Healing The Sick

Evening falls— the sky above the purple hills darkens. Goats return home through the spare bushes. The faraway calls of goat herders echoes in the stillness.

A small group approaches the hamlet, their sandals stirring golden dust. As they enter the hamlet, the group hears children’s laughter. They see a hunchback ten years old who stands on a crutch surrounded by several urchins. The children hurl insults and stones at the crippled boy. The anguish on the child’s face pierces
Jesus’ heart.

“Stop.” He says lifting his hand. The children gape at the stranger who had spoken with such authority. Jesus places his hand on the head of the persecuted child.

“This child is the strongest among you,” Jesus looks at the children with affection. The children laugh at this thinking it a joke.

“I’m the strongest of the lot,” A burly boy confronts Jesus with swelled chest. He cast a glance toward the others who cheer in agreement.

“No, you are not, he is.”

“I am, too.”

“Very well then, prove it. Lift that boulder,” says Jesus.

The boy struggles with the boulder, but is unable to lift it. Jesus lifts the boulder and places it on the burly boy’s back.

“Walk with it.”

The child bent over by the weight staggers forward stirring the dust. His companions cheer him on.

“See, he has a hump now. He limps now,” says Jesus in a loud voice. The children stop cheering and look on thoughtfully.

The boy, unable to support the crushing weight any longer, lets the boulder fall and sits on it catching his breath.

” Get up,” says Jesus and gives him his hand.

He takes the burly boy to the cripple. “He is the strongest because he carries on his shoulders a stone heavier than the one you dropped.”

“Where is it? I don’t see it. ”

“The stone he carries is the will of God and is by far heavier that any earthly stone, but unlike you, he can not drop it. Do you want to be like him?” Jesus looks at the boy sternly.

“No, I don’t!”

“Very well then, he and not you, has been chosen because he is stronger than you. So be thankful and don’t mock him.”

Jesus tousles the burly boy’s hair and digs in his pouch for a large juicy fig. “Here, give this to the crippled boy. From now on, protect, and respect him because God has spared you his fate.”

The child approaches the cripple and offers the fig with a scowl. The cripple accepts it cautiously as if it were a spider.

“Take this pouch and share the figs with the others,” says Jesus to the burly boy. Now go to your homes.”

Jesus approaches the crippled boy with a smile, ” My son, at God’s table you will be honored above these others. Take refuge in your soul because there the Lord will feed you his sweetest fruits”

“Rabbi, are you the man they call Jesus of Nazareth?”

“Yes, I am”

“My mother says you can make the blind see and the crippled walk. Please heal me, Rabbi. ”

“I will heal your soul, but God gave you your body and you must accept His will.”

“But why does God want me to suffer?”

“God doesn’t want you to suffer. You make yourself suffer because you believe the insults of ignorant children. Remember when you were little and thought nothing was wrong with you. Do you remember how happy you were then? How surprised you
were the first time a child mocked you? Surely, you thought, this child is mad, there isn’t anything wrong with me. But when they persisted in their mockery, you believed them and began despising your body. And who gave you your body, but God? Are
you not spitting on his gift? Do you respect the opinion of ignorant children and evil men above God’s? ”

Jesus touches the boy’s forehead with his index and middle finger and smiling sweetly lifts the boy to him and looks in his eyes.

“From now on, when someone mocks you, laugh with him, if he insults you, bless him for thinking you strong enough to bear his insults, and God will give you the holy indifference of the saints. Let your soul be your fortress and let God use your body to teach others the evil of their ways.”