Burning Hearts

Tag: christianity

  • You are Set Free

    You are Set Free

    Remember that Christ heals us specifically to grant us true freedom. We can always refuse him. It is also true, that after years and years of waiting we might still bear open sores. Like the woman in this next story, we must keep the doors of our hearts open for that moment, and we must accept it in His Time in
    His Place and on His Terms.

    “There was a woman there (in the synagogue) who for eighteen
    years had been crippled…” 18years! And she was not ignoring the Lord or crying out in anger, nor was she wandering helplessly like the hemorrhagingwoman. She was there, in the synagogue, waiting.

    In the synagogue, this woman would have been with the other women on the outer edge of the synagogue. She would not have been permitted to enter the center among the men. Unable to look up, she would not even have known that Jesus was looking at her. She was there, presumably not to get anything, but to give – to fulfill her Sabbath obligation.

    Still, Christ willed her healing, and called her to Himself and said, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” He then “laid his hands on her.” It seems that she was a woman at peace with her brokenness. That is, she recognized the possibility of healing, but was not fighting against her broken body. She recognized that
    this was who she was… and it was not going to stop her from living a truly human life.

    When she heard the call of Christ, she did reach out and approach the Lord, and finally she received His healing touch. In fact, she received it with readiness: “She at once stood up straight and glorified God.” We sometimes get caught actively searching for God, when really we need only to pay attention – Christ is right here with us….watching, waiting for our peaceful surrender.

    Attentive, prayerful silence fosters ready willingness to serve God in all things. Slowly, we begin to hear His voice reverberating and echoing within ourselves as He frees us from our countless spiritual infirmities in order to continue to serve and the love all the more freely. Listening is not enough, and after we’ve reached out or approached the Lord, we must allow ourselves to be touched. After 18 years of sickness and likely of derision, this woman was not hardened to the healing touch of God.

    In a similar situation we might question: What if I get my hopes up,
    and Jesus turns out to be a fake? What if being healed isn’t all it is thought to be? What if I am still disappointed, bent by my own weakness, after the healing? We fear to be healed of those things that drag us down, and stoop us over so that we cannot stand erect before God… maybe so that we have an excuse NOT to stand erect before Him.

    Unworthiness is not an excuse to be unworthy. Unworthiness is the REASON we must allow the Good Lord to place his hands on us. In this way, we become whole and holy.

    Listen to Jesus’ voice, calling us to hear and believe His words: “YOU ARE SET FREE FROM YOUR INFIRMITY!” Let us accept this gift, and be unafraid to stand erect, honest in the presence of the
    Lord. Let our response to His goodness be to simply GLORIFY HIM.

    We are indebted, we are weak, we are little, but we are loved infinitely and our lives are treasured as the Father treasures His only begotten Son.

  • Reaching for Healing

    Reaching for Healing

    Last post I was challenged to have faith in God’s healing power and His love for me, and to see healing primarily as freedom from sin. In short, I RECOGNIZED my need for healing and the possibility of accepting that freedom.  First, I RECOGNIZE, but then I must REACH.

    A most strikingly evident example of this in the Gospels is the woman with a hemorrhage.  She had suffered despite the care of doctors for many years.  This poor woman had tried earthly remedies with zero positive results. The physicians were focused only on her physical being.  The result: her “life-blood” was draining from her. 

    Many seek healing in medicine, psychologists, exercise, and home remedies.  All of these can be good and may serve a very noble purpose on our path to sanctity.  But, when these are separated from the power of God, when we do not seek to heal our PERSON, we in the end are not fully healed.  Our wounds and pains, rather, should lead us to Jesus.  At some point we must take action – and we much reach out for the Lord. 

    The woman in the Gospel first HEARD.  Hearing is not just a matter of sound waves vibrating the ear drum; it is a matter of listening and in this case, listening to and about the Word. By LISTENING, this woman believed. Her listening and faith required a response if her desire was to be fulfilled: “She had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak.  She said, ‘If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured.’” 

    This good woman knew that in the midst of the crowd she had little chance of speaking to Jesus. Undoubtedly, she was weak and tired, and perhaps overwhelmed.  But, she knew she had to do something, she reached out and touched his cloak. “Immediately, the flow of blood dried up. She felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction.”

