Article October 2, 1989 Issue

Second Thought

Looking again at news and commentary

From a sermon given by Rev. Frank F. Fagan, Rector, St. James's Episcopal Church,—Richmond, Virginia

"Paul Tillich in his book The New Being writes: 'How do we paint Jesus Christ? The stories in the Gospels ... paint him as a healer.' It is astonishing that this color, this vivid expression of His nature, this powerful trait of His character has more and more been lost in our time. 'The grayish colors of a moral teacher,' continues Tillich, 'the tense expression of a social reformer, the soft trait of a suffering servant have prevailed, at least among our painters and theologians and life-of-Jesus novelists, but perhaps not so much in the hearts of the people who need somebody to heal them.'

"Paul Tillich strikes a sensitive note. We are a people in need of healing. It is true that the healing aspect of Jesus' life and ministry has not received the comparable, prominent attention given His moral and social teachings. As Tillich points out, it is not because healing stories are not there. The Bible is filled with many healing accounts of Jesus. He instructed the disciples to: 'Go and preach the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons.' ...

"When humanity faces humanity and a need exists, we must heal. We do so by reaching out ... extending ourselves in the name of love, by the power of Christ ... through the authority of Christ that He gave first to His disciples and thence to us. There is no other reason for a Church ... a movement called Christianity! ...

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