“Depart, Depart, Depart,” the hospital chaplain shouted in Swahili.  He was speaking to the evil spirit believed to possess an African child.  Finally, after admonishing the evil spirit several times, in the name of Jesus Christ, the child relaxed and told the chaplain that the evil spirit was gone.  The family departed with the child and went home.

In the summer of 2008, an American seminarian serving as a student chaplain in a Lutheran hospital in Tanzania discovered that one of his duties was to assist the hospital chaplain and the nursing staff with exorcisms -- driving out evil spirits from the possessed in the name of Jesus Christ, and restore them to health.  At the same time, his Lutheran colleagues serving as student chaplains in New England hospitals assisted their staff chaplains with, among other things, explaining advance medical directives to patients and their families in case difficult life support decisions had to be made.  We all worked with people facing serious health issues --matters of life and death.  We all prayed with patients and their families, providing pastoral presence and support.  However, none of the student chaplains in New England was ever asked

to assist hospital staff chaplains with exorcisms, and, as far as I know, the seminarian in Tanzania never discussed advance medical directives with hospital patients and their families.

Tanzanian and American hospitals alike care for those seeking health and wholeness, even though they may differ somewhat in their approach to treating disease and how best to heal body, mind and spirit. 

Healing, faith and forgiveness are themes found throughout the writings of St Luke the Evangelist, whose day we celebrate today.  The word heal is derived from the word whole. 

Healing restores people to wholeness of body, mind and spirit.  St Luke’s Day is a traditional time to emphasize the church’s ministry of healing, the continuation of Christ’s healing ministry.  An Order of Service for Healing is included in today’s liturgy for all who seek wholeness and wish to receive the laying on of hands and anointing.  Few things are known about St Luke.  The rest is tradition and informed speculation.  Scripture records that St Luke was a physician and a travel companion of St Paul , probably during Paul’s last two imprisonments.  According to tradition, St Luke was a Gentile, the author of Luke and Acts, originally written as one work in two volumes.  St Luke’s purpose was to write an orderly account about how Jesus fulfilled scripture.  He used the accounts of eyewitnesses and the accounts of disciples who followed Jesus so that believers would know the truth about their beliefs.

According to Luke’s Gospel, Jesus tells his disciples before he ascended into heaven,

“These are the words that I spoke to you, while I was still with you – that everything written about me in the Law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.”  St Luke emphasized the continuity between the Old Testament and the New Testament.  This is evident in our reading from Isaiah.  God will come and save you the prophet says, and when he comes, the blind will see, the deaf will hear, the lame will walk, and the mute will sing for joy. 

When God in Christ came to earth, and lived among us, those who were broken and troubled in body, mind and spirit came to Jesus Christ and he made them whole.  He made the blind see, the deaf hear, the lame walk, the mute sing for joy and he forgave sinners.  Through Christ’s suffering and death on the cross he destroyed death and reconciles us to God.  The risen Christ continues to live among us.  He is present with us as we gather together in His name, in the proclamation of the Word, and in the bread and wine of Holy Communion.  Baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection, we have become children of God and are joined to Christ’s mission to bring wholeness to the world.

St Luke’s account of the paralyzed man who walked as a result of his friends bringing him to Jesus, illustrates Jesus’ ministry of healing and forgiveness of sins.  The paralyzed man’s friends picked up his bed and carried him to the house where Jesus was teaching.  Pharisees and teachers of the law from every village in the region filled the house as they listened to Jesus.  St Luke notes that “the power of the Lord was with [Jesus] to heal.”  Seeing the crowded house, the paralyzed mans friends took him up to the roof.  They made a big hole in it

and let the paralyzed man down into the middle of the crowd in front of Jesus.  Jesus told the man his sins were forgiven.  The scribes and Pharisees assumed they were hearing blasphemy since only God is able to forgive sins.  So Jesus asked the religious leaders, “Is it easier to say

‘Your sins are forgiven.’ or ‘Stand up and walk?’”  Jesus blurred the line between forgiveness and healing as he made the paralyzed man whole.

Demonstrating His authority to forgive sins, Jesus said to the forgiven, paralyzed, man –

“Stand up, pick up your bed and go home.”  He did and went away glorifying God.  The Pharisees and teachers of the law bristled that Jesus would presume to exercise God’s authority to forgive sins.  They did not recognize the presence of God in their midst, in Jesus, who transforms broken people and makes them whole.  No one recognizes God apart from faith in God, revealed by the Spirit of God.  Just as the paralyzed man’s friends brought their friend to Jesus for healing, we also bring before God in prayer the needs of others so that they too may be restored to wholeness and be reconciled to God who loves us far more than we can even begin to comprehend.

Luke records that prior to his death and resurrection Jesus brought the 12 disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases.  He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal.  They were instructed to take nothing for their journey.  They brought the Good News, and healed diseases throughout all of the villages.  The first time Jesus sent the disciples out with power and authority to heal and to proclaim the Good News, they came back and discussed with him what they saw and felt.  The second time Jesus sent the disciples out, before He ascended into heaven, He opened their minds to understand the scripture, “That [he] the Messiah had to suffer, die and rise from the dead on the third day.”  Jesus told them to wait for the Holy Spirit to come upon them and then to go, to all the nations proclaiming repentance and forgiveness of sins in His name.  Unlike the first time Jesus sent the disciples out to the surrounding villages, this time he sent them out to the entire world, empowered by the Holy Spirit, God with us – in a new way. 

The Holy Spirit continues to empower the Church, the Body of Christ in the world.  We bring the presence of God with us as we proclaim repentance and forgiveness of sins and wholeness to a broken and hurting world.  We are entrusted with Christ’s message of healing and reconciliation.  Saved, blessed, and sent by God who empowers us with the Holy Spirit, we are sent out to do God’s will in the world. 

Just in case you are wondering, the seminarian in Tanzania served with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania , in a diocese not far from the Konde diocese, a partner in ministry with the Lower Susquehanna synod, whose Bishop we pray for, and whose Hospital we support.  Together with our brothers and sisters in Christ in Tanzania and in all countries around the world, we, the Church, the body of Christ, bring the message of repentance and forgiveness and wholeness in Jesus’ name to people of every nation, to those whose hospital chaplains perform exorcisms, and to those whose hospital chaplains explain advance medical directives.  God seeks to bring all people back to wholeness through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

Amen