Today’s scriptures join action and contemplation in the quest for a perspective on life that enables us to become God’s companions in creative transformation. Mark 1 catalogues a day in the life of Jesus. The healer from Nazareth is certainly busy that day: he heals the sick, preaches, teaches, and casts out demons. His calendar is full and yet he has time for encounters large and small. As embodiment of the all-present God, Jesus reveals God’s vision and power in every encounter.

No healing is too small for Jesus. We might think that the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law is too small to record in scripture. Yet, remember how you last felt when you came down with the flu. Everything comes to a halt. We can barely get out of bed and may have to cancel our appointments. There is no small illness, and in this case, Peter’s mother-in-law’s illness rendered her incapable of fulfilling her vocation as the “alpha” woman of the household, whose pride and joy was hospitality. We don’t know the mechanics of the healing, but holistic and complementary medicine reveal to us the power of touch to transform body, mind, and spirit. Jesus may have infused her with the same energy that a woman with a flow of blood accessed to cure her ailment. (Mark 5;24-34)

For nearly thirty years I have been a reiki healing touch practitioner, and for twenty years, I have been a reiki teacher/master with a special commitment to sharing reiki in the Christian context. I have witnessed the power of healing touch to transform cells and souls, relieve pain, reduce fevers, and provide comfort to the dying. In an interdependent world in which spirit is embodied and the body inspired, we can’t limit the power of healing touch to change our minds and bodies for the good. Mind and body are connected and in fact can’t be separated, so that changes in our bodies bring about changes in our minds. (For more on healing touch and the healings of Jesus, see Bruce Epperly, Reiki Healing Touch and the Way of Jesus and Healing Marks: Healing and Spirituality in Mark’s Gospel).

In his words from I Corinthians, Paul speaks of finding his theological and missional flexibility through his sense of God’s providence in his life. His embodiment of the Gospel and his sense of calling enable him to be flexible in presenting God’s good news. He discovers that there are many “right” ways to share the good news. What some would see as incompatible, Paul sees as complementary for the sake of sharing God’s good news to humanity in its diversity. God is revealed in many ways and this inspires our own diverse approaches to healing, wholeness, and justice-seeking.

Isaiah speaks of the grandeur of God. We gain a sense of stature (what Bernard Loomer describes as “s-i-z-e”) by our affirmation and embrace of the grandeur of the universe and its creator. We are infinitesimal and hardly noticeable in a universe of 125 billion galaxies, and yet our actions can radiate across the universe and our planet, becoming a tipping point from death to life, ugliness to beauty, and alienation to reconciliation. The intimate and infinite are connected, giving us perspective and the inspiration to become God’s companions in healing the Earth.

Bruce Epperly is Pastor and Teacher at South Congregational Church, United Church of Christ,Centerville, MA, on Cape Cod. He also serves as a professor in the D.Min. program at Wesley Theological Seminary. He is the author of 34 books, including Process Theology: Embracing Adventure with God and Finding God in Suffering: A Journey with Job. He may be reached for conversation and engagements at drbruceepperly@aol.com.