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2001
28th October (am) - Sick and Sad People Matter to God

Sickness and Sadness, Disease and Death - we know about them too well - we hope that they won't come to our door too much, yet we understand, that we cannot really avoid them altogether. Indeed we cannot avoid them at all!

Sickness and Sadness, Disease and Death are part of everyday life. We are constantly hearing about situations where sickness and sadness has struck, at times with devastating suddenness, apparent unfairness, and tragic circumstances We can easily fall into the old trap of thinking that these things happen to other people - until it is us, or someone close to us, who is affected.
In the face of sickness and sadness we feel weak and afraid, vulnerable and fairly helpless.
We long for help and we need hope.
I don't need to describe the feelings any further - we all know them. So the theme of today's service is a very real-life one: Sick and Sad People Matter to God.

It's good that we've been able to tie this topic in with Healthcare Sunday. (Really meant to be last week!)
And it's good that we don't have to look very hard in the Gospel to see that Sick and Sad people mattered to Jesus, and therefore matter to God. We could have chosen any number of gospel incidents, but the one we read is remarkable for it tells us, in just a few verses, about Jesus drawing near with love and help, firstly to a situation of seriousness sickness, and then to a scene of great sadness.
So let's see what this Bible passage has to teach us.

We're going to:

1. Notice Jesus' compassion in those situations.
2. Think about Jesus' control over those situations.
3. Ask a question about Jesus' conditions for helping those situations.

Let's notice Jesus' Compassion in those situations.

We are told about 2 situations:

firstly a situation of life threatening illness - the Centurion ( company sergeant major ) whose servant was very seriously ill. He obviously thought a lot of this servant and was very, very concerned about him. He wanted to do anything he possibly could to get help for his servant - and having heard some of the reports about Jesus, the Centurion sent some people to ask for Jesus' help.
And there's something else that we can easily understand - this centurion was very well thought of in the district - he'd even built the local people a new synagogue (church) - this was one of those situations where a life threatening illness in the household just seemed so unfair.
Doesn't this picture sound familiar - serious, life-threatening sickness in a home where it just didn't seem to be needed or deserved.

secondly, we are told about a situation of tragic bereavement - in a town called Nain, Jesus and his disciples met a funeral. It turned out that a youngish man had died, the only son of a widow - an intensely sad funeral. death is a terrible blow in any circumstances, but especially where it is a youngish person, and where the mother would be left on her own - no widow's pension or any other proper support in those days. Once again, a scene of desperate sadness and, apparent great unfairness.

Jesus' response to both those situations is summed up for us in vs.13 'when the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her.' The gospels tell us that Jesus felt the same deep compassion every time he met people who were going through sickness, suffering and sadness - blind people, people with leprosy, the sad people like Mary and Martha when their brother, Lazarus, died ..... Jesus' compassionate concern for his mother even as he was being crucified.

During his earthly ministry, people knew that Jesus cared - that sick people and sad people mattered to him greatly - that he was a person they could turn to; that like the Centurion, people found that Jesus listened and cared.

At a very simple level, there is something great to encourage us here, and there is something important to challenge us.
The Encouragement is that Jesus is still the person of immense compassion that he was in the days of his earthly life. He has not changed - he still feels for us in our situations of sickness and sadness - of that we can be assured. He is still the 'good shepherd' who, as the book of Hebrews assures us, shared our human-ness, and is able to feel for us in all our weaknesses and needs. What a reassurance! (of which we'll have more to say shortly.) The Challenge is that every Christian is to be a person of compassion - feeling genuinely for people in situations of sickness and sadness, caring in any way we are able, being practical demonstrations of the compassion and care of Jesus himself.
This is a good day to recognise, with special appreciation, the enormous amount of Christian caring that many of you show through your everyday lives - both as Christian 'neighbours, as well as so many who serve in the caring professions. We feel challenged by your caring example. Everyone of us who talks of trusting in Jesus has the responsibility to care with compassion.
And, if today, someone feels the need of Christian care and compassion for their situations and needs, may you know that Jesus' compassion is still for you .... and may you experience that compassion through some of us .... because sick and sad people matter to God.

But there is a second point - We need to think about Jesus' control over those situations of sickness and sadness.
The Centurion recognised Jesus control to be very real and very powerful: vs.7 But say the word and my servant will be healed. We see that control in action in both incidents Jesus didn't even need to go into the Centurion's house to exercise his control - when the men who had been sent to Jesus returned to the house they found that the servant who had been so ill was well.

when Jesus saw the funeral procession, he stopped it, touched the bier, took control and said: Young man, I say to you, get up.

Serious sickness was completely dealt with, desperate sadness was absolutely turned on its head.
It is unmistakably clear that Jesus was able to exercise control over those situations that we unfortunately recognise so well. As the people said: God has come to heal his people (Luke 17:16)
But that raises a big question that we feel inside us, and cannot really avoid asking:
Is Jesus still in control of situations of sickness and sadness? Is he still able to help in special ways?
Surely we must immediately say Yes - Jesus is still in control and he is still able to help in special ways.
Surely that is what it means when we say that Jesus is Lord - Lord over the really, big things that dominate life in this world and which constantly threaten our lives - including the serious enemy of sickness and the last enemy of death.
Jesus was clearly Lord over these things when he was on earth; Jesus was publicly declared as Lord by his victory over crucified sin and the deadly finality of the grave - Jesus is still the one who has final control over all things, including sickness and death - otherwise he is not Lord, at all!

