A little lectionary for Sunday morning -- today's gospel is summed up by this verse in Mark: "And he [Jesus] cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons..." 1/
At first glance, this might seem to be a verse to "prove" Jesus was the Messiah. That miracles attest to something special happening here, a sign from God. 2/
Oddly enough, ancient Israel -- especially in its rural villages -- was overrun by miracle workers, healers, and exorcists of all sorts. People being healed, claiming to be healed, or claiming to heal wasn't particularly unusual. 3/
Basically, these healers were like folk doctors in an age and place where medical practices didn't exist. Some were better than others. Some worked, some didn't. So, what's the big deal about Jesus and healing? 4/
The point isn't the miracles per se. The point is theological. Jesus brings salvation. 5/
And here's where many American Xians get it wrong. "Salvation" isn't about life after death. 6/
The root concept of "salvation" is "salvus," meaning "to make whole" or "to heal." Salvation is about healing. Here. Now. Making wounded people whole. 7/
The healing stories in the Gospels aren't magic tricks to point out a wonder-working God. The healing stories reveal Jesus' mission -- to bring "salvus" to the world. To make the world whole. 8/
The Latin term "salvus" closely resembles the Hebrew word "shalom." Thus, the healing stories about Jesus make the theological point that Jesus brings shalom. He doesn't just proclaim it. He makes it happen. 9/
The late @marcusjborg used to talk about this often: "Salvation is about light in the darkness, liberation from bondage, return from exile, or reconnection with God. It's about our hunger being satisfied, our thirst being quenched, and so forth." 10/
I've always loved that quote. And I can still remember sitting with him once at lunch when he said something very like it -- it rocked my world. 11/
He continued: "The identification of salvation with 'going to heaven' in much of popular Christianity not only impoverishes the meaning of salvation but I also think really distorts what being a Christian is all about." 12/
And what was that? 13/
MJB: "Faith is about loving God and loving that which God loves--which is the whole of creation." 14/
And that's what the healing stories in the Gospels are about. They don't point out that Jesus is special because he is a fabulous miracle worker. They point toward shalom, that Jesus is enacting God's love for the whole of creation. 15/
The healing stories don't point toward God, they point toward the world. 16/
That the world is broken, wounded, pained. That a loving God loves it deeply, passionately, endlessly. That healing is near -- that God is near -- when we reach out toward one another to bring wholeness, healing, restoration, shalom. 17/
That we all make that miracle. Jesus showed us how. That it was possible. That the world could be healed. That the demons which afflict us could be exorcised. 18/
Salvation isn't escaping the world. Salvation is embracing the world. 19/
We can all be tempted to escape. Whether that's by dreaming of heaven or turning away. But Jesus calls us toward the world. To reach out, hold, touch what we dread or fear. That embrace, that holding on in love, is salvation. 20/
The central vision of Christianity is that we can know this salvus and we can participate in it fully. And that is transformation. 21/
Be healed. Heal others. Heal the world. That's what will save us now. 22/
