The
Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity.
The
Collect.
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ORD, we pray thee that thy grace may
always prevent and follow us, and make us continually to be given to all good
works; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
They that be whole need not a
physician, but they that are sick. (Matt 9:12)
They that are whole have no
need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the
righteous, but sinners to repentance. (Mark 2:17)
Christ did, indeed, come as a Physician to treat and cure our most serious
malady – that of the incurable leprosy of sin. When no one else would dare
touch, or even come near a leper, Christ came near and touched us with His
Hands and Heart. He made the diagnosis and rendered the cure by offering
Himself as a propitiation for our disease of sin. Our filthy rags of sin fell
away as He placed His White Robe of Righteousness upon those of us who have
claimed Him as own Lord and Saviour. He is like unto the Father whose deep
love, abused by the Prodigal Son, did not amend at the desertion of that son
for a time. As we return to Him after a season of rebellion, He watchfully
awaits our return to cover our filthy sins with a more radiant raiment. Christ,
being the ultimate Physician, exercised triage in treating our most deadly
affliction first – that of SIN! Following that act of triage,
Christ goes on to heal every other of our afflictions. And, behold, they
brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their
faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of
good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee. And, behold, certain
of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth. And Jesus
knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye
evil in your hearts? For whether is
easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on
earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. (Matt 9:2-6) Is He not a most dear and amazing
Physician?
Christ is the Physician who knows the nature of our disease for He suffered its
penalty for us at Golgotha! He knows the disease, and He knows the cure. In
fact, He offers His service free of charge to those who will consult Him. The
remedy is free to the patient, but very costly to the Physician.
It
is true that every physician must have the qualifications and documentation to
practice his art. Christ DOES have that qualification and is fully commissioned
by the Father to practice His art. As a matter of fact, Christ is the ONLY One
qualified to heal and make alive. Being the very Author of Life and
Liberty, He dispenses it liberally to all who will receive His healing
MIRACLES.
Christ does not treat the symptom only, but the cause of the malady as well. He
knows the cause of our misery began at Eden. He knows the cure, and He knows
the regimen of remaining free of the disease of sin. He knows that we have a
`blood disease' not so different from that blood disease of leprosy. He knows
that the sinners blood carries the micro-organism of sin inherited from our
ancient father in Eden. The sinner needs a transfusion for healing, and that
transfusion is the Blood of Christ!
This
Great Physician practices His art with unparalleled kindness. He practices the
profound physician's principle of "first, do no harm!"
His treatment is not hurtful, but joyful – not painful, but full of comfort.
His healing is final and not subject to relapse. The healing of Christ is not
temporary, but permanent. Not only is the patient completely healed, but given
a vitality and wonder of life that he never knew before his healing. He not
only WALKS, but RUNS, and happily carries his bed
with him.
Like
the Good Samaritan, the Great Physician tenderly and lovingly applies the
expensive oils of the Holy Spirit into our gaping wounds, and applies an
abundance of His precious Wine (His own Blood) to cover our loss of life-blood.
He provides His own transport for us to His Inn, and continues to treat us. He
provides an under-shepherd (His true ministers) to continue treatment at His
own expense during the while that He is away on important business for His
Father.
The
Great Physician does not bid a final farewell to His patient who has been
healed by His loving hands. He continues to visit in the quiet of the night and
the solitude of the dews and damps of the dawn. He watches over His patient as
the Bright and Morning Star during the long period of dark foreboding, and
rises early as the Day Star at the brightening hope of His daily visit to our
bedside. When our spirits fail, He prescribes a greater measure of His Wine of
Joy.
Unlike the worldly physician who seldom darkens the door of the desperately
poor, the Great Physician treats the poor as the royalty of His practice. He
makes no distinction in those of means and those in penury except to note their
dispositions to heed His counsel for recovery. Without this Physician's
attendance, I would still be long dead in the Sahara of my Sins.
Christ took upon Himself our disease of sin in His pure blood. He is able,
through His own generous sacrifice, to grant immunity of our disease to us in
His treatment of our deadly sickness.
The
physicians of our world will someday die and leave their patients; but the
Great Physician died on our behalf and has risen to treat with us continually
and forever.
Physicians of this world cannot offer any cure for the final symptom of the
deadly disease – death. When their patient dies, the worldly physician can only
bury them in their long home. But the Great Physician calls back – not only the
finally dead, but the walking dead – to life eternal. (Ephesians 2:1-2)
Please consider the pathologies of sin. Every sin spawns a million
micro-organisms that attack the life of the sinner. But the immunity granted by
Christ prevents the entry of deadly viruses and organisms into our sanctified
and cleansed blood.
Physicians of our world cannot treat more than a very few patients at once, but
the Great Physician can treat numbers without limit at once. He is an amazing
and wonderful, Physician, Lord and Savior. Have you consulted Him for your
deadly disease?
