Mt 9:32-38
As they were going away, some people brought to Jesus a man who was dumb, because he was possessed by a demon. When the demon was driven out, the dumb man began to speak. The crowds were astonished and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.” But the Pharisees said, “He drives away demons with the help of the prince of demons.”
Jesus went around all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom; and he cured every sickness and disease. When he saw the crowds, he was moved with pity; for they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant, but the workers are only few. Ask the master of the harvest to send workers to gather his harvest.”
REFLECTION
One striking feature of Jesus’ healing activity was that he healed everyone who came to him. This characteristic emerges especially in Matthew’s gospel, with 5 explicit mentions of universal healings (4:23-24; 8:16; 9:35; 12:15; 14:36) and 3 implicit mentions (15:31; 19:2; 21:14). Luke also has one mention of universal healing (6:19). And so, at least on 9 different occasions evangelists tell us that Jesus was a universal healer.
This is important because it tells us something about the relationship God-sickness. For not once does Jesus say to someone: “I am really sorry, but I cannot heal your (blindness, leprosy, paralysis, etc.), because it has been sent to you by my Father as a punishment for your sins” or “as a test to make you grow in trust and patience.”
This being the case, why on earth do so many Christians entertain similar superstitious thoughts and insist on connecting a typhoon, an earthquake, a volcanic eruption or any other natural disaster with someone’s sinful conduct? God is not like that. What loving father would inflict such terrible hardships on his children? On the contrary, Jesus tells us that God sends rain and sunshine on good and bad alike (Mt 5:45).
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