Casting, Curing, Cleansing and Raising the Dead
St. Paul’s United Methodist Church
Matthew 9:35 - 10:8, Rev. Marianne Niesen, June 22, 2008
Then, Jesus went about all the cities and villages teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness. That’s quite a program Jesus was about! And it was exactly the program he claimed for himself near the beginning of his ministry in chapter 4. He just survived his temptations in the desert and had emerged with his mission in mind. He walked by the Sea of Galilee, grabbed Peter and Andrew, James and John to join him, and then, verse 23 reads . . .Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness among the people. Same words, stated twice - unusual in the gospels and that tells us listen up! He was serious about his mission: proclaiming good news - which meant God’s grace and love for all - coupled with curing all diseases and sicknesses. Jesus saw himself called and claimed to transform the world - concretely - by touching hearts, minds, bodies, souls.
And while we may have no big argument with that statement - he was, after all, the savior of the world - don’t miss the more amazing part of this ministry. Jesus didn’t just claim this mission for himself - he gave it away. In chapter 4, immediately after he called 4 of his disciples, he began this teaching, proclaiming and curing. Presumably they were with him, assisting, witnessing, marveling, drawn in to the drama of it all. And, 5 chapters later, by that time followed by 12 disciples, he sent them all out to do the same thing. In fact, he even added something to the job description. He said cure the sick, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons and for good measure - raise the dead. He called them apostles - the only time that word is used in Matthew’s gospel. It was a promotion that came with a lot more responsibility! Yes, even raising the dead! Wouldn’t you have loved to hear the conversation - the part that Matthew doesn’t tell us? The part where Peter said . . . we’re going to do what? The part where Andrew said Jesus, I don’t think raising the dead is such a good idea . . . after all, there was a reason most of them died! The part where Matthew the tax collector said I’m not sure I’m trained for this. Which, by the way, they weren’t! Didn’t matter, though, prepared or not, trained or not - they were sent out to work miracles of their own.
This church of ours all started with an itinerant preacher who gathered a ragtag crew of people no one knew and told them to go out there and make me proud. Cure the sick, cast out the demons and - while you’re at it - raise some dead people. Now, there’s a mission statement for you . . . casting, curing, cleansing and raising the dead. It was at the heart of what it meant to follow Jesus then - and I dare to say, it is at the heart of what it means even now! Miracle working is to be our M.O.
At this point, I could do what you are probably expecting me to do . . .I could muse with you about what it might mean to cure the sick. We could consider who are sick - in body and at heart - among us. I could talk about bringing hope to the hopeless. I could talk about how hopelessness is a kind of death and how bringing hope is a bit like ‘raising the dead.’ I could talk about the demons of alcoholism and the sickness of war. I could do all of that - but I have decided not to. You’re all smart. You can make appropriate applications. Instead, my challenge to us today is to not set our sights too low. Who am I after all - and who are we - to limit the raw energy of Jesus’ mission - a mission he shared with us. Those disciples were no more ready for the expansiveness of Jesus’ vision than we are. But, Jesus didn’t let them off the hook. He said cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Do it to the best of your ability - but do it. Get out there. Make a difference. And, when they said how, imagine Jesus smiling as he said . . . surprise me!
I was probably about 30 years old when I became ‘bishop for a day - and a Catholic bishop no less!’ I was a Catholic nun, living and working at the St. Labre Indian Mission in Ashland, Montana. At various times, we had the opportunity to gather with the priests and other sisters in our community. And, every once in a while, the Roman Catholic bishop of the diocese would come to visit. The bishop then was Thomas Murphy and he was originally from Chicago. In fact, when he was named bishop and assigned to Montana, he was working at a seminary outside Chicago. I happened to be home at the time, visiting my parents who lived in the area near the seminary. So, my Mom and I drove out to the seminary to meet him. Amazingly, he spent about an hour with us and always after that, when I saw him, he’d refer to that visit by saying "here’s the nun who came to ‘check me out’ before she’d let me in the state!" Of course, I had no power in that regard but it made a good story!
