Br. Jack Crowley

Luke 14:1-6

I once had a therapist tell me that there will never be a perfect time to heal. That quote has always stuck with me. There will never be a perfect time to heal.

On one hand, it’s kind of a sad quote. It implies that if we keep waiting for the circumstances of our life to be perfect in order to heal, then we will spend the rest of our lives waiting.

On the other hand, the quote also implies a certain sense of freedom. If there will never be a perfect time to heal, then why wait? This day is just as good any other.

One of the many things that fascinates me about Jesus’ healings is how often Jesus was judged for healing people. People especially judged the timing of his healings. You would think that healing, of all actions, would be noncontroversial. You would think that healing, at any time, would be supported by all. Yet this is not the case.

I must confess I’m guilty of this in my own prayer life. Sometimes I guard my own wounds from healing as if they were treasures I am trying to protect. I cover myself up from God’s healing grace and say, “not now, this isn’t the right time.” I tell myself that at some future date when the time is right, I will truly open myself up to God and be healed, but not right now.

The problem is that we can spend the rest of our lives saying to God, “not right now, come back later.” We can spend the rest of our lives keeping God at a distance. The good news is we also have the freedom, at any given moment, to accept God’s unconditional love and open up our wounds to God’s healing grace.

As Jesus said in our Gospel today, if we had a loved one fall down a well, wouldn’t we immediately pull them out? We wouldn’t hesitate. Jesus feels that same loving urgency to heal us. So why not reach up your hand and take his?

The only thing we have to lose is our pride. That unfortunate habit of being more concerned about how we look versus how we feel. Why not choose the path of healing instead?