Kingdom - Part 2 - "Heal the Sick"

 

"Heal the sick . . ." Matthew 10:8. The New American Standard.

I'm really excited about today's post, because it's the first time I've ever done something like this. I've never actually done a series on "kingdom of heaven," so it's exhilarating to get to do this. Now, I'll tell you this: this series will probably be different than any other series you've heard on this topic, or it may be old news to you. 

This is how it works: I don't know. In my mind, I imagine a perfectly outlined flow and rhythm and a connection between each of these posts. That's my hope. Last post, I got a hunch that Jesus was about to unload a bunch of info on what it looks like to participate in "the kingdom of heaven." This phrase is so packed full of richness that it's driven people to do some pretty crazy things, right? From the first Christians to Constantine to faith healing to the Inquisition to going on mission trips to speaking in tongues to picketing abortion clinics to advocating for gay marriage, this phrase has stirred the hearts of countless truth seekers for centuries. 

And I believe we get a pretty good picture of what Jesus meant by this profound phrase if we just dig a little deeper. As I stated last post, I believe Jesus gave the outline of what this phrase means in Matthew chapter ten, and my aim is to turn it over, look at it, question it, doubt it, criticize it, and understand in the best way I can what exactly he was talking about.

But, in order to do so, I believe we have to place ourselves in the shoes of a first century Jew in order to even come close to extracting the meaning behind this oft-misquoted and misused phrase.

And the first directive associated with Jesus's phrase is heal the sick.

So, are you ready? 

Shall we move on?

Ok, here we go.

First - two new words (or, really old words that are probably new to you).

Therapeuo (does this word sound familiar?) It means to serve or to do service. 

So, to therapeuo the sick means to serve or do service to the sick. Still with me? Good.

The second word is astheneo. It means to be weak, feeble, without strength, powerless. 

Therapeuo the astheneo, 

or,

Serve or do service for the weak, feeble, those without strength, and those who are powerless. 

In other words, heal the sick. 

Now, a little history lesson on sickness in the 1st century Roman world: living in first century Rome was challenging (an understatement). Life expectancy for men was around 35 years, and for women it was even less. It is known today that unless you had a lot of money (which you most likely didn't), you didn't have access to the finer things in life like clean water, private toilets, and street sewage. Things just weren't clean back then. Sanitation was a concept that just wasn't off the ground yet. 

However, there was medicine, and there were scientific breakthroughs happening in the first century. But medicine for the most part was a mix of science and religion. Medicine was more therapeutic than anything, although there were some surgical tools that had been developed and were in the process of being developed. 

So, it was common to go to the doctor and to get prescribed some kind of herb that was attributed to combating whatever illness you had, and it was also common to get prescribed a therapeutic bath. 

Now all throughout Rome, there were bathhouses, and these bathhouses served several purposes. One, people actually bathed in them (yes, together), and two, the waters of said bathhouses were claimed to have healing properties (not sure how much healing was actually involved since they were probably full of bacteria). 

And, as a Roman citizen (whether you were a Jew or not), you would've heard the name Asklepion  being thrown around. It may have been used in a sentence like, "Dude, you're sick. You'd better get to the pool so Asklepion can make you better." 

If you haven't figured it out yet, Asklepion was the Roman god of healing. 

Still with me? Good. 

Now, a story.

I was in a small group that met every Saturday night. And every Saturday night, we would come together, share a meal, and draw a piece of paper out of a hat. On these slips of paper were what everyone had written down as their favorite things to do. And one of the favorite things to do was to visit this local nursing home. 

And so, we visited this local nursing home. And, we met a sweet lady who was full of energy, love, and rebelliousness. Yes, she was rebellious. She also carried around an oxygen tank because she had severe breathing problems. When we told her about how we'd get together every Saturday night, she asked if she could join us. And so, we started picking her up every Saturday. We did all sorts of things together: played board games, went to dinner, went to the symphony . . . and she loved it. She loved it because she was normally stuck, without visitors, in the nursing home. 

Every time we took her back, she couldn't wait for the next adventure with the group. And it seemed like, every time we took her out, she turned into a new person. We got to see a side of her that we'd never see inside the nursing home. 

After about a year of taking her on our wild adventures, we got word that she'd passed away one night. While it caught all of us off guard, we couldn't help but think about all the memories that we'd created with her. She'd done so much to contribute to our outings, our fellowship, and our well-beings. The time we got so spend with her in the last year was rich, exciting, fun, and full of purpose.

It was full of Therapeuo-ing the astheneo.

Now, back to Jesus. 

I believe Jesus was directing this message to both the Jews and the Romans. As a weak and powerless person, access to the Jewish temple was pretty much cut off. And being sick and powerless had a very religious taboo associated with it. It was thought among the Jewish leaders that if you were sick, then it was your way of paying for past sins or your parents' past sins. And so, instead of getting to join with the other Jews and participating in the regular Jewish traditions, you were left to "deal" with your sins through your sickness. 

And as a sick Roman, your chances of getting well were slim to none. You had to hope that the god Asklepion would heal you, and so you'd be willing to go to any length to let the waters of Asklepion wash over your ailing body. 

So, being a sick Jew who lived in Rome was not a good time. 

You were an outcast on both fronts - religion and culture. 

And this brings us back full circle. 

Jesus - by introducing the human being as a means of healing - essentially says that neither the god Asklepion nor religion is going to make you well. 

People can help you get well. 

And so, for Jesus, the first part of participating in "the kingdom of heaven" was serving the powerless.

Therapeuo-ing the astheneo.

Healing the sick.

So, what does healing the sick look like today for those of us who aren't physicians (I'm assuming the majority of Jesus's audience weren't doctors)? It looks like noticing the weak, the feeble, those without strength, and those who are powerless. It looks like serving them. It looks like taking them out for coffee, sharing a conversation, going to the symphony, and playing board games. It looks like physically taking them out of the dark and bringing them into the world of adventure and energy. 

It's about bringing our imagined concepts of heaven to earth. For Jesus, it was about restoring a broken world, not making it more broken.

At the end of this month, my wife and I are going to participate in the Houston pride parade. I've never done it and never even thought about doing it. Until now. We'll be joining our church, marching, and she'll be driving the leading float. And I believe that we'll get a taste of what Jesus was talking about. I believe we'll get to experience what it looks like to serve those who've been cast aside for far too long by religion and culture. 

As we go out today to our jobs, our families, and our friends, may we notice the weak, the feeble, and the powerless. May we aware that "the kingdom of heaven is at hand," and that we absolutely get to take a part in healing the sick. Grace and peace.