Healing
A Devotional of Scriptural Passages on Healing
MusicKyrie eleison.
[Lord have mercy upon us.]
(J.S. Bach, Mass in B minor, "Kyrie")
Have mercy upon me, O LORD; for I am weak: O LORD, heal me; for my bones are vexed.
Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise.
O LORD my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me.
Know thou that the soul of man is exalted above, and is independent of all infirmities of body or mind. That a sick person showeth signs of weakness is due to the hindrances that interpose themselves between his soul and his body, for the soul itself remaineth unaffected by any bodily ailments. Consider the light of the lamp. Though an external object may interfere with its radiance, the light itself continueth to shine with undiminished power. In like manner, every malady afflicting the body of man is an impediment that preventeth the soul from manifesting its inherent might and power. When it leaveth the body, however, it will evince such ascendancy, and reveal such influence as no force on earth can equal. Every pure, every refined and sanctified soul will be endowed with tremendous power, and shall rejoice with exceeding gladness.
"And when I am ill, it is He Who cures me;
Now when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with divers diseases brought them unto him; and he laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them.
And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment. For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole. And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague. And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes? And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me? And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing. But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth. And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.
For he had healed many; insomuch that they pressed upon him for to touch him, as many as had plagues.
We bear witness that through the power of the Word of God every leper was cleansed, every sickness was healed, every human infirmity was banished. He it is [Jesus] Who purified the world. Blessed is the man who, with a face beaming with light, hath turned towards Him.
And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.
And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.... And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.
MusicIste confessor Domini sacratus / Festa plebs cujus celebrat per orbens / Hodie lectus meruit secreta / Scandere caeli.
Ad sacrum cuju tumulum frequenter / Membra languentum modo sanitati / Quolibet morbo fuerint gravata / Restituuntur.
Sit laus illi decus atque virtus / Qui supra caeli residens cacumen / Totius mundi machinam gubernat / Trinus et unus. Amen.[He, whose confession God of old accepted, / Whom through the ages all now hold in honour, / Gaining his garden this day came to enter / Heaven's high portal. Far and wide they come with wasted limbs / In hope to gather at his holy tomb, / That sick and sore laden, howsoever burdened, / There they find healing. Honor and glory, power and salvation, / Be in the highest unto Him who reigneth / Changeless in heaven over earthly changes. / Triune eternal. Amen]
(Monteverdi, "Iste confessor Domini sacratus")
It is certainly the case that sins are a potent cause of physical ailments. If humankind were free from the defilements of sin and waywardness, and lived according to a natural, inborn equilibrium, without following wherever their passions led, it is undeniable that diseases would no longer take the ascendant, nor diversify with such intensity.
But man hath perversely continued to serve his lustful appetites, and he would not content himself with simple foods. Rather, he prepared for himself food that was compounded of many ingredients, of substances differing one from the other. With this, and with the perpetrating of vile and ignoble acts, his attention was engrossed, and he abandoned the temperance and moderation of a natural way of life. The result was the engendering of diseases both violent and diverse.
That man alone is wise
Who keeps the mastery of himself!
If one Ponders on objects of the sense, there springs
Attraction; from attraction grows desire,
Desire flames to fierce passion, passion breeds
Recklessness; then the memory- all betrayed-
Lets noble purpose go, and saps the mind,
Till purpose, mind, and man are all undone.
But, if one deals with objects of the sense
Not loving and not hating, making them
Serve his free soul, which rests serenely lord,
Lo! such a man comes to tranquillity;
And out of that tranquillity shall rise
The end and healing of his earthly pains,
Since the will governed sets the soul at peace.
When a fool does wicked deeds,
He does not know their future fruit.
The witless one is tormented by his own deeds.
He who inflicts punishment on those
Who are harmless and who offend no one
Speedily comes to one of these ten states:
To grievous bodily pain, to disaster,
To bodily injury, to serious illness,
To loss of mind, will he come.
To oppression by the king,
To grave accusation,
To loss of relatives,
To destruction of wealth, (will he come).
Or his house will be burnt up with fire,
And that unwise one will pass to
Hell in the world to come.
The cause of human suffering is undoubtedly found in the thirsts of the physical body and in the illusions of wordly passion.
Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
MusicWo soll ich fliehen hin, / Weil ich beschweret bin / Mit viel und großen Sünden? / Wo soll ich Rettung finden? / Wenn alle Welt herkäme, / Mein Angst sie nicht wegnähme.
[Whither shall I flee, / Because I am burdened / With many great sins? / Where shall I find rescue? / If all the world came here, / It would not take away my fear.]
(Bach, Cantata 5, Chorus: "Wo soll ich fliehen hin")
People should keep these Truths clearly in mind, for the world is filled with suffering and if anyone wishes to escape from suffering, he must sever the ties of worldly passion which is the sole cause of suffering. The way of life which is free from all worldly passion and suffering can only be known through Enlightenment....
There is no greater curse than desire;
There is no greater misery than discontent;
There is no greater ailment than greed;
But one who is content to be content
May always be content.
Who recognizes his limitations is healthy;
Who ignores his limitations is sick.
The sage recognizes this sickness as a limitation.
And so becomes immune.
But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
O mankind! there hath come to you a direction from your Lord and a healing for the (diseases) in your hearts,- and for those who believe, a guidance and a Mercy.
Say: "In the bounty of God. And in His Mercy,- in that let them rejoice": that is better than the (wealth) they hoard.
