for healing? Not to exact miracles. God doesn’t usually intervene in human lives and transform us from the creatures that we are—somewhat fragile, prone to illness and pro- foundly finite—into something else. Instead, God’s answer to our
We are called as healers not because of our strength and power but because we are part of God’s created world.
unteer jobs as a member of the hos- pitality committee was to coordinate meals for a local family. The mother had some ongoing medical problems, and one of the children was sick. As she told me, “Fast forward a couple years to my friend’s illness and I put it together that the mother whom I’d organized meals for was the pain spe- cialist who basically saved my friend’s life. I often think about how grateful I am that I was able to help her out in some small way.” This story reminded me that we
are all called both to be healers and to be healed. None of us can escape this dual role. We are called as healers not because of our strength and power but because we are part of God’s cre- ated world, and we are as finite and fragile as the next person. The pain specialist was able to diagnose the young woman not in spite of her own
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prayers is to be fully present with us in our experiences of suffering and illness, and to give us each other. As human beings we are called to tend to each other’s needs and to recog- nize each other as beloved children of God. This may involve dramatic transformation of our health. Prob- ably each of us can recall or even tes- tify to a cure that felt miraculous. But even these cures don’t change us into something beyond our human selves.
experience with chronic illness, but because of it. The doctor and patient met through a religious organization created to connect people with the medical care they needed. My friend couldn’t cure the
chronic pain problem but could pro- vide support for the family struggling with illness. The young woman was healed, giving her the opportunity to serve others. This isn’t precisely a miraculous faith healing story, but it is a healing story where religious faith plays a crucial role. What is the purpose of our prayers
Radical dependence Theologian John Swinton, in his book Dementia: Living in the Memo- ries of God (Eerdmans, 2012), argues that “… in contradiction to Western cultures’ prizing of freedom, auton- omy, and individualism, a deeper reflection reveals dependence as the true state of all human beings at a divine and temporal level …. Our essential state as human beings is one of radical dependence.” His book is focused on people
with dementia who have significant need for care, but the same is true for each of us. We are called to follow Jesus’ example and heal others, but we will all be in need of care as well. Our regular prayers for healing call God to us, and call us to each other. Our dependence on God and each other is revealed as a blessing.
Editor’s note: This series is intended to be a public conversation among theologians of the ELCA on various themes of our faith and the challenging issues of our day. It invites readers to engage in dialogue by posting comments online at the end of each article at
www.thelutheran.org. The series is edited by Michael Cooper-White, president of the Lutheran Theo-
logical Seminary at Gettysburg (Pa.), on behalf of the presidents of the eight ELCA seminaries.
March 2015 15
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