A Reflection from the Fuel Daily Readings App for the 23rd Sunday of Ordinary Time. Click here to read the reading.

Sometimes when I read from the Gospels, I just skim over all the locations and districts named so I can get to the ‘juicy’ part of the story, where we see what Jesus is doing next. Although I do this sometimes, I’ve found that it’s actually really valuable knowing what, and why, they are named. Today, we read Jesus in the district of Decapolis, near Galilee. This is important because it’s the region of gentiles (gentiles are people who aren’t Jewish), who were seen as unclean and unworthy. Throughout scripture we see Jesus heal countless people: he healed many gentiles, just like the man He healed in today’s reading. Not only was he a gentile, but he also was deaf and had a speech impediment. He was pretty much towards the bottom of the food chain in regard to being accepted. Society deemed him as unclean and unworthy. But Jesus didn’t.

Jesus doesn’t deem any one of us unclean or unworthy either. No matter what’s going on in our lives, Jesus is always there willing to help and to heal us. In the midst of a broken world, Jesus is the ultimate healer and a living sign and symbol of God’s compassion. Healing is a sign of God’s incredible love and compassion for his people. Jesus doesn’t leave us where we are but takes us to new places if we choose to come before him.

Jesus not only healed but restored people to full life. Healing for Jesus always includes full restoration, for us to be whole. The man was healed in order to hear the word of God and proclaim it to others. When we are healed, there needs to be more than happens in us, than just within ourselves. But a change that radiates outward, a change and healing that impacts our actions and what we do. Jesus invites us into his compassionate heart, so we can act compassionately to others, as he acted. Knowing in our hearts that there isn’t anyone around us that is unworthy of God’s love and mercy. Beyond the physical healing of blindness, let us understand healing as the ability to see what God is doing in our lives.

+ Jesus, may we encounter your healing power today. May we come before you in our brokenness, so you can make us whole. Amen.