I don’t remember exactly how it happened, but on one of his visits, he asked if I was planning to attend a large gathering of Catholic religious educators that was to held in Phoenix a few weeks later. I was and I commented that I had seen his name on the flyer as one of the keynote speakers. Yes, he said, I committed to that long ago but here’s my problem. I can’t do it. I don’t recall what had come up but it was some conflict that he simply couldn’t change . ..something like a command visit to Rome or the like. I expressed disappointment and didn’t think anything more of it.
The next day, he asked to speak to me. Marianne, I’ve written my talk for that convention - I’m wondering . . .would you be willing to give it on my behalf? I’m sure my jaw dropped. You mean . . . give your talk? Me? Yes, I hate to just cancel so late . . .and then he added . . . I think it would be great to have a woman be on the program as a bishop! Of course, that hooked me. Still, I had the audacity to ask . . . could I read it first - I’d want to agree with it before I said it. I remember he laughed . . . and then said that I could even change it if I thought I needed to. When I think of that now, I am amazed. He was quite conservative and, while he didn’t know me well, he knew me well enough to know I was not! And, I was young - and a woman.
He gave me the talk. I read it. It included comments on ministry in general and the priesthood in particular. As I recall, he addressed the shortage of priests and the future of the Catholic church and how the priesthood had to change. There was nothing in it about ordaining women, however. I remember finding one part that I questioned - I don’t even remember what it was now - but I brought it to his attention. What would you say? And when I told him, he said, change it. Again, remember, this was before computers so all changes were made on a hard copy. I had his one and only manuscript and there I was crossing out and adding sentences!
Long story short - I agreed to do the talk. It was one of the major addresses to the assembly and attendance was expected to be around 800 or so - and it was. That was by far the largest group I had ever addressed. I had no status, no title, no credentials - other than that my bishop had asked me to ‘stand in’ for him. The leaders of the conference were informed of the change, but it was far too late to change the printed program - so people came to the auditorium expecting to hear Bishop Murphy. When I walked forward, I am sure they thought I would introduce him. Instead, I opened with something like I am Bishop Murphy! After a few gasps and some laughter, I explained and then I did what I had promised Bishop Murphy I would do. I used his text - with the changes we’d agreed to make - and I delivered his message. I had practiced that talk so I knew it well by the time I gave it and I admit I took a few liberties with some well-placed pauses and a gesture or two that got a laugh but overall, it was a serious keynote address. Of course, what most people commented on was how startling it was to see a woman come forward when a ‘bishop’ was introduced.
I haven’t thought of that incident in my life for many years - but it came back to me in living color as I pondered what it meant for Jesus to entrust his work to the likes of us. Bishop Murphy, a follower of Jesus, took a risk on a very young, very inexperienced nun and his trust in me changed me, encouraged me, helped me see possibilities I had never considered before. That event also had impact on others - more than we probably know. It would be another 10 years before I took the step that led me to ordained ministry and the United Methodist Church but that moment was certainly part of the process. With that invitation, Bishop Murphy did some casting curing, cleansing and raising the dead. He took a risk . . . and it mattered.
Casting, curing, cleansing and raising the dead. Quite frankly, I don’t know exactly what this means for us today. I only know that I think Jesus was serious about it. For the new members who have joined the church today - and for all of us - we are part of an amazing enterprise. We really are supposed to make a difference, to do the impossible, to be miracle-workers in our day. Jesus said to his disciples the harvest if plentiful but laborers are few. In other words . . . he said what we know. . . people are hungry - for food and love and meaning and hope and a place to belong - and some of it won’t happen if we don’t get busy. It is as simple as that . . . so I’ll end with this simple challenge. What casting, curing, cleansing and raising the dead can you make happen today? Miracles await!
