Article: Agents of Healing | Koshy George, Bangalore
In the contemporary world, the word ‘healing’ brings to our heart the feeling of the first snow of the season or like seeing the first blossom of the spring. It brings cheers and joy to a person or a family. Today, as the world is in the midst of a pandemic, ‘healing’ matters the most to people. Here, comes the importance of agents of healing. In our current scenario, agents of healing – doctors, nurses, paramedical staff, medical volunteers, frontline workers, counsellors, etc. – are considered to be the angels sent by God. Indeed they are! They are the ones who intercede for your life. They spring into action when you struggle between life and death, when you are on the sick bed or you are in the ICU.
‘Healing’ has multiple dimensions and layers in a person’s life. A physically sick person is not only wounded by his physical sickness but possibly mentally as well. That’s why the experts say that healing should be holistic. Here comes the importance of Christ and His holistic approach to a person. “He heals the broken-hearted, and binds up their wounds” – Psalms 147:3, Isaiah 61:1-3 and Luke 4:18-19 all speak about how Jesus was intending to go forward with His ministry. Jesus saw people with compassion, who were in need of healing, food and economic sustenance. To touch them spiritually, he touched them physically. “He stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I do choose. Be made clean!” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed” and “he touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she got up and began to serve him” (Matt. 8:3 & 15).
We being God’s children and called to be the disciples of Christ “ought to walk just as he walked” (1 Jn. 2:6b). We are also called to touch people’s lives like Jesus touched. Being a frontline worker or simply being an agent of healing in any given capacity, who brings peace, joy and celebration of deliverance to people’s life is the true calling of a disciple. Be the one who touches another’s wounds, whether it is physical or emotional. Be the one who goes forward out of our comfort zone (Matt. 5:39-41) to be the agent of healing ,and thereby become the true disciple of Christ. It is an act of selfless love, like Jesus did. He went to the point of giving his own life for us so that we may live, not just live but to have life in abundance (Jn. 10:10).
To me, it will be unforgivable to ignore the sacrifice many frontline workers have given in fighting this pandemic. Like Jesus, they literally went out of their comfort zone of their own safety as well as their family’s to serve the needy, to serve those who were dying so that they may have life and in doing so they lost their own. Those are the true examples of sacrifice and true love for our fellow human beings in our modern times. Jesus said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick…” (Mk. 2:17). Yes these are the days we need more physicians and nurses and other frontline workers to heal people’s lives. You want to be a true disciple, be an agent of healing in people’s lives and lead them to a holistic healing where heaven rejoices in your kindness and in your sacrifices. This is the right time to remember the story of the Good Samaritan (Lk. 10:25-37). Nobody knew what profession he belonged to, but he did the right thing by serving the needy. You can be in any profession and still be a disciple, be a healer, touch people’s life with acts of kindness and with words of joy and lead the person to deliverance, both physical and spiritual.
Koshy George
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