O BEFRIENDED STRANGER!
The candle of thine heart is lighted by the hand of My power, quench it not with the contrary winds of self and passion. The healer of all thine ills is remembrance of Me, forget it not. Make My love thy treasure and cherish it even as thy very sight and life.
But if the health and welfare of man be spent in sensual desires, in a life on the animal plane, and in devilish pursuits--then disease is better than such health; nay, death itself is preferable to such a life. If thou art desirous of health, wish thou health for serving the Kingdom.
Unless the spirit be healed, the cure of the body is worth nothing. All is in the hands of God, and without Him there can be no health in us!
MusicDeus noster refugium et virtus, adjutor in tribulationibus quae invenerunt nos nimis.
[God is our refuge and strength, a help in the tribulations which have come upon us.]
(Jean-Philippe Rameau, "Deus noster refugium")
Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.
When Righteousness
Declines, O Bharata! when Wickedness
Is strong, I rise, from age to age, and take
Visible shape, and move a man with men,
Succouring the good, thrusting the evil back,
And setting Virtue on her seat again.
For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the LORD...
But their scribes and Pharisees murmured against his disciples, saying, Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners? And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
The whole of mankind is in the grip of manifold ills. Strive, therefore, to save its life through the wholesome medicine which the almighty hand of the unerring Physician hath prepared.
And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.
But those who believe and work deeds of righteousness, and believe in the (Revelation) sent down to Muhammad - for it is the Truth from their Lord,- He will remove from them their ills and improve their condition.
We send down (stage by stage) in the Qur'án that which is a healing and a mercy to those who believe: to the unjust it causes nothing but loss after loss.
O thou distinguished physician!... Praise be to God that thou hast two powers: one to undertake physical healing and the other spiritual healing. Matters related to man's spirit have a great effect on his bodily condition. For instance, thou shouldst impart gladness to thy patient, give him comfort and joy, and bring him to ecstasy and exultation. How often hath it occurred that this hath caused early recovery. Therefore, treat thou the sick with both powers.
And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.
Now, if thou wishest to know the true remedy which will heal man from all sickness and will give him the health of the divine kingdom, know that it is the precepts and teachings of God. Focus thine attention upon them.
And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.
Witness how the world is being afflicted with a fresh calamity every day. Its tribulation is continually deepening.... At one time it hath been agitated by contentions and disputes, at another it hath been convulsed by wars, and fallen a victim to inveterate diseases. Its sickness is approaching the stage of utter hopelessness, inasmuch as the true Physician is debarred from administering the remedy, whilst unskilled practitioners are regarded with favor, and are accorded full freedom to act.
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
MusicIs there any Remover of difficulties save God? Say: Praised be God! He is God! All are His servants, and all abide by His bidding!
(The Bahá'í Chorale, "Remover of Difficulties", text from a prayer of The Báb)
The Prophets of God should be regarded as physicians whose task is to foster the well-being of the world and its peoples, that, through the spirit of oneness, they may heal the sickness of a divided humanity. To none is given the right to question their words or disparage their conduct, for they are the only ones who can claim to have understood the patient and to have correctly diagnosed its ailments. No man, however acute his perception, can ever hope to reach the heights which the wisdom and understanding of the Divine Physician have attained. Little wonder, then, if the treatment prescribed by the physician in this day should not be found to be identical with that which he prescribed before. How could it be otherwise when the ills affecting the sufferer necessitate at every stage of his sickness a special remedy?
And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
That which the Lord hath ordained as the sovereign remedy and mightiest instrument for the healing of all the world is the union of all its peoples in one universal Cause, one common Faith. This can in no wise be achieved except through the power of a skilled, an all-powerful and inspired Physician.
And ye shall serve the LORD your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee.
There are two ways of healing sickness, material means and spiritual means. The first is by the treatment of physicians; the second consisteth in prayers offered by the spiritual ones to God and in turning to Him. Both means should be used and practised.
Illnesses which occur by reason of physical causes should be treated by doctors with medical remedies; those which are due to spiritual causes disappear through spiritual means. Thus an illness caused by affliction, fear, nervous impressions, will be healed more effectively by spiritual rather than by physical treatment. Hence, both kinds of treatment should be followed; they are not contradictory. Therefore thou shouldst also accept physical remedies inasmuch as these too have come from the mercy and favour of God, Who hath revealed and made manifest medical science so that His servants may profit from this kind of treatment also. Thou shouldst give equal attention to spiritual treatments, for they produce marvellous effects.
O handmaid of God! The prayers which were revealed to ask for healing apply both to physical and spiritual healing. Recite them, then, to heal both the soul and the body. If healing is right for the patient, it will certainly be granted; but for some ailing persons, healing would only be the cause of other ills, and therefore wisdom doth not permit an affirmative answer to the prayer.
O handmaid of God! The power of the Holy Spirit healeth both physical and spiritual ailments.
"If God touch thee with affliction, none can remove it but He; if He touch thee with happiness, He hath power over all things.
MusicGottes Engel weichen nie, / Sie sind bei mir allerenden. / Wenn ich schlafe, wachen die, / Wenn ich gehe, / Wenn ich stehe, / Tragen sie mich auf den Händen.
[Heaven's Angels watch will keep / They are standing ever near me. / They are watching while I sleep, / yea, whatever my endeavor, / fortify, uphold and cheer me.]
(J.S. Bach, Cantata 149, Aria: "Gottes Engel weichen nie")