The Kingdom of God – The Father’s Healing Power
Photo by Parastoo Gheisari on Unsplash
“…And wherever he went … they laid down the sick in the open spaces, begging him to let them touch even the fringe of his cloak. And all those who touched him were cured…
The Gospel of the Lord.”
Hearing the Gospel With an Open Heart
I was staring down at the small but painful red steam burn on the palmar aspect of my left thumb I had just obtained over an hour before, while these words rushed through my ears to pierce my heart. I looked back and forth between the altar, in which Heaven would soon shatter into reality in such stupendous humility, and my stinging hand that served as a reminder not to reach over a steam vent when you are boiling quinoa.
There on the altar would soon be the One who cured everyone. All those who touched Him on the shore of Gennesaret were cured; not one person was overlooked. And here I was, about to consume Him, to be completely in Him, and He in me. The anticipation in me rose like a tsunami pulling back before releasing itself, as a voice whispered so surely in my interior, “Why would God not want to heal you?”
An Invitation to Believe in Healing
Now, I have far more ailments than a mere steam burn, I should say. And yes, I could go through the next two weeks with this constant stinging and peeling skin, yet I felt an invitation not only to ask God for healing, but to believe that the One who is touched wants to heal me. Me. There on that Monday night, at Mass, in Ordinary Time, at the local parish church.
Yes—He, more than I ever could, wanted to demonstrate His love and His power.
Discovering the Nearness of the Father
In the weeks leading up to this point, I had been taken on a remarkable journey of discovery of God’s goodness in all things, which has enriched the gift of faith the Good Lord has infused into all our souls from our Baptism. What I had come to see was the closeness of the Father in my day to day, and how much He cares for me.
He sees every little detail of our day to day and wishes to walk with us closely in all things. Above all, He wants to Father us. He wants to give us every good and perfect gift, which only comes from Him (James 1:17).
In fact, Jesus calls for us, His little flock, not to fear, for “it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom” (Luke 12:32).
The Fire of the Kingdom
Every time we say “Our Father,” we are calling God Father with Jesus and sharing in the Son’s own desire for the will of the Father to be accomplished, and for His Kingdom to come. God yearns for His Kingdom to come—and to come to you.
We can almost feel the groan from the depths of the heart of Jesus when He cries, “I came to cast fire upon the earth, and would that it were already kindled!” (Luke 12:49). The fire of His love, the burning brilliance of His Kingdom—He wishes for us to burn with it.
As He showed us when He walked on earth, a fruit of His Kingdom being close at hand is healing. It was a central part of the mission the Father entrusted to Jesus.
Unlearning Lies About God the Father
We oftentimes have misperceptions of God as Father. Maybe we believe He is distant. Maybe we believe He is indifferent. Maybe we believe He is a taskmaster we must please or appease. But, my dear friends, all these are lies. And if it’s a lie, we know who that is coming from—and it sure isn’t from our Father (see John 8:44).
The truth is this: God wills only good. He cares for you, who are chosen in Him to share in His own divine life, and from all things can bring about good for those who love Him.
Choosing to Trust: A Walk in the Rain
I decided to test this out for myself.
I have been recovering since October from a severe injury that has impacted my daily life. One feature of the recovery was getting out for a walk every day. One day a few weeks ago, I was on my way to a nature park for the walk when the rain came thundering down on the windscreen so hard I could barely see the road stretching out ahead of me.
This rain had been hailing down for two days straight, and there seemed to be no sign of it stopping soon. Where a groan would have come out of me upon seeing this, a prayer of joy arose from my heart instead. I praised God for the rain. It was beautiful.
I laughed at the prospect of how soaked I would be walking through it, yet I also knew it was raining for a reason. After thanking Him, I asked Him, “Father, I ask that You hold back the rain while I go for this walk, for You are a good and loving Father. Yet I know that if the rain doesn’t stop, it’s not because You don’t hear me or don’t care, but rather that a greater good will come from me walking in the rain. So I bless You and thank You.”
