The troubler of Israel
Trust in him at all times, O people;
Pour out your heart before him; for God is a refuge for us. Psalm 62:8
Read Matthew 9:27—34
Illness, blindness, demon possession, loss of speech: all of them are a rupture in the flow of life. Intrusions. I know it even when I catch a common cold. Things have gone awry. And I know then what a miracle life is, that it works, that there is a normal. The normal becomes frankly miraculous. So when Jesus performs his miracles he restores normality. My prayer for miracle is a prayer for God to bring the disordered creation back into order. Then again, when Jesus does that he comes, like Elijah before him, somehow as a disturber. A troubler of Israel. It is a troubling thing he does, a threat he poses, when he acts in healing power. If I ever see the miracle I can be disturbed, and I can understand the temptation of the Pharisees to put Jesus’ word down to the occult forces of disorder rather than the proper work of God.
Dear Lord, I praise you as the Saviour who is the healer, the healer as the redeemer. You are the restoration of the creation. And I fear you, too, even as I love you. I am in awe of you. If I ever witness your healing power I fear and doubt. I must be so much part of the disordered world that I cannot get used to its redemption. But I pray for you to free me. Free me to trust you. Let me see your power to heal and restore.