HEALING MINISTRY OF JESUS

Michael Angelo Lobrin

Hi Friends, wish to share with you my talk delivered to the Community of Pediatrics in the
Philippines. Share to your doctor-friends. It might help also in your personal reflections. Remain
happy and blessed :)- Michael Angelo Lobrin

THE INTEGRAL HEALING THE HUMAN PERSON

The incorporation of Christian faith in the conduct of Healthcare Industr
The healthcare industry - the behemoth industry that it is today - is essentially anchored on the
principle of benevolence and goodness believed to be innate in human life, or the existence of life in
general. Put simply, we seek to protect, sustain and even preserve human life because we know that
it is a fundamental good and positivity. 
I propose - in this talk - to argue that it is incumbent upon us who remind ourselves of the “why” of
the healthcare industry. Unless we desire to see the healthcare industry only as another facet of
capitalism, or another instrument of accruing profits and revenues, then we might as well be
reminded of the real reason why the healthcare industry has flourished in our contemporary time.
The focus is the human person. The raison-d-etre is the goodness that is inherent in life. 

1. The Healing Ministry of Jesus 

The healing ministry of Jesus may teach us one way or two in endeavoring to recover the sense of
inherent goodness in the healthcare industry that we now have. 
Remember this: the fact that Jesus engaged in healing and exorcism (the expulsion of evil
possession of the human body) reveals that Jesus too recognized the fundamental goodness of life. 
1.1 The healing of Jesus is always done within the context of personal and loving relationship. 
- In the healing of the blind man, Jesus touched his eyes with his own saliva.
- In the healing of Jairus daughter, Jesus gave assuring words to her father. 
- In the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law, Jesus went personally to the house of Peter to heal her. 
- The healing of the blind-mute also reveals Jesus as the Lord who deals with sickness after having
contracted relationship first. 
1.2 The healing ministry of Jesus reveals that “healing” as such is not confined to physical wellbeing
or recover of the body only. 
- The connection between forgiveness of sins and healing is very much apparent in the healing
ministry of Jesus. After His healing, Jesus would often admonish: “Go and sin no more; your faith
has healed you.” This is really more about the healing of the body as is the healing of the entire
person and his circumstances. 
- Mary Magdalene’s subjection to the flesh - a spiritual-psychological dilemma - was addressed by
Jesus in the healing of her own soul and psyche.
- Nicodemus, in the Gospel of John, was converted to Jesus’ teaching. This is not just a case of
conversion as it too was a kind of healing of Nicodemus fear and anxiety (because he was a
Pharisee who feared the stigma of being tagged as a disciple of the Lord). Nicodemus’ frequent
‘midnight’ visits to Jesus paved the way for his healing of the inner self as well as the welcome
recovery of his joy and confidence. 

1.3 The healing ministry of Jesus allows us to see how creating conditions that promote continued
wellbeing, after one’s healing, is an equally important element of healing. 
- Jesus’ proclamation of the Kingdom is His way of creating a world conducive to wellbeing - i.e.,
affirmed in the fundamental goodness of man, empowered to do good, safeguarded against fear and
anxiety, protected from all harm, and always hopeful towards a state better than this world can offer.

2. Challenge to incorporate the Christian faith the modern conduct of healthcare industry (learning
from the example of Jesus.
2.1 Experiencing common difficulties of doctors and healthcare practitioners
- Challenges to healthcare industry remains; of course, the healing ministry is about addressing what
prevents humanity living his full potentials (due to sickness?)
- But our efforts to address problems in the healthcare industry, especially for doctors and nurses,
will always be a ministry of uplifting human relationship. To go back to the essence of improving
human relationships. 
2.2 Proposal to counsel grieving parents, or relatives having difficulty coping with tragic loss of loved
one.
- Remember that it forms part of the healing ministry to console those in difficulty. Healing is not just
about removing tumors, correcting problems through surgery, or prescribing continuing medicine. It
is also about being “present” to those severely affected by any sickness - patients and their relatives
included. 
- Dealing with difficult parents and relatives also must be given emphasis. Mostly, people become
angry not because they are inherently bad, but because they are operating on hurt. 
- It would be a welcome development that Healthcare industry find ways to improve on interpersonal
skills and the Christian ways of compassion in dealing with difficult situations. 
- Just like priests (in the seminary), continuing courses on grieving, dying and phases of human life
may be facilitative in our deep desire to assist persons undergo harsh realities of sickness and
death. 

3. The role of Christian faith and prayer in the Healthcare industry

3.1 Christian faith, seen in the lenses of Jesus’ own healing ministry, can lend us a perspective in
the healthcare industry.
- That healing of the person is primarily the work of God. We can do our best in handling every
situation, but we must be reminded of the no little importance of humility and prudence in seeing how
all these but redounds to God’s own works in our daily situations, even the most difficult ones. 
- That the healing ministry of Jesus is a reminder to invoke the power of God in that which we best
do. We need God in the ministry of healing people. We don’t just do procedures on some corporeal
entities. We uplift the soul in healing the body. 
- That the healing ministry of Jesus is a powerful way to incorporate the power of faith and prayer in
confronting sickness and death. Pray always. It is your most powerful tool in the heavy demands of
the healthcare industry.