Perhaps you’ve heard the joke about the man whose prayer begins, “Thank you, God. This day has been going so well. I haven’t had any bad thoughts. I haven’t gotten angry at anyone. And I haven’t done anything I regret.” Then comes the punchline: “But, dear God, any minute now the alarm clock is going to go off, and I’m going to have to get out of bed and face the rest of the day. So I could really use Your help.”

A lot of stuff comes at us on any given day, and sometimes it can feel as if we’re running to catch up to our best selves even before we get started. But the basic message of Christianity is not about how to have more positive thoughts amidst the onslaught of negative ones, nor is it about how to overcome feelings of guilt about the negative thoughts that come our way. The good news that Christ Jesus brought is that right here and now, no matter what appears to be going on around us or within us, God, good, is present and supreme; the kingdom of heaven, where God reigns, is, in fact, where we live. I find it very difficult, if not impossible, to read the accounts of Jesus’ healing works and not come to this conclusion. 

It’s as though Christ is saying to us in the New Testament, “You think you’ve got a highly contagious disease? Well, because God controls the condition of your being, you’re actually whole and well.”