    Some of us are able to speak, some of us are able to go long distances, some of us have the courage to shout in the midst of a crowd. Then, there are those of us who are too sick in body or soul to do such things. Our only strength is our faith, and our hope is in letting it move us to reach out.  This was the woman’s act of faith, no words or great deeds were necessary, only a simple touch springing from faith in the Word of God and a desire to draw strength from that Word.  Within us there must be a desire to overcome and act against obstacles. There must be a spark of love or even desperation that pushes us through the throngs of this earthly life to touch, even gently, the Divine Healer. 

    And when He turns to us, we may confidently tell the whole truth, holding nothing back, and allowing Him to further illuminate our minds and calm our fears. In the light of Truth we come face to face with the roots of our weakness, vulnerability, and pain. However, having reached out to Him in faith and willing to fall before Him in truth and hope, we too will hear the words of Christ, “Courage… your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be healed of your affliction.”

    He wills our peace; so must we.

  • Recognizing Our Brokenness: A Path to Healing

    Recognizing Our Brokenness: A Path to Healing

    In the synoptic Gospels, we find: lepers, fevers, blindness, hemorrhages, paralytics, deaf, mute, crippled, and even the dead.  Above all we find the sinner.  It is to these people that Christ has come. In Luke 5:31, Jesus says: “Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do.  I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners.”  Here he is connecting our physical weaknesses to our moral corruption.  It is not to say that one is the cause of the other, but rather to point out that the REAL BROKENESS IS SIN.  All other healings are a means, a way of expressing and accomplishing my salvation.  To use a well-known Pauline metaphor:  healing’s purpose is to replace our hearts of stone with hearts of flesh – burning with love and gratitude toward the Savior  

    With this in mind I have come to recognize that the maladies in the Gospels are two-fold: a true physical weakness and a sign of moral corruption. This leads me to ask myself: Have I been deaf to the words of Christ? Or closed my eyes to His presence?  Have I allowed an old injury or chastisement to drain my energy, my “life blood,” from my daily living? Have I sealed my lips against a difficult crowd, when I should have been open to proclaim the Word? Have I gone slowly through moments of life, when in fact I should have run? Have I waited, and waited, not moving at all, sedentary in my misery?  Have I allowed grace to completely drain from my soul?

    The first step to being healed of any malady, including sin, is to recognize that we are imperfect. We are intended for wholeness, and holiness.  We are good and beautiful, magnificent creations with a supernatural purpose. But like a priceless painting that was vandalized, we need to be RESTORED and CORRECTED before we can properly glorify the Divine Painter. This restoration happened once and for all in the Paschal Mystery, but we are still left to progress in holiness in this life.

    The people in the Gospel knew this reality. They are presented with both relatively small deformities, and others already lifeless.  They did not deny that they had a problem. Perhaps there were thousands more that Jesus’ could have healed, but they refused to recognize that they needed healing. Wasn’t this the problem of the Pharisees? Sadducees? Herod? Pontius Pilate? And who knows how many others….

    Let us acknowledge and come to grips with the reality that in every moment the Sacred Scripture is talking to us, as a community, and as an individual.  Every healing has a message for us, and that message begins with the need to recognize our broken spirits. This is not an attempt to deny the truth that Christ heals the body, but rather an attempt to strengthen the conviction that 

    He ALWAYS heals the soul!

  • Fascination with Fire

    Fascination with Fire

    Fire has fascinated me for a very long time. Not in a “I want to burn everything” sense, but perhaps you could say in a more philosophical way. I remember a time when I was watching a fire burn in a firepit. I was mesmerized by the flames dancing around and consuming the wood, while “clean” smoke went straight into the air. It was chilly outside, and the evening was perfect.

    Campfire burning on sandy beach by calm lake with mountains at sunset

    It struck me that this bedazzling creation in front of me was also extremely painful. So painful, in fact, that its image was used to describe hell. At the same time, it was an Old Testament image for the presence of God – but that was a fire that did not consume – such as in the burning bush. I knew about wildfires, especially those in California, and their destructive powers, and I was aware of the Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart, with their hearts burning with visible flames. The flames of the Holy Spirit descended on Mary and the Apostles in the upper room.

    Fire’s elegance and its many meanings have stuck with me over the years, and it continues to fascinate me. I recall those in Emmaus, around 2,000 years ago, whose hearts burned with the revelation of the resurrection and no doubt with love for the Lord Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit. They were so moved that they ran to share the good news!

    The idea of sharing what I have learned and continue to learn in my journey with Christ, through times of darkness and light, has been burning in my heart. The question was not if but how. How could I go beyond the people I live with or those I meet daily? After much prayer and consultation, I decided that I could write my reflections and if someone benefits, praise the Lord!

    This is the inspiration for the name of this simple blog.