The Authority for Healing

The texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary present the question of the cooperation of people with the Divine in healing action. The scenario from Genesis suggests that Sarah may not have had the deep faith of Abraham that she would be the means through which a son of Abraham would found a line of descendents as many as the stars. The canticle from the Gospel of Luke is the celebration of Mary that the Lord has blessed her unreserved “Yes” as birth mother of the Divine Incarnate. The centurion in the Gospel of Matthew comprehends that Jesus has the Divine Authority to heal and that this authority is not confined or control by human direction. The compassion of the Divine healing touch is the spontaneous healing of Peter’s mother-in-law as Jesus is moved by her condition.