who rebukes the wind and calms the stormy sea.

This child, in other words, is the healing Word of God from heaven above to earth come down -- Word become flesh, dwelling among us to make us whole. This is the One who gives us health and salvation, who abides with us in sickness and in death, who goes with us to the doctor's office and stands with us at the gravesite. This is the One who puts his strong arms around us to uphold and sustain us in the dark nights of the soul. This is the One who shines on the troubled, binds up the brokenhearted, delivers the distressed from their despair, and lights the way to renewed hope.

Service of the Word for Healing,
Occasional Services,
A Companion to Lutheran Book of Worship
Merciful Lord God, constant source of all healing, we give you thanks for all your gifts of strength and life, and above all we thank you for the gift of your Son, through whom we have health and salvation. As we wait for that day when there will be no more pain, help us by your Holy Spirit to be assured of your power in our lives and to trust in your eternal love; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Contributed by Pastor Richard
Published Monday February 17, 2003
Week 12 of Liturgical Year B