RBWords

     The promises and images of a messianic age as foretold by Isaiah would have been well-known to the scribes and Pharisees in Jesus' audience when he healed the paralytic!  But they were so focused on the issue of forgiveness of sins, which Jesus also claimed to do, that they could not see the messianic sign in front of them.  The  physical healing comes about through the hope and faith of those who brought the paralytic to Jesus and persevered by bringing the man up on the roof and lowering him down into the room!

     I live in Houston, TX, in the U.S.A., which is one of the most important centers for medical treatment and research in the whole country.  Every day the eyes of the blind are opened, the ears of the deaf are cleared, the lame are able to walk (if not leap like a stag!) and the tongues of the mute can speak (if not sing!), thanks to the dedicated health care professionals who give themselves to healing.  It is well-known that hope and faith can play a significant role in the healing process.  I know how much I have appreciated the kindness of those who have brought me to the hospital for day surgery and those who did the treatment!  

     There are many ways of bringing hope and faith to bear on the trials that many people experience in the Advent/Christmas season.  Depression is a major challenge because of families who have recently lost a loved one in death, or experienced some other loss such as illness, unemployment, divorce.  The support and kindness of friends can be the best gift of all because it is a living "sign" of the one whose birth we anticipate and celebrate year after year.  Faith, hope and love are traditional realities, but they have outlasted everything else we can get on Christmas Day!   AMEN