But how does he exercise that Lordship today?
Does he still do it through these miraculous healings that are utterly beyond our human explanation or expectation?
Or does Jesus, the Lord, mainly work, nowadays, through the amazing advances in medical science and the immense expertise of the medical profession?
I believe that the answer is actually, Both!
It is not a case of either medical healing or Divine healing. Medical knowledge is most certainly one of God's most important gifts to the world - Christians ought to be especially grateful for it, and ought to be particularly aware of how much we owe to those involved in it.
Today is a day to acknowledge and encourage all our medical people. We so much appreciate all you do.
But even where medical treatment does the job, Christians ought surely to remember that God is at work through the medical people and their expertise.
But also, should we not believe that God is able to be at work in ways that are beyond medical knowledge and the explanation of medical people - that there is indeed such a thing as Divine Healing - healing which God brings about over and beyond the best medical judgment.
God's hands are not tied - he is Lord over this world and all its situations, not ruled by them. He can do what we cannot do, for we are human and he is God - and sometimes he brings healing and hope to people when all other sources of such help have been exhausted. I have to say that I have enormous reservations about these matters - sometimes people's hopes are raised only to be dashed, sometimes healing can be turned into very spectacular events, sometimes people become almost religious superstars because of healing ministries. Sometimes people forget that God's ways are not our ways, that his purposes may be different and may not always include healing - we have to remind ourselves that God's way is always right, and that for Christian people, health in this life is not the whole picture.
So you can see that I have all kinds of questions. But having said all those things, I believe that we should believe that Jesus still has control over situations of sickness and sadness, and that because sick and sad people matter greatly to him, he still intervenes in special and powerful ways that are completely beyond human explanation or control - that there are times when people are restored to new health when all hope seems to be gone. As Paul puts it in Ephesians 3:20 He is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine according to his power that is at work in us.
Therefore I need to tell myself, and I need to say to you, it is right that we should seek God's special divine healing help - that we should be like the Centurion who had heard of what Jesus had done, and sent to ask for his help.
However, as we emphasise Jesus' control, we also need to remind ourselves that his control sometimes overrules our hopes and desires - sometimes he has other plans that only he can see are better. There are not a few places in the Bible where people were not healed, and had to go through long and difficult days in their lives -like Paul, the apostle who prayed for his medical condition to be taken away, but who received the answer from God: My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.
God may want to do something in our own lives and outlook, or he may want to do something through us for others in their lives - healing may not be the way, and faith must learn to accept it.
Jesus is still the Lord who has control over sickness and sadness - just as he was in the days when he healed the Centurion's servant - but he may work out that control in all sorts of ways - not always in healing. Perhaps the most important thing for us to remember is that in all things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us - that neither death nor life can separate us from his love.
[Jesus' compassion; Jesus' control]

We need to finish by asking a question about Jesus' conditions for helping in situations of sickness & sadness. Are there conditions that we must fulfil in order for God to give his special help?
If we go back to our chapter in Luke we notice 2 things: in the story of the Centurion's servant, the Centurion's faith was clearly commended by Jesus: vs.9 I tell you I have not found such great faith even in Israel. The Centurion very clearly recognised the importance of Jesus and was seeking his help with faith.

however in the story of the widow's son, Jesus appears to have acted without any indication of her faith. When he saw the funeral he simply stopped it and brought hope.

I believe that Jesus still cares about the needs of people whether or not they care about him. Sick people and sad people matter to God, full stop - no strings attached. Jesus' love and compassion for people is always far more important than their attitude to him.
That is why Christian people, and the Christian Church must also be like that - even when people have shown little interest in Christian things we must be very available and very willing to help them with love and care - just as Jesus did. Who knows, it may be the way the bridges are built and the doors are opened to the greater love and hope of Jesus in those people's lives.

But having said that, we mustn't use it as an excuse for simply getting on with our lives our own way, feeling that we can always fall back on the help of Jesus whenever we need him - that is an attitude of simply 'using' God, and it often happens. When we who have had many opportunities to have proper faith in Christ keep pushing Him to the back of our minds, or keep allowing other things to be more important, then maybe we make it harder for God to help us when we really need him - we certainly have serious thinking to do and maybe things to put right - preferably now rather than then. Don't let it happen - let's put faith in Jesus right when life is good, rather than when we are in desperation.

And one last thought: If we really do trust in Jesus, and if we do believe that he is full of compassion towards us in sickness and sadness, and that he is really able to help, then maybe we need to learn to bring him, very deliberately into our situations of need. Maybe we only turn to Jesus when all the other possibilities have been exhausted - maybe we have been slow to exercise the faith we say we have. Listen to what James told the Christian people he knew to do: Is anyone of you sick? He should call the Elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. and the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. James 5:13
Maybe we shy away from exercising faith in this way - maybe we should be learning to bring him into our situations far more often and far more readily - for although we cannot and dare not tell him what he must do, we surely need to seek him so that he can do what is best for us in our need - whatever his best may be.
Maybe we have been far too slow and neglectful of that area of Christian faith that is called Divine Healing - not 'Faith Healing'!

Perhaps we have so much to think about and learn about in terms of prayer for healing - in our own lives, as Christian friends and neighbours .... and also as a church where maybe we should take much more deliberate action to have opportunities for prayer for healing. I don't understand these things too well, in some ways they make me a little frightened, even uncomfortable - for they bring us very close to the power and reality of God. But I feel very sure that deliberate prayer and ministry for healing is something God encourages us to do - something that we should do, especially as a church together.
Maybe we need to go on thinking about this together, and doing something more about it.

Jesus Compassion, Jesus' Control, Jesus 'Conditions' .
Sick people and sad people definitely mattered to Jesus then, and they still matter now - for Jesus is the same, yesterday, today and forever.