Psalm Reflection: The Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Cycle B

“Praise the Lord, who heals the brokenhearted.” - Psalms 147

What would you think of or say if I were to ask you, “have you ever been healed?”

Most of the time when we think of healing in a Christian context, we think of miraculous healings. We hear about the intercession of a Saint or someone praying a novena which led to an instantaneous and otherwise unexplainable cure.

Maybe you think of the times you have prayed for a miracle or a cure and it did not come.

Many people come to God for “healing,” but what they really mean when they ask for it is that they want a cure for a disease, sickness or diagnose to disappear. Sometimes God grants healing, because the person is open to and ready for more than the cure. 

You see, God wants to heal ALL of you: mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually. He is not willing to comply put a bandaid on one area of your life while another area festers. He wants to heal the things you bring to confession and the things that come to mind in powerful moments of prayer, but He also wants to heal what lies deep below those things as well. He does not simply want to heal the symptoms of our sins, He wants to heal the root causes: our wounds.

This is incredibly difficult, and is a reason why many of us never get to step two in our journey with the Lord. 

We know step one: it is encounter. We come to know or experience Jesus in a powerful and personal way. We believe that He is real and we want to have a relationship with Him. We repent of our sins and we try to live our lives differently in pursuit of Him. We get involved, receive the Sacraments, join ministries, share testimony, and learn more about our faith. Many people never get to this step, and many of us that do stay here thinking that the work is done.

Step two is harder: it is healing. Having a relationship with God and believing in Him are not enough. God wants all of us. The Devil believes in God, too. He has encountered God, but he is not willing to trust God. In healing, God asks us for complete trust and surrender. We are invited to give up control and to allow the Lord to take over, heal, redeem, and make whole every part of our lives.

T.S. Eliot said that Christianity is "a condition of complete simplicity, costing not less than everything.” God does not simply want to know us. He wants all of us. He will not be satisfied with the surface level changes and confessions when there are still deep wounds and sins festering beneath the surface. 

He wants to transform your insecurities into gifts.

He wants to remove attachments and dispel the false beliefs you have about yourself.

He wants to heal the loneliness, the addiction, the abuse, the self-hatred, and the childhood trauma.

He wants to find your wounds and heal them. 

A wound can only be two things: infected or glorified. Most of us walk around living the Christian life with festering infected wounds inside of us that cause us to fall into sin or doubt God’s mercy. We know God and believe in Him, but we do not trust Him enough to give Him every part of us, even the scary wounded parts, and allow Him to make them new.

The Responsorial Psalm for this Sunday is taken from final cycle of the final section of the book of the Psalms. This final cycle begins with lament in Psalm 137 and builds toward a finale of praise in Psalms 146-150. 

You may walk around every day like everything is fine, but inside you are lamenting and experiencing deep pain or suffering. God sees and knows your pain. He is with you and He wants to heal all of you. He wants to show you how even you wounds and lamenting can become a source of praise.

Are you ready to let go of the pain and the wounds you have been carrying?

Are you willing to trust and believe that you can be made whole again?

Will you let go of control and give your life completely over to the Lord?

The following reflection is adapted from content in Be Healed by Bob Schuchts. I invite you to prayerfully and honestly pray through it, identifying what wounds (the words in italics) you may be carrying and allow the truth of God’s faithfulness to wash over you as you hear Him offering you healing.

If you feel abandoned, like you are all alone and no one cares or understands, the Lord wants to heal you and bring you to a place of connection where you feel known and understood. Will you let Him?

If you feel afraid, like if you trust someone you will be hurt or even die, the Lord wants to heal you and show you that you are safe and secure. Will you let Him?

If you feel powerless, like you cannot change things or that you are too small or weak, the Lord wants to heal, liberate and empower you to do great things. Will you let Him?

If you feel hopeless, like things will never get better or you want to die, the Lord wants to heal you and encourage you to have hope in Him. Will you let Him?

If you feel confused, like you do not understand what is happening, the Lord wants to heal you and give you clarity and enlightenment. Will you let Him?

If you feel rejected, like you are not loved or wanted or desired, the Lord wants to heal you and show you that you are accepted and valued as you are. Will you let Him?

If you feel shame, like you are dirty or bad or worthless or stupid, the Lord wants to heal you and help you know you are pure and worthy. Will you let Him?

If you feel tainted, like you will never recover or be loved because of things that have happened to you, the Lord wants to heal you and make you whole again. Will you let Him?

Praise the Lord, who heals the brokenhearted.

I am praying for you, please pray for me, and I will see you in the Eucharist.

Matt

This reflection is based on the Responsorial Psalm for this Sunday, February 4th, 2024, The Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Cycle B: Psalms 147:1-2, 3-4, 5-6.