Healing ministry

"Lord, let your Spirit meet us here
to mend the body, mind and soul,
to disentangle peace from pain,
and make your broken people whole."

John Bell and Graham Maule

Healing is at the heart of Jesus’s ministry, for us, for our communities and for creation. Healing is about becoming whole, in body, mind and spirit. It is about new life, not just about ‘more of the same.’

Christ heals, meeting people at their point of need, as we see throughout the gospels. In Acts, we see his friends continuing to fulfil that commission, by bringing people and the world into new and abundant life in his name. As Christians we are to continue this, by offering people a safe space to heal, in love and prayer.

It’s Christ’s very nature to love us and to heal. Having given the situation to God, we are to remain aware of God’s love and care, even when we do not understand it or see the outcome we had longed for. However, healing may gradually become apparent through inner transformation and growth.

The practice and commitment to the healing ministry of Jesus is as important today as it always was, because the world and its people need to experience, as well as to hear, that God loves them.

“It is apparent in Scripture that the physical, emotional, social and spiritual well-being of human beings are closely interconnected. Christ’s work of reconciliation extends beyond the purely personal and relational to the social order and the whole creation (cf Colossians 1:15-27). The Gospels use the term ‘healing’ both for physical healing and for the broader salvation that Jesus brings…Healing, reconciliation and restoration are integral to the good news of Jesus Christ.”

From Common Worship: Wholeness and Healing, Theological Introduction