Several years ago I heard the Rev. Dr. James Forbes (of the Riverside Church, NYC) give the most remarkable sermon on John 5, "Do you want to be healed?" It was a complete sociopolitical and economic analysis of Jerusalem and her invalids at the time of Christ. Very eye-opening.

The Reverend Jana L. Johnsen is a Presbyterian minister and an ecumenical affiliate of Grace Cathedral.

That particular story has always been one of my personal favorites, made even more so working as a health-care chaplain and applying it to my own life. In retrospect, I tended to spiritualize the meaning of that story, focusing primarily on the effects of being healed, not the actual healing event itself. If people were ill and infirmed by socially unacceptable diseases (leprosy, hemorrhages, seizures, mental illness or dementia), they would be outcasts. When the symptoms disappeared, they were restored to the community. So what's changed today as it applies in some places to AIDS, psychosis, homelessness, drug addiction, Alzheimer's or dual diagnosis? These people are our contemporary outcasts.

Currently I have been wondering more often about the actual healing event. Was it a cure or merely a temporary relief of immediate symptoms? Jesus took the direct approach, asking the chronically ill man (with a 38-year malady) if he wanted to be healed. Nowadays I realize that not everyone wants to be healed (individuals, systems, structures, families, etc.). In fact, I've heard it said that only the truly desperate really want to be healed -- the ones whose lives are so miserable or painful that they can't stand the suffering any longer.

Be that as it may, healing can take place on many levels. As Dr. Forbes pointed out, there are lots of dimensions to this healing stuff. Sometimes the broken relationships in our lives are what's healed or restored to wholeness (with family members, friends, colleagues, self or God). Illness does have a way of forcing us to examine the patterns of our lives more closely than usual.

Even though the person in the story began by offering Jesus excuses, Jesus directed him to take responsibility for his wellbeing. Remember, this man did not seek out Jesus for a cure, as did many others. In fact, Jesus was using him as an object lesson, rejecting the taboo of healing on the Sabbath.

Nearly one-third of the New Testament is about Jesus' healing ministry. Not many houses of worship help us understand this type of miracle in very concrete terms.

Nearly one-third of the New Testament is about Jesus' healing ministry. Not many houses of worship help us understand this type of miracle in very concrete terms. Have the churches abandoned this sacred ministry to charlatans, hucksters and snake-oil peddlers with dubious qualifications? Certainly the gifts of healing were never emphasized or honored in all of my theological training. Nor have any healing seminars or workshops ever been offered in the various churches I've attended, giving direction to such gifts. How have we gotten so divorced from our roots?

It's not just the arrogance of science, but the neglect of the religious bodies that have failed to address the need for healing on deeply spiritual levels.

We need to reform the current health care system. In the high-tech world of medicine, spirituality has been lost. This has occurred by sins of omission and commission when science and religion staked out separate territories. It's not just the arrogance of science, but the neglect of the religious bodies that have failed to address the need for healing on deeply spiritual levels. When Jesus ascended, he told his followers that greater miracles than he did, we would also perform. Jesus came as both Savior and Healer. Since we cannot save ourselves by our own design or power, we must rely on spiritual gifts at our disposal. The power of prayer, anointing and the laying on of hands are chief among them. But consider also the possibilities of an annual spiritual checkup that coincides with your yearly physical. Where are you in your growing relationship with God, self and others? How can we be pilgrims accompanying one another on this journey of life and faith? Do we not believe that our spiritual health has anything at all to do with our physical health and wellbeing? Surely our faith is more central to our lives than that!

The faith communities need to step up to the plate and be accountable partners in addressing the brokenness in people's lives everywhere.

Instead of focusing on the need for reform in medicine, I am moving my concern closer to home. The faith communities need to step up to the plate and be accountable partners in addressing the brokenness in people's lives everywhere. It starts by looking in the mirror and asking, "Do you want to be healed?" This is not a punitive judgement; it is an invitation given by our loving Creator to grow and change.

I believe that God is calling us to enter into the world in tangible, direct ways with the power to transform lives.