TO TOUCH AND BE TOUCHED BY THE LORD

Br. Francis D’Souza 27^th November 2012

The Wheel illustration is a helpful way to remember basic truths about the Spirit-filled Christian life. In order to lead a live centred on  Christ we need to build up our relationship with Him through daily personal prayer, reading the Holy Bible, Weekly Fellowship, Service,  Devotions, the Sacraments and last but not least the Church.

If we want to touch each other with the touch of Christ we must remember we must strive to lead holy lives.  When we make Jesus  the centre of our life we can be certain that our service to the Lord will bear fruit.

In John 15:16 reminds us that He chose us for a purpose.

¹⁶You did not choose me but I chose you.

And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last.

With Christ at the centre of our life we can tap into the source of His power so it can flow into us.  We do this by cultivating the habit of daily personal prayer, reading the Holy Bible, Weekly Fellowship, Service,  Devotions, the Sacraments and last but not least the Church.  Everything that we do must be touched, influenced and powered by the core which is Christ.

John 15:5-11

I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. ⁷If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. ⁹As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. ¹⁰If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. ¹¹I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.

Growth, maturity and fulfillment are possible when the branch resides in the vine receiving all it requires to grow and bear fruit. 

The life of the Christian becomes a powerhouse when centered on Christ who is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First, the Last and Forever.  God and I are an army.   

The power that flows from the Word of God springs from Jesus and flows into every area of our Christian life through:

 

1. PRAYER

Through prayer power flows from Jesus into our lives.  No prayer no power.  When man prays God works.  A combination of  pray and work improves efficiency yielding more abundant fruit.  

Matthew 7:7  ”Ask, and it will be given to you seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

Matthew 21:22 And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”

Mark 11:24  Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

John 14:13-14 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

2. WORD OF GOD

When the power of God’s word enters my life it is transformed.  Books can reform and inform us but the Holy Bible is the only Book that has the power to transform us because it is God's living Word.  Prayer and Scripture go hand in hand.  They are complementary.  When God speaks to us through His Word we  listen.

Jeremiah 23:29

²⁹Is not my word like fire, says the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?

Hebrews 4:12

12 Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from

Isaiah 55:10-11

¹⁰ For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
   and do not return there until they have watered the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
   giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
¹¹ so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
   it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
   and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

3.FELLOWSHIP

The meeting of like minded people to pray and fellowship together on a regular basis is very important if we are to grow spiritually.  We do not grow in isolation but as a body.  It is a place where we encourage one another.  We pray for each other.  We serve one another.  We praise God together.

Psalm 133:1-3 speaks of the blessedness of unity

¹ How very good and pleasant it is
   when kindred live together in unity!
² It is like the precious oil on the head,
   running down upon the beard,
on the beard of Aaron,
   running down over the collar of his robes.
³ It is like the dew of Hermon,
   which falls on the mountains of Zion.
For there the Lord ordained his blessing,
   life for evermore.

Hebrews 10:25

⁵not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

In prayer we are united  with God vertically and in fellowship we unite horizontally with our brothers and sisters.  This an important aspect of Christian fellowship.  Like the early Church we too ought to meet in order to exhort and encourage each other.

4. SERVICE

Jesus went about doing good and so must we.

Acts 10:38

³⁸how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.

Ephesians 2:10

¹⁰For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.

Matthew 25:40

⁴⁰And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.”

Acts 13:2

²While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’

It is through goodness, kindness and compassion that we touch Jesus in our service as Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta demonstrated so beautifully and powerfully in her life.

5.DEVOTIONS

The lives of the saints we venerate should inspire us to live in such a way that just as God was pleased with them He will be pleased with us too.  We have different Devotions in honor of Mother Mary and the Saints but they are not solely for the purpose of obtaining favors from God through their intercessions.  The Church encourages us to use these devotions in the right way which is to live the Kingdom values as the saints did and to learn from them.  

6. SACRAMENT

The Sacraments were part of Jesus’ life.  

BAPTISM –                   Jesus’ baptism in the River Jordan

HOLY EUCHARIST – The Last Supper

MATRIMONY –           Jesus sanctified marriage by being    
                                        present at the Wedding Feast at Cana                                                  and by performing his very first              
                                        miracle at a wedding.

RECONCILIATION - Mary Magdalene and Peter

Sacraments are God’s way of living with us. Through the Sacraments we remain in contact with God.  They have the power to sanctify, edify and glorify God for who He is.

7. CHURCH

We are called to be fully Catholic and fully Charimsatic

The Church is always represented as having a spousal union with Christ. 

 

Ephesians 5:25

25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,

We are called to obey the teachings of the Church  and show her the same love the Christ shows her. He loved her so much that He gave His life for her. It is through the Church that we are united to Christ. We must have the mind of Christ and like Him we must give ourselves to her.

