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"Emmanuel: Glimpses of God Incarnate," December 14
Tuesday, December 14
Exodus 15:22-26
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“God as Healer”
“I WILL NOT MAKE YOU SUFFER the diseases I sent on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord who heals you.” I imagine many of you have pondered “God as healer” as we have navigated the world of pandemic. You may have lost family, friends, or congregants to this pestilence; you may have performed more funerals than you can count or visited more deathbeds than you imagined possible. Disease and death have surrounded us. If we are not yet completely numb, we are surely crying out with the Psalmist, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” We are pleading with God for this pandemic—which has already taken nearly five million lives created in the image of God—to end. Why, oh God, have you forsaken us?
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God had already shown Godself faithful to Israel, liberating them from Egyptian bondage and leading them safely through the waters of destruction. In Exodus 15, God also assures Moses that God is the LORD who heals. This image occurs throughout the Hebrew Scriptures. For example, Malachi proclaims, “the sun of righteousness shall rise, with healing in its wings!” The New Testament retains this theme, reminding us that one day God will dwell with God’s people and death will be no more (Revelation 21:3-4). And yet, as COVID reminds us, that is certainly not the world we live in now.
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Breaking out our Christmas decorations at Thanksgiving often occludes the reality that Advent is a season of waiting. We so easily skip the darkness and anticipation of Advent to embrace the light and celebration of Christmas. However, at Advent we long for God to break into the world again, eagerly crying “Maranatha! Come, Lord!” We acknowledge the profound brokenness of our world and plead with God to make things right. In a sense, Advent grants us permission to embrace the real despair caused by the pandemic while still acknowledging that God is ultimately Healer. While we are presently experiencing the not yet of the world, we rest in the hope of the already enacted by the Risen Christ who heals all creation.
– Dr. Josh Kulak Adjunct Professor in Evangelism and Missions
