Today’s Healing, Tomorrow’s Hassle
Dear Savannah and Sutton,
I remember that your grandma (Mimi) used to say, “You can’t have privilege without responsibility.” I think what she meant was that with every gift, every talent, every blessing and every opportunity comes a responsibility to use what has been received in life-giving ways. And, there are a million different ways to do that. Often the responsibility feels like work; sometimes hard work. But I think that in the work you discover that there was more to the gift than you ever imagined. (The privilege of having you two as daughters is the perfect example.)
-Dad
Inside Out Lectionary Letters
Year A - Third Sunday of Advent
Readings for December 14, 2025
Isaiah 35:1-10 / Psalm 146:5-10 / James 5:7-10 / Matthew 11:2-11
Summary of Matthew 11:2-11
In this passage, John the Baptist is in prison. He hears reports about Jesus’ ministry and sends his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else? Jesus responds by pointing to the signs and wonders that are part of his ministry.
After John’s disciples leave, Jesus turns to the crowd and affirms John’s ministry. Jesus identifies John as the messenger foretold in Malachi 3:1: “I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.”
Scripture as a Mirror of the Soul
Matthew 11 continues the story of John and his cousin Jesus. John, who is in prison, sends some of his students to talk with Jesus. We don’t know if John is wondering if Jesus is actually the Messiah, or if he simply wants his students to see for themselves. Jesus responds to their inquiry with a listing of the outcomes of his ministry. However, he concludes with a rather cryptic statement; “Blessed are those who do not fall away on account of me.”
Who would fall away on account of Jesus? I can’t imagine it would be the blind who received their sight, the lame who could now walk, those with leprosy who were healed, those whose lives were extended or the poor who received hope. But maybe… Maybe the work that follows healing is not easy. What happens when a person’s sight is restored and what they see is repulsive, or when a person can walk again and is expected to carry a full work load. How about when a person is healed of leprosy but still has to deal with the horrible community stigma associated with one who had that disease, or when one’s life is extended but still faces hostile family conflicts. What about the person who hears the good news for the first time, but sees no economic relief to the plague of poverty.
Better yet, let’s consider that the outward manifestations of Jesus’ ministry are an invitation to consider the inner healing of our soul or psyche. When I am given eyes to see social injustice in places I had never seen it before, what am I to do with that? Or what if I catch a glimpse of how I have benefited from social systems that honored me with privileged status but in so doing kept others oppressed? I may not have asked for that privilege, nor ever intended for others to be hurt, but that’s how social systems sometimes work. My blinded inward eyes see and I don’t like what I see.
How about the toxic attitudes within that fester like a leprosy of the heart. I externalize all those toxic attitudes and project them onto others. I vilify others, treating them as despicable, and ignore the parts of me that exemplify those same characteristics which I accuse others of having. The healing within takes a lot of work, and feels like a far greater miracle than the external healing of skin disease.
The work of inward healing is not easy, but it is incredibly rewarding. The transformation of our identity can be painful, but it also brings with it unimaginable freedom. Living in harmony with our true self is itself a spiritual revolution, and blessed are those who don’t fall away from the work simply because it’s work.