#WatchAndPray Lent reflections - Week 5: Friday Rejecting the source of healing Week 5: Friday Reading Mark 5.14-20 The swineherds ran off and told it in the city and in the country. Then people came to see what it was that had happened. They came to Jesus and saw the demoniac sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the legion; and they were afraid. Those who had seen what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine reported it. Then they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighbourhood. As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed by demons begged him that he might be with him. But Jesus refused, and said to him, ‘Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and what mercy he has shown you.’ And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed. Reflection By the end of the story, the troubled man is at peace, healed and proclaiming how much Jesus has done for him. But the community – perhaps stirred up by the swineherds who have lost out financially by the drowning of the pigs – is now begging Jesus to leave their country. If we allow ourselves to see the irony of it, Jesus – even though he had brought healing and deliverance – is exorcised from the community. This healing miracle is not only about the social, political, and cultural ill-health of the Roman colonial world. It is also a mirror to all our communities, including communities of faith. Christian communities must always be mindful of the ways in which we can reinforce injustice, inequality and division -if we do not reflect on and challenge them. We cannot bring Christ’s healing to others if we do not recognise our own need of it. Watch Take note of the ways you find healing difficult. ...and pray for wisdom to recognise that all of us are in need of healing and forgiveness. Copyright © The Archbishops’ Council 2024.
Healing the body Week 5: Wednesday Reading Mark 5.5-8 Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always howling and bruising himself with stones. When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and bowed down before him; and he shouted at the top of his voice, ‘What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.’ For he had said to him, ‘Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!’ Reflection Bodies are important in this story. The description of the man among the tombs is graphic. He acts like an animal. He bruises himself. He has to be chained with iron. When he is finally delivered, the demons are sent into pigs – another “unclean” and despised animal. Clearly, this man is in need of healing in body, mind and spirit. But the allusion to bodies being restrained, chained and abused carries deeper significance. Scapegoated people throughout history – those seen as “other” by the majority – become the target of dehumanising violence. For centuries, systems of control and abuse “demonised,” vilified, enslaved and brutalised Black bodies. Again, this story prompts the question: who is really in need of healing? This man is a victim of a system that is violent and determined not to see his humanity, his value – certainly not as Jesus does. Watch Take note of the ways broken bodies often point to violent systems. ...and pray for systems of justice that seek to heal all aspects of people's lives. Copyright © The Archbishops’ Council 2024.
Healing the mind Week 5: Tuesday Reading Mark 5.1-4 They came to the other side of the lake, to the country of the Gerasenes. And when he had stepped out of the boat, immediately a man out of the tombs with an unclean spirit met him. He lived among the tombs; and no one could restrain him any more, even with a chain; for he had often been restrained with shackles and chains, but the chains he wrenched apart, and the shackles he broke in pieces; and no one had the strength to subdue him. Reflection We might well prefer to interpret the man “with an unclean spirit” as being mentally and emotionally ill, rather than possessed. Today’s reading describes someone “out of control” who has to be locked away from the community. He is a danger to himself and to others. Curiously, Jesus is the only one who treats the man as a human being. He speaks to him. Addresses him. And, as we will see later this week, asks his name. Seeing another as a human being is important, especially when considering the treatment of those deemed mentally and emotionally unwell. In the UK, the scandalous fact is that individuals from UKME backgrounds are five times more likely to be detained under the Mental Health Act than white people. Watch Notice how mental health is understood and treated in our world. ...and pray for deeper compassion towards those who suffer mentally and emotionally. Copyright © The Archbishops’ Council 2024.
Week 5: Healing We turn to the theme of healing which features strongly in Black Spiritual traditions. Healing is complex and multi-faceted – affecting mind and body, the physical and the spiritual, the individual and the community. This week we will focus on an important sequence of events from Mark’s Gospel to help us explore this deep truth. Prayer for the Week O Holy One, you are the one who makes us whole again. We present to you our bodies, our minds, our spirits, our cultures and our communities. Heal us and send us out to tell others all that you have done for us. Amen. Healing the spirit Week 5: Monday Reading Mark 4.35-5.2 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side.’ And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. A great gale arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’ He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?' And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?’ They came to the other side of the lake, to the country of the Gerasenes. And when he had stepped out of the boat, immediately a man out of the tombs with an unclean spirit met him. Reflection We will be focussing for most of this week on the story of Jesus’ encounters in the country of the Gerasenes. It’s a story that has many layers of meaning. On the face of it, though, it is an account of Jesus’ healing a man “with an unclean spirit”. The Bible consistently points to the reality of a spiritual world beyond human understanding that affects the material. In today’s passage the disciples witness Jesus’ power over the physical world: “even the wind and the sea obey him.” Jesus’ next miracle – the exorcism of the man’s demons – will show he is also Lord of the spiritual realm. As we have seen, Black Spirituality emphasises the oneness of all things – the physical and the spiritual, the individual and the community. Jesus is able to heal the man’s spirit – but the healing he offers goes far deeper and wider. Watch What comes to mind when you think of the spiritual realm? Where do these images come from? ...and pray for deeper attention to God's divine power, holiness, healing and love. Copyright © The Archbishops’ Council 2024.
