Article July 21, 1997 Issue

Health and hospitality

Margaret Campbell

Social and business occasions often bring people together. Individuals entertain in their homes, businesses and other organizations host conferences, and nations host summit meetings. These shared moments can bring affection, appreciation, and greater understanding.

I've often thought of how the spiritual depth of true hospitality shone throughout the life and ministry of our Saviour, Christ Jesus. He enjoyed his meals with others and visited the homes of friends and followers. Yet, his friendly interchanges with people went far beyond being simply pleasant social occasions. They were embraced by the Christ, the divine presence that blessed and healed those in need. Just think how the mother-in-law of the disciple Peter must have felt when Jesus healed her of a debilitating fever while he was a guest in her home (see Matt. 8:14, 15). Society was benefited when Jesus encountered Zacchaeus, a dishonest tax collector, and informed him that he intended to be a guest in his home that same day. Zacchaeu's response literally turned his life in a new direction (see Luke 19:1-10). In speaking of this change in his host, Christ Jesus joyously declared, "This day is salvation come to this house" or, as the Wycliffe Bible translates, "This day is health come to this house."

Each one of us can rejoice in the fact that today, health has come to this house, our house! The incorporeal Christ, illustrated in the life of Jesus, is not limited to a particular time or person. The Christ, Truth, that removes the burden of disease is as present now as it was then.

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