The Real Doctor

Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed.

5 When he entered Capernaum,[a] a centurion approached him and appealed to him, 6 saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully.” 7 He said to him, “I will come and cure him.” 8 The centurion said in reply,[b] “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed. 9 For I too am a person subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come here,’ and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 10 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel[c] have I found such faith. 11 I say to you,[d] many will come from the east and the west, and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the banquet in the kingdom of heaven, 12 but the children of the kingdom will be driven out into the outer darkness, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.” 13 And Jesus said to the centurion, “You may go; as you have believed, let it be done for you.” And at that very hour [his] servant was healed.
[e] 14 Jesus entered the house of Peter, and saw his mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. 15 He touched her hand, the fever left her, and she rose and waited on him.
16 When it was evening, they brought him many who were possessed by demons, and he drove out the spirits by a word[f] and cured all the sick, 17 to fulfill what had been said by Isaiah the prophet:[g]
“He took away our infirmities
and bore our diseases.”-Matthew8:5-17

The stories are a demonstration of Jesus as The Doctor and Divine Healer. When my father was hospitalized a few days ago, I had a good opportunity to observe the doctors and nurses. I am saddened that some doctors use their profession to get rich by actually charging expensively their patients for their medical and professional services. Jesus is reminding those in the medical field to be true to their profession - primarily to heal the patients first and foremost. It is never about the profit, the fee, the luxury, the prestige of being a doctor. It is all about the welfare, wellness and health of those who suffer from sickness.

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Bravery today

Braveheart.

1 When Jesus came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. 2 And then a leper[b] approached, did him homage, and said, “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.” 3 He stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, “I will do it. Be made clean.” His leprosy was cleansed immediately. 4 [c]Then Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one, but go show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.”-Matthew8:1-4

And then a leper approached, did him homage, and said, “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.” Wow! Lepers are not supposed to approach anybody during the time of Jesus. They must make noise when they are around or yell, "Unclean! Unclean!" to keep the people away. Here, the leper approached, did homage to Jesus and asked to be healed; perhaps he no longer thought of the consequences of approaching a crowd with his condition. For the leper, it is a once in a lifetime opportunity to be near Jesus whom he knows is the only One who can heal him. Perhaps an inner voice is telling him, "Grab it! Grab the opportunity to be healed! Ask Jesus! Be brave! " Bravery is what we need now. Courage to make things right. Courage to change for our betterment. Courage to love again. Courage to start all over again. Courage to ask help. Courage to forgive. Courage to let go. Courage to be healed. Courage to return to God. Courage to testify that there is God. The list continues endlessly. What do you have to be brave today?

Image courtesy: God's Not Dead

Power of Speech

The power of speech!

21 They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. 22 The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. 23 Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an impure spirit cried out, 24 “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”

25 “Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!” 26 The impure spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.

27 The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to impure spirits and they obey him.” 28 News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.-Mark1:21-28

Jesus taught with authority. He was a great speaker and teacher, thus, every body was always amazed and astonished at Him for He was not like the rest. How did He speak that made Him so effective? Jesus speaks of Words that build, and does not destroy. Jesus speaks of Words that uplift, and does not put down others. Jesus speaks of Words that heal, and does not pain. Jesus speaks of love, mercy, compassion and forgiveness, and not hatred, war, stubbornness of heart, revenge and the like. It is true that Jesus used strong words - like hypocrites - to address the Pharisees, scribes, teachers of the Law, and so many others. But, it was given to the rightful recipient of it. It was not meant to demean but to build. What about us? In this age of freedom of expression and speech, are we using it well - to build, heal, uplift, love, be merciful, be compassionate and be forgiving to others? Or are we using it to demean, destroy, put down or pain others even if they are not doing anything wrong? Are we hasty in giving a rude and nasty comment even if the person does no wrong to us? If we need to make a point, must we always resort to rudeness? Let us all bear in mind that the power of speech must be regulated or toned down one way or another. For if not, chaos is inevitable. Should we provoke or be bold with our words, we can still opt to tone it down or minimize the damage. If we fail to put a boundary or parameters on our freedom to express, all of us will go in a downward traverse where freedom of expression can be shown also through inhuman ways. Lastly, before we do something, all writers, artists and publishers must also bear in mind the impact of their words on its intended audience as well as those who might possibly be offended by it.

Image courtesy: artist