HEALING AND THE FORGIVENESS OF SIN
The Rev. Harold Shepherd, CD, M.A., S.T.M., LL.B., LL.M., Ph.D.
Sermon from February 23, 2003


Then some people came, bringing to him a paralysed man, carried by four of them…When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, “Why does this fellow speak in this way? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”… and he said to them… “Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Stand up and take your mat and walk’?… he said to the paralytic- “I say to you, stand up, take your mat and go to your home.” And he stood up, and immediately took the mat and went out before all of them. Mark 2:3-12

The relationship between sin, forgiveness and illness has long been controversial within Judaism. A long-standing belief linked illness to sin. A well-known example of this thinking can be found in the Book of Job. This man had made it in life according to all the significant measures of society. After losing almost everything, some of his friends concluded that his misfortune must be the result of sin. God must be punishing Job for something that he had done. In their view, the best way to help Job is to make him recognize his sin and seek forgiveness from God. When Job refused to acknowledge that his situation was the result of a specific sin, he and his friends got into a long debate. In the end, Job is vindicated and his good life restored. His friends were proven wrong. Sometimes bad things happen to good people without divine retribution being responsible. The point made in the Book of Job was revolutionary for the period. By Jesus’ day, it still was not understood. When confronted with a man born blind, the disciples asked if it was his parent’s sin that caused him to be born blind. Jesus rejected the link between this illness and sin. On the contrary, he stated that it served the purpose of glorifying God through its healing. This is not to say that God will heal all diseases. Rather, God can use all occurrences for a greater good. In Job’s case, it was to test his loyalty to God in both good times and bad times.

But, why was the link between sin and illness so strong? Even today we sometimes see examples of it. For example, after the AIDS crisis developed, American Evangelist Gerry Faldwell stated that this was divine punishment for sin. After the loss of the Colombia space shuttle, an Iraqi official was quoted as attributing it to God’s punishment of the United States. And so it goes on. However, in the account of the paralytic in Mark 2, Jesus does, in fact, make a connection between sin and illness. For him, forgiveness of sin and healing are interconnected. What explains the difference? Is there a connection between illness and sin or not? The answer is a clear and unequivocal- it depends. On the one hand, God does not send illness in order to punish us or because he enjoys watching us suffer. On the contrary, he suffers with us. On the other hand, it is true that we often reap what we sow. We bring some illnesses on ourselves by our own actions. Examples include heavy drinkers developing liver problems, smokers developing lung cancer, drug addicts sharing needles contracting AIDS, and the like. Choices with respect to diet, exercise and stress management can also have a direct effect on our health. Some psychological conditions can manifest themselves physically. A link can be made between health and quality of relationships. Several weeks ago the evening news reported the retirement of a sheep dog in a Japanese office after many years of service. The dog roamed the halls of the office, allowing staff to experience some unconditional affection during the workday. This had a positive affect on morale and productivity. This was figured out a number of years ago by St. John Ambulance when they developed their therapy dog programme. My sister enrolled her two dogs in this programme a number of years ago and her spare time visiting shut-ins. Contact with dogs who love us and accept us as we are has a therapeutic effect. Beginning with the birth of psychoanalysis in the 19th century, various approaches have been developed to foster wholeness through healing the psyche. We have become increasingly aware of the unity of the person. We cannot separate mind and body as hermetically sealed spheres of activity. What happens to one affects the other. This point is made abundantly clear in today’s Gospel reading. In some (but not all) cases, a healing of the body also involves a healing of the mind. Putting the past behind us and experiencing the unconditional love and forgiveness of God is sometimes the first step to physical well-being. Forgiveness is not needed to end divine punishment. However, it may be needed to purge us of psychological poison and restore wholeness to our whole being. Thanks be to God!