What is healing prayer? | Fr. Michael Hustead

The Feast of St. Luke - Year C

Readings:
Sirach 38:1–14
Psalm 147:1–11
II Timothy 4:1–13
Luke 4:14–21

Learn more about Grace Anglican Church Edgeworth at http://edgeworthanglican.com.
Honoring St. Luke, the Physician, and the Church's Ministry of Healing

On the feast of St. Luke (who was a doctor, as well as a Gospel writer and author of the Book of Acts ), we reflect on the beautiful and essential healing ministry of the church.

The message is clear: there is no separation between God's work and the work of doctors and medicine.

Our reading tells us to "honor the physician" because "the Lord created him" and "created medicines from the earth".

Science and Medicine are Gifts: Doctors and medicine are not opposed to God; they are, in fact, gifts from God—instruments of His mercy and grace—to care for the sick.

God is the Source: While we honor the means, we must remember that God is the Great Physician and the true source of our cure. All healing comes from the Most High.

The healing ministry goes far beyond physical sickness. The Prophet Isaiah's words, read by Jesus, address a wide breadth of suffering: the poor, the captive, the blind, and the oppressed—the effects of sin and brokenness in a fallen world.

Jesus came to bring good news, liberty, and recovering of sight—to release us from all these things. His gospel offers liberation, healing, and new life not just from physical sickness, but from the "sickness of the soul caused by sin".

The Church continues Christ’s healing work through sacramental rites:

Anointing of the Sick: As James writes, "Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord". We know Jesus empowered the church to continue his healing ministry.

Reconciliation (Confession): This is also a sacrament of healing—the pouring out of God's grace to bring life to the soul wounded by sin.

No matter what ailments we face—physical sickness, sick hearts, or sickness of the soul—the Scriptures invite us to bring them all to Jesus.

God promises a day when He will wipe away every tear, and "death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away".

May we honor the physician and always pray to the Lord, the source of all healing.

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