Today, as we continue to celebrate the Epiphany of the Lord, we see another Epiphany, another manifestation of our Lord. Each of these manifestations tells us a little more about who Jesus is and what he came to do in our world. Today we see Jesus manifested as healer.
“Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.” What a wonderful profession of faith! Here is a man, full of leprosy, who has been in pain and ostracized for perhaps a good portion of his life. He perhaps has heard about Jesus and was eager to see if he would do what no one has been able to do for him. No one would even touch a leper, for fear of contracting the disease. So he has been forced to live with it for all this time.
But Jesus isn’t going to be limited by anything, so he does it: he touches the man and says, “I do will it.” Healing is the will of our Father, and Jesus came to do the Father’s work. Responding to the man’s faith, Jesus is able to do in him what no one else could do, or even would do.
But a lot of people have come and gone who would have done the same. Why is it that everyone is not healed? Certainly you know of people who have suffered, perhaps you have even suffered yourself, praying and praying all to no avail.
That’s a hard question, and it’s one that often gets cited by those who reject a life of faith. But we know in our heart of hearts that there’s all kinds of healing. And what God intends for us may be far different, perhaps far more important to our salvation, than the healing of a disease.
In any case, whether the disease goes away or not, the person of faith is always given what God intends for her or him. And that person never walks through suffering alone, because we know that our Lord suffered greatly on that Cross. So, joining our sufferings to Christ’s, we have him to help us with our own cross, whatever it may be. Whether God intends our disease to go away or not, he always wills our salvation, which in the end is the essence of what he came to do.
Today Christ is manifested as healer. Healer of our bodies, perhaps. But healer of our souls to make them fit for heaven, for sure.