When all the spokes of the wheel are present that is when Jesus flows into our life and we begin to grow, mature and bear fruit.

Our Christian life will have power if we have all the spokes active in our life.

John 15:16

¹⁶You did not choose me but I chose you.

And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last,

so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name.

Acts 17:11

¹¹These Jews were more receptive than those in Thessalonica, for they welcomed the message very eagerly and examined the scriptures every day to see whether these things were so.

We must imitate the Jews in Beroea rather than the Jews in Thessalonica who welcomed the message and examined the scripture to see if all that was preached was true.

We must be enthused, gripped, empowered by the Word of God.  We must study it and examine it as the Beroeans did.

Acts 20:28

²⁸Keep watch over yourselves and over all the flock, of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God that he obtained with the blood of his own Son.

Talk on Healing given by Br. Francis D’Souza on 26th November 2012

TOUCH THROUGH ME LORD AND MAKE ME AN INSTRUMENT OF HEALING

We are called to be givers. We are called to minister to others by becoming instruments of healing rather than being on the receiving end always.

What was the original plan of God?  In the Old Testament God the Father said in Jeremiah 29:11 For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. In the New Testament the Son builds and affairs the plan in John 10:10b I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.  God wants us to be happy but we are not due to various reasons.  We must be in a possession of a hearing, knowing, listening, and practicing faith. 

There are 41 miracles listed in the Bible the purpose of these miracles is to build our faith, to encourage us to go the One who is our Deliverer, to Whom nothing is impossible.  Who as C.S. Lewis said can write straight with our crooked lines.  Who can draw good from evil.  

Jesus can always be trusted to come to us as he did when he descended from the mountain after praying. Matthew 9:36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. We have to cultivate the heart of Christ.  We too must be compassionate we must make time to listen to each other and make ourselves available as Jesus did.

1^st MIRACLE

JESUS HEALS A CENTURION’S SERVANT

Matthew 8:5-34

In Matthew 8:5 a remarkable statement made by the Roman Centurion makes an impression on Jesus and draws his praise and admiration.  This pagan and foreigner has an expectant faith which is not based on a feeling but in his belief in the power of Jesus.  Jesus is taken up by this man’s faith, praises it, responds to it and rewards it saying, “What you believe will happen.”

Although the Centurion was an important official he was humble.  He had faith.  He got it right when he came before Jesus to plead for the healing of his servant.

Jesus the healer has said in Mark 16:18-20 that when He commissions his disciples

¹⁸they will pick up snakes in their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.’  19 So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. ²⁰And they went out and proclaimed the good news everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that accompanied it.

Jesus assures us that He will minister through us using us as his instruments.

2^ND MIRACLE   

THE WOMAN WITH THE ISSUE OF BLOOD

Matthew 9:20 identifies this woman as, “a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years.” Mark 5:25 identifies her as “a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years.” Luke 8:43 “a woman having an issue of blood twelve years” Luke goes on to tell us that she had spent all her money on physicians and they could do nothing to heal her.

 

This unnamed Jewish woman has been suffering for twelve years.  Her illness has robbed her not only of her health physically but we are told in the Gospel of St. Luke that she had spent all she had on physicians and still remained sick. There were many things working against her that day.  Not only was there such a large crowd that she had to literally push her way through, her disease rendered her unclean.  According the law of Moses she had to be separated from her family because she was unclean but anyone who came in contact with her too would become ritually unclean.  So had they known of her condition they would have been extremely angry with her.

 

However far greater than her fear was her quiet desperation at her condition.  Jesus was her last hope. Her faith in his power to heal her became the propelling and motivating factor to somehow meet Jesus. Also worth noting is her humility. All she wanted was to get close enough to him so she could touch him without drawing attention to herself.  She believed that all she needed to do was to get close enough, touch him, even his garment would do and she would be healed.  Nobody need know anything. She inched her way through the crowds who were pressing around Him on every side, and the disciples who had formed a human shield around him and she reached out a trembling hand and touched the edge of his garment. In an instant she was healed.  She knew it and so did He.  Jesus felt power go out of Him. Her faith was rewarded. When we reach out in faith our touch too will have the ability to draw the power of Christ into us.  However it is not enough to just accept our healing without any acknowledgement and without testifying publicly to what God has done for us.  The woman was made to identify herself, testify what the Lord had done for her and God praised her publicly, attributed her healing to her faith and rewarded her with the gift of peace. Our testimony glorifies God.  Faith can only be proved when it is tested.

