Festival of the Conversion of St. Paul
Posted on January 25, 2022 by under
Scripture: St. Luke 4:38-44 (NKJV)
4:38 Now He arose from the synagogue and entered Simon’s house. But Simon’s wife’s mother was sick with a high fever, and they made request of Him concerning her. 39 So He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. And immediately she arose and served them.
40 When the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them. 41 And demons also came out of many, crying out and saying, “You are the Christ, the Son of God!”
And He, rebuking them, did not allow them to speak, for they knew that He was the Christ.
42 Now when it was day, He departed and went into a deserted place. And the crowd sought Him and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from leaving them; 43 but He said to them, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent.” 44 And He was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.
Devotion
Some incorrectly teach that the sickness of Peter’s mother-in-law—and, thus, all sickness—is a matter of demons needing to be cast out, because Jesus rebukes both the fever and the demons. Yet, Jesus also rebuked wind and waves (Luke 8:24). He is the God of creation: even inanimate objects must obey Him, so every aberration sin causes in His creation must take flight at His command. We need not rebuke “the demon of strep throat,” but must recognize that, as fallen creatures in a fallen creation, such sickness is a consequence of the Fall. We need to commend the sick to the care of Him who is Creator and Redeemer, trusting that His gracious will shall be accomplished to our good and His glory.
The same crowd that makes the previous error often follows it with this one: Jesus “laid His hands on every one of them and healed them,” so, they say, “He will physically heal every single one whose faith in Him is real.” Yet, Jesus didn’t visit every sick person on earth, or even in Judea; nor did the Apostles. Physically healing everyone on earth at that time wasn’t what Jesus came to do. Rather, He healed (and raised the dead) to show that He could, so that when He promised the resurrection of all flesh and eternal life to all who trust in Him, we could be secure in believing He can do such things. Doing so on the Sabbath is for the same reason: that we may know He is the Lord, who has authority over everything.
Prayer: Almighty and Everlasting God, mercifully look upon our infirmities, and in all our dangers and necessities, stretch forth the right hand of Thy Majesty, to help and defend us; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Collect for the Festival of the Conversion of St. Paul
Merciful Lord, we beseech Thee to cast the bright beams of Thy light upon Thy Church, that it being instructed by the doctrine of the blessed Apostles, may so walk in the light of Thy truth, that it may at length attain to the light of everlasting life; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