The rain seemed to thunder down harder when I prayed this. I laughed again and repeated my thanks. “God, I trust in You. I love You.”
I parked the car. The rain hammered down all the harder. With a smile on my face, I stepped out of the car and opened the boot for my dog, who was on the verge of cabin fever, to hop out.
I took one step—the rain started to get lighter. I took another step—the rain seemed to fall into a hush. After my fifth step, the rain completely stopped.
The Tender Care of a Good Father
For the full walk, I basked in awe of the love of the Father. The twinkling of dripping raindrops from the trees was like pearls, reminding me of His care.
After an hour-long walk, I was approaching my car when suddenly I felt a drop of rain fall on me. Then another. And another. As soon as I sat back in the car, with my dog contentedly lounging in the back, the heavens opened, and the rain poured as if it had never stopped.
The only drops I could feel were the tears brimming on my eyelids.
God did not have to stop the rain just so I could go for a walk, but He did this out of love for me. The good Father gives good gifts.
Asking in Faith
He wants us to ask in faith and to step out in faith, and He will lovingly provide. Jesus, in anticipation of our timidity and doubt, says:
“Ask and you shall receive… What man of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” (Matthew 7:7–11).
Why would our Father not want to meet our needs? Or more so, why would God give the opposite of what we ask for? St. James strongly reminds us that God cannot be tempted by evil (James 1:13). He is love (1 John 4:8), and nothing impure or evil is from Him.
Healing, Suffering, and the Greater Good
God wishes to bring life and healing. Sometimes our circumstances are not favourable, and it may seem that God is not there. Yet the God who emptied Himself on the Cross is, in fact, closer than we even imagine.
The only times He permits suffering—be it loss, physical illness, or even another’s sin—He does so for a greater good. I believe this, coming from a God who brought eternal life by a brutal death on a Cross.
I also believe the only reason this injury from October was permitted was to penetrate my heart for the good of my soul, and even for good far beyond my comprehension. I would never have discovered this gift of faith in the love of the Father if I did not walk this road of recovery.
Sometimes the healing we ask for is seemingly not met, so that a far greater healing deep within us comes by His touch. But be assured, that always, God desires for His Kingdom to come - a Kingdom that consists of power (1 Corinthians 4:20). It is a Kingdom that consists of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17), and we have the choice to live in this by faith every day.
Encountering the Healer at Mass
This was the beautiful learning that led me to that church at Mass on that Monday night. As I fell to my knees to receive the greatest gift of the Father—His only Son—I felt the Kingdom of the Father penetrating all around me: His righteousness, His peace, His joy.
He was now sweetly offering me the reminder that He is in control of every single thing that happens to me. One injury He permits for good; another He desires to use to show that He is the God of miracles.
It was as if Jesus Himself took my left hand and gazed lovingly into my eyes, as the Father looks at me—for when we see Jesus, we see the Father (John 14:9)—eagerly awaiting me to accept the gift He was offering.
My hand was burning.
“He Touched Me”
On the sound system, as the parishioners shuffled back to the pews, a song was playing:
“He touched me, oh, He touched me
And oh, the joy that floods my soul
Something happened, and now I know
He touched me, and made me whole.”
“Lord, You can do all things. You are touching me now. You alone can heal me. I believe You can do this.”
The Risen Lord Is Here
The congregation began suddenly to sing, “He is Lord! He is Lord! He is risen from the dead and He is Lord!”
Yes! The risen Lord, the King of kings, is here so humbly. He is closer to us than even when He was walking through the crowds on the coast of Gennesaret. Here was the assurance of the Father’s love—that Jesus, my Lord, my Healer, my Saviour, is present in me.
With my eyes still shut, adoring Him, I pressed on my own left hand where the burn was. No pain.
Startled, I started pinching and poking all around my hand, trying to locate the burn that I had felt throughout the past hour. No pain. No sting. Nothing.
I looked down to where there had been red, burning skin only two minutes before.
The burn had completely disappeared.
“…And all those who touched Him were cured.” (Mark 6:56)