The Healing We Really Need

The Lord uses the physical miracles of healing to draw us to a deeper reality. We truly need a spiritual healing that is far more valuable than any physical healing.

There is a story about a great man. He had searched the world over for wisdom. He had gone to gurus and sought out great religious leaders and learned philosophers. But still, his heart ached for more. Sure, he learned great and awesome ideas and heard wonderful words, but still, he felt empty from the searching. Discouraged, he cried out to God, “Lord, where is true wisdom? Where is true knowledge of You?” He wept so much that he finally fell asleep on his pillow, soaked by his tears.

In the night, he was given a dream about a man who made baskets in the city and sold those baskets to survive. In the dream, A Voice spoke to him and told him to seek this man out, and he would have his answer. When the man awoke, he was filled with hope and set out to find the basket weaver. He searched all day and night and the next day.

As the sun beat down on him in the heat of the afternoon, he came across a beggar weaving baskets. Recognizing the man from his dream, this great man dropped to his knees at the feet of this poor man and asked him, “What do you do to know God?”

The poor man, dusty from the road and thin from his meager diet, looked with deep pity on this great man and said, “I weave baskets all night and pray for God’s mercy. In the day, I come here and sell my baskets so that I can have money to give to the poor.” Once a week I take the money from one basket sold and buy a bit of bread for myself. But I give the rest to the poor so I can finally escape my pride.”

The great man put his face to the ground and begged the basket weaver’s prayers.

Look at our lesson today in Matthew 15:29-31:

At that time, Jesus went on from there and passed along the Sea of Galilee. And he went up on the mountain, and sat down there. And great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the maimed, the blind, the dumb, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them, so that the throng wondered, when they saw the dumb speaking, the maimed whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.

Our Lord, who loves humanity, is teaching and preaching, but not only! He is also healing the sick and those afflicted by illness. Because of this ministry, the hearts of those around the area are inflamed with hope. So, what do they do? They bring the ill to Jesus and set them at His feet.

The imagery is powerful and filled with wisdom. Placing these sick at the Lord’s feet is a confession of humility and need. In Jesus’ day, most people had sandals at best to cover their feet. There was a whole ritual of hospitality in this culture of guests arriving and having their feet washed before they entered the house properly. It was a sign of welcome and respect. But the poor had dirty feet. The needy weren’t given such mercy. They were neglected. But Jesus healed them. Placing them at Jesus’ feet was their way of placing themselves at the mercy of Christ. Being at another’s feet was the humble place of reception and a confession of need!

You see, everyone that Jesus healed physically died eventually. So, as wonderful as they were, these physical healings aren’t the point of the Lord’s teachings, sacrifice, and glorious resurrection.

No! The Lord wanted to bring some physical comfort to these people in hopes of softening their hearts so they would hear of the deeper healing He wanted them to receive—the healing we all need. Jesus wanted them and us to embrace a healing of the heart that lasts forever, not just a healing of our body that only lasts until the grave.

This healing ALWAYS starts with the dawning realization that I need this healing. My physical pain is a powerful cry for help, but all too often, I am numb to the spiritual illness that is an eternal threat to me. I am asleep to that pain and use all kinds of “medications” to keep me numb and asleep to that spiritual illness. But, if I wake up to my need for this spiritual healing, I begin my search. That search requires the humility to be placed at Jesus’ feet, a place of confession and dependence!

When Judas abandoned his place among the 12 with his betrayal, the disciples understood the importance of having 12 men as witnesses of the Resurrection and Jesus's ministry. So, before Pentecost, they chose St. Matthias from the 70 disciples to replace the betrayer. St. Matthias embraced his appointment to the 12 by being an effective missionary for the Faith in Ethiopia. He was martyred for his Faith in 63 AD. St. Matthias understood that the healing offered by Christ’s eternal salvation was more valuable than any earthly and temporary comfort!

Today, are you humble enough to stay at Jesus’ feet for a healing that goes deeper than the alleviation of physical pain and actually revives the soul? The spiritual medicine offered to you in the Faith is what’s behind our constant labor to live a Normal Orthodox life.

P.S. O wonderworker and Apostle Matthias, your words have gone out into all the world, enlightening men as the sun and giving grace to the Church, bringing faith to the heathen lands.

Fr. Barnabas Powell is the parish priest at Sts. Raphael, Nicholas, and Irene Greek Orthodox Church in Cumming, GA. He is also the founder of Faith Encouraged Ministries and produces the Faith Encouraged Daily Devotional on Substack.