B. Isenbarger Healing, Jesus Christ, worship

The Night I Saw Jesus Healing

A couple weeks ago, some of my seminarian brothers and I made an evangelization mission trip to one of our local universities. Our purpose was quite simple – to provide an encounter with the ever-living and supremely loveable God revealed in Jesus Christ. Sure, it sounds like a tall order, but when we realize that the Blessed Trinity is always laboring to love us, it’s not that complex of an endeavor. 

At any rate, the culminating event of our time at the university was a Night of Healing led by some of our diocesan priests, accompanied by several talented musicians to lead us in songs of praise and worship. There were also several religious sisters in addition to the seminarians who served as intercessors for those seeking prayers for healing. The format of the evening was fairly straightforward. We would begin with a song, followed by a Gospel reading and homily, and then folks would line-up to receive prayer from the priests. While this was taking place, the musicians would lead us in song. I thought it all sounded pretty simple.

Now, during the days leading up to this event the seminarians had chatted with and prayed with nearly 300 students on campus. We had even accompanied a man back from total unbelief in Jesus to a profound encounter with the risen Lord which reignited his faith and led him to a peace he hadn’t experienced in a very long time. So, I had thought we had seen some extraordinary healing already taking place, but when the Night of Healing came, I was totally blown away. 

In that chapel, there were over a hundred people seeking the Lord’s healing touch. I don’t know the specifics, but I’m sure there were folks suffering from everything from various aches and pains, to anxiety and depression, to more serious illnesses and disease – not to mention the incessant spiritual maladies we all bring with us. While each of them came forward, the priests would lay hands upon them and simply invite the Holy Spirit to come upon them. In that time of prayer, God alone knows what took place in the hearts of His children. 

It was immediately after these people received prayer that I saw the greatest healing take place. I presumed after the time of prayer, most folks would move on with their evening and head back home. Instead, what happened? Most people stuck around for nearly two hours singing their praises and giving glory to God. For many, they truly worshiped God with a real sacrifice of praise. There were even a handful of people who stuck around for nearly five hours giving praise and thanks to God. It was in this that I saw the greatest healing taking place – the healing of the wounded and broken human heart. 

In fact, in this act of praise and worship, the primordial wound of our humanity was being healed. From the Fall of our first parents until our own time, the greatest wound in the human heart is to doubt God’s goodness and love for His creation. We doubt God as loving Father. We doubt His faithfulness to His promises. It is precisely in this that humanity was tempted to sin in the first place. Nonetheless, in the very act of praise and worship (through the grace of God, of course) the human heart is able to firmly declare the goodness of God in Himself and His steadfast love for humanity. To put it simply, praise and worship says “God is God, I am not. He is faithful and true, even when I am not. He is loving and merciful, even when I cannot forgive.” In a word, praise and worship heals the human heart because it restores us to a proper relationship to the God who fully reveals Himself in Jesus Christ – transcendent and immanent, God and man, crucified and risen. 

All of this really came to a climax when I went to Mass on the following Sunday. In the Gospel (Luke 17:11-19), we heard Jesus healing the ten lepers, sending them to the priests, and then one returning to Jesus to give thanks to God. At first glance, it seems like a nice story of Jesus healing ten sick people – perhaps what I was first looking to see at the Night of Healing. 

But what happens next? Jesus sends them to the priests. Why? So that they could be once again declared clean so that they could resume public worship – to give glory to God; that is, so they could be restored to proper relationship to God. Then the lone foreigner, a Samaritan, returns to Jesus to give thanks to God. Jesus replies: “Your faith has saved you.” Another word for “saved” here could also be translated as “healed.” Thus, what was it that healed the Samaritan leper and regained for him the ability to worship? His faith in God’s goodness and the faithfulness displayed by Jesus. His only response, in turn, was praise and thanksgiving. 

While I may not have seen lepers healed before my eyes during the Night of Healing (though I’m sure some physical healing took place), I certainly witnessed faith being restored by Christ so that broken hearts could once again sing praise in order to worship the all good God.

For that, I give my own praise and thanksgiving.

Jesus, you are so good.  

B. Isenbarger Reflection, worship

What do you worship?

It’s definitely a churchy word, but the fact of the matter is – everyone worships something. 

While it’s certainly a good thing for people to associate worship with God, do we ever pause to examine what that word actually means?

In the English etymology, “worship” is actually combination of two words – “worth” and “ship.” So, in its simplest form, worship is what we choose to give the greatest worth. 

How do you evaluate what you give the greatest worth?

For most of us, I would venture to say it is through time and money. As a culture, these two things are what we consider to have the greatest value, and we actually use the word “spend” as the verb of usage in regard to both time and money. So, what we worship seems to be precisely what and where we spend our most time and money.

Living at a seminary connected to an undergraduate university, I have the joy of meeting many different college students. In particular, I have a lot of interactions with student-athletes. I often find them to be extraordinarily talented and driven people. They have their sights on incredible goals and dreams. All of this is quite admirable. Academics, athletics, and career success are all fine things to aim for – but they can never be that which we worship – or give the greatest worth. 

Simply on a human level, these things are fleeting and extrinsically contingent. Cognitive ability, physical health, and job opportunities are by and large contingent upon external factors. 

Worship, however, is an act of the will which we can freely choose to undertake. Unfortunately, in a society which can mindlessly spend much of its time and money on fleeting things, it seems we inadvertently allow our freedom to be given to things which do not leave us in place of lasting peace and happiness. There are always more degrees to attain, more games to win, and more money to be made. 

The Lord, however, made us for both peace and happiness. In fact, that’s the whole point of the story. God almighty wants nothing more, or less, than the happiness of His beloved children – so much so that He was even willing to sacrifice His only Son. Further, he gave us His commandments as a guidebook for happiness. 

In particular, the Lord’s first commandment calls us to worship Him – not because He is some needy attention seeker – but precisely so that we can live lives of peace and happiness. In fact, our worship of Him adds nothing to His glory but only benefits us! When God is given true worship, in which we give Him the ultimate worth, all other things find their proper place. Success, athletic prowess, and business prestige quickly become ancillary and seen as passing things. Moreover, our investment in the worship of God has a guaranteed profitable return in the form of our own freedom and happiness. 

To me, that sounds like a pretty good deal.