Daily Bread

When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored the boat. When they got out of the boat, people at once recognised him, and rushed about that whole region and began to bring the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the market-places, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed.

Whenever I read about Jesus healing the sick like this — even though I know it was a sign of God's superabundant love — I feel a pang of pain and sadness. We would do anything for the ones we love. Anything. If you have a child, partner, parent, or friend who is unwell in body or mind, then you know how much you long for them to be free of the pain and suffering, and the injustice that they should have to endure such infirmity.

Today, I watched a video from 1959 where British broadcaster Alan Wicker was asking people about their flu remedies, and I was struck by how wacky some of them were — from making a paste of mustard powder and goose fat and spreading it on your chest, to filling a sock with salt and tying it around your neck — and it reminded me how we would try anything to alleviate the symptoms.

Yes, I long for Jesus to touch those I love and heal them, and I sometimes feel helpless and inadequate that there is often little I can do to improve their physical or mental health, but more than that, I want them to know they are loved more than they can possibly imagine, and there is something I can do about that. Jesus' command was not to heal one other but to love one another.

I realise I am getting into some deep water, perhaps a little too deep for a daily reflection, but I think it is important to remember just how vital and life-giving it is to know and feel loved by someone. Loving someone means putting their needs and wants first and doing all you can to enable them to become the best version of themselves — the person God created them to be.

Today, may you be a person overflowing with the superabundance of God's love to all you encounter.

Holy God
You know how I feel when I see those I love suffer,
and although I am called to pray for them, and I do,
help me also let them know that they are loved beyond measure;
to put their needs and wants before my own,
and enable them to become the best version of themselves —
the people you created them to be.
May your love overflow from me
to all I meet and encounter,
this day and forever,
Amen