3^rd Miracle    

JESUS HEALS A PARALYTIC

 

Mark 2:1-12

In this miracle compassion is the motivating factor that compels the friends of the paralytic to bring him to Jesus.  They believe in faith that  Jesus can cure him so they carry him to the house where Jesus is preaching.  The house is so heavily crowded they cannot get the man through so they climbed to the roof, made a hole in it and let their friend down before Jesus.  Once again Jesus rewards the faith of the friends.  This time however he first forgives the sins of the paralytic.  We must remember that there is an order to the prayer for healing. 

Psalm 32:3 - 5 have this to say,

³ While I kept silence, my body wasted away
   through my groaning all day long.
⁴ For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
   my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.
⁵ Then I acknowledged my sin to you,
   and I did not hide my iniquity;
I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord’,
   and you forgave the guilt of my sin.

Confession results in healing this is why it is also called a Sacrament of Healing.  If sin is present it blocks the power of healing.  What is spiritual must come before what is physical as we see in 

2 Chronicles 7:14 

¹⁴if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

We who are praying for the healing of those we love must do so humbly and patiently.  Waiting on the Lord who in his perfect time will grant all we desire in accordance with his will.

James 5:14-1

  ¹⁴Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven.

4^th Miracle
The Canaanite Woman’s Faith

Matthew 15:21-28

Jesus is in the district of Tyre and Sidon when a Canaanite woman, a foreigner from that region came to see him crying loudly, ‘Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.’ Strangely Jesus does not answer her which is quite unlike him.  He normally is quick to respond to a cry for help. His disciples ask him to send her away so he answered her saying, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.’ But she was desperate.  Jesus is the only one who can help her and she was not proud.  She came and knelt before him, saying, ‘Lord, help me.’ Again he responded in a manner that was intended to put her off. He said, ‘It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.’ She did not take offence rather she turned the tables neatly on him by saying, ‘Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.’ Jesus had a lesson to teach us and that is why he led the woman to make a confession of her faith in him and as always Jesus never disappoints those who come to him in faith.  He answered her, ‘Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.’ And her daughter was healed instantly.

Jesus says to the woman that the bread belongs to the children.  We call God Father and so we have a right to the bread that God gives.  It is our right to expect healing.  We ought not panic, or be perturbed and run helter-skelter here and there looking for healing conventions.  The woman had great faith and so her daughter was healed in an instant.  She was confident that He would do for her as she asked. 

Our trust in Jesus is a gift given to us by him as John 14:12 assures us, “Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.”

5^th Miracle   

The Paralytic at the Pool of Bethzatha

John 5:5-9

In this miracle we see a man we has been ill for thirty eight years.  Did he honestly want to be healed or did he prefer being an invalid?  No demands would be made of him and he could beg for a living. 

Illness can be of different types – body, mind or spirit.  We can have emotional wounds that make us sick.  Fear, anger, guilt, disappointments, anguish, anxiety etc.  All these could cause deep emotional, physical or psychological illness.  Some people use their illness as a crutch they prefer to be an object of pity to others.

In this miracle the man is just lying there and Jesus approaches him.  But Jesus is the perfect gentleman and so will not impose Himself.  He seeks, he knocks and he asks.  What is our response.  God will never overlook, override or overcome our desire.  We have to desire healing, wholeness and well being.  Once we have faced the situation we are called to act as verse 8 tells us.  Jesus commands him to, ‘Stand up, take your mat and walk.’  Faith, hope desire and enthusiasm were all dead in this paralytic to Jesus takes the initiative and approaches him.  God longs for us to be healthy in every area of our being.  He comes in search of us.  He meets us where we are and he invites us to desire healing so we can become all that he intends us to be.

Jeremiah 30:17 assures us

¹⁷ For I will restore health to you,
   and your wounds I will heal,

   says the Lord,
   because they have called you an outcast:
   ‘It is Zion; no one cares for her!’ 

Ezekiel 36:26 says

²⁶A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

EUCHARISTIC HEALING

We pray the prayer of the Centurion at every celebration of the Holy Mass, 

“Lord I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof, say but the word and my soul shall be healed.”  The Holy Mass has the power to heal us. “

Are we prepared to do the simple things with faith and believe.  We must be transformed at every Eucharist.  Each time we celebrate the sacred mysteries we ought to grow more in the image and likeness of Jesus. 

We cannot only observe the exterior form of worship without believing, entering, receiving and acknowledging its power to transform us from within. As 2 Timothy 3:5 reminds us we ought not to be guilty of, ⁵holding to the outward form of godliness but denying its power. Avoid them! 

At every Eucharistic Celebration that we attend we ought to come before the Lord believing that his word has the power to do what the Psalmist says it is able to in 

Psalm 107:20

²⁰ he sent out his word and healed them,
   and delivered them from destruction.

Surrender is another important element that is required of us.  We must be prepared to come to Jesus with the attitude of complete surrender believing that he not only can heal but that he desires to heal.

And once we are healed we must not forget to render thanks as Mark 11:24 reminds us:

²⁴So I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.