“Thy will be done.” We have come to the third petition in
our series of sermons considering the Lord’s Prayer. We began by calling God
“our Father,” that title that is at the same time the most loving and the most
respectful. Then we joined in praying that God’s Kingdom might finally arrive,
that kingdom where all are loved and nurtured and fulfilled. And now, we’re
asking that God’s will might take priority over our own desires.
But what is God’s
will, anyway? I know that there are lots of people who are ready to explain it
to me if I ask them; and even if I don’t ask
them they’ll probably explain it to me, anyway. They’ve got God’s will all
figured out, locked in a box of certainty so tight that no whiff of doubt would
ever dare to waft in. They’ve got
God’s will down to a science! God’s will is…
this; and God’s will isn’t… that. I
have a sneaking suspicion, though, that the people who say they know the most
about God’s will are the ones who really know the least about it.
After all, just listen to some of the claims that people
make about God’s will. I have heard God’s will used to explain all kinds of
events that I’m pretty sure God has very little to do with. I have heard God’s
will used to explain both picnic weather and hurricanes, missed punts and winning
touchdown runs, pink slips and unexpected promotions, joyful weddings and difficult
divorces, and pretty much anything else that you can imagine. If something
thrills us to the core of our very being… well, then, it must be God’s will.
But if an unexpected disaster occurs without warning… well, some people claim
that must be God’s will, too! Can all
of this be God’s will? And if that isn’t the case, how do we sort out what
God’s will is, anyway?
Sometimes, the only thing I’m sure of is that we can’t
neatly define God’s will. Just when we think we’ve got God’s will firmly in our
hands, it slips away from us like a wiggly little fish. We really can’t put
God’s will into a box, no matter how hard we try! Maybe a better approach is to
see what God’s will looks like. What did Jesus do in the pages of the gospels?
After all, if Jesus is God, then Jesus’ will is God’s will, too. What did Jesus
choose to do?
Well, Jesus chose to do all kinds of things. Jesus chose to accept
people. He met them where they were, and he was happy with their little baby
steps as they moved towards a more authentic relationship with God. Jesus chose
to teach people. He offered to lead them out of their ignorance so that they
knew more about the God they worshipped. And Jesus chose to heal people. That’s
the heart of the little story that we heard just a few minutes ago. It takes
place early in Matthew’s gospel (Matthew 8:1-4). Jesus has called his first disciples
and preached the Sermon on the Mount. He has already become known as a great healer.
Matthew mentions that Jesus has healed those “with various diseases, those suffering
severe pain, the demon-possessed, the epileptics and the paralytics…” (Matthew
4:25). Huge crowds are following him, hanging on his every word. Suddenly, he
is confronted by a leper. “Lord,” the leper begs, kneeling at Jesus’ feet, “if
you are willing, you can make me clean.”
It’s a challenge, although it’s a respectful one. We have to
read between the lines to hear what the leper is really asking. “Jesus,” he’s
saying, “you’ve healed all kinds of other people, but none of them had a
disease that would kill them. None of those other folks were thrown out of
society and left to die slowly all by themselves. What about me? Will you heal
me, too? I know that you can heal me,
but do you want to heal me? Are you
like all those Pharisees, who tell me that my disease is some kind of
punishment from God, or will you heal me so that I can go back to my family and
my friends? Which is it, Jesus? What’s God’s will for me?” Jesus doesn’t
hesitate even for a heartbeat. “I am willing,” Jesus voice rings out. “Be
clean!” The leper is healed immediately.
The gospels speak with one voice when it comes to God’s
healing power. God’s will is never that we be punished or isolated or
afflicted. God’s will is always that
we be healed and made whole, whatever our illnesses may be. The gospels are
full of stories about Jesus healing all kinds of afflictions. Jesus heals all
the senses. He opens the eyes of the blind and the ears of the deaf; he
restores speech to the mute, and restores useless, withered hands. Jesus makes
broken bodies whole. He makes the lame walk again, straightens bodies that are
crippled, and even heals paralytics. Jesus heals fevers and stops chronic blood
flows. He casts out all kinds of evil spirits that cause what we might call
mental or emotional illnesses. Jesus even restores life to the dead.
I counted up all those healing stories; and you might be
surprised at just how many there really are in the gospels. Mark has the
fewest, at “only” 13 healings. But then, Mark is also the shortest gospel. Matthew
contains 14 stories of healings, while Luke has the most at 16. John only offers
4 healing stories, but his gospel trumps the others in quality if not in
quantity. John’s gospel tells us about the raising of Lazarus, the man who had
already been in his grave for four days when Jesus restored him to life. And
that count doesn’t include the many times that the gospels say things like,
Jesus cured “all who were sick or possessed by demons.” If these are added in,
too, the total number of healings mentioned in all the gospels is an
astonishing 58 – and that’s assuming that I didn’t miss any! The gospels leave
no doubt that God’s will is for healing.
So… where is God’s healing today? In this world of MRIs,
EEGs, EKGs, and CAT scans, does God still heal? Of course! Where do you think
the wisdom came from that led to the development of all those life-giving
medical tests? Whose hand guided the development of the medications that save
so many lives today? God still guides the insight of the research scientist and
the skill of the surgeon’s hand. Why do you think so many doctors now pray with
their patients before surgery? They know, too, that God is the ultimate source
of healing. We are simply God’s agents who help bring about that healing! Of
course, some wounds can’t be healed by taking a pill. But God has those
covered, too. When an alcoholic stays sober for 20 years; when a bullied
teenager regains her self-respect because friends stand by her and support her;
when a bereaved spouse is able to reach past the chains of grief and loves
again – that’s all a part of God’s healing power. God heals minds and souls as
well as bodies. And thanks be to God for all of it!
So, when we pray the Lord’s Prayer, and we ask “Thy will be
done,” I don’t think that we’re praying for good weather or a winning basketball
team or a fat check to deposit in the bank account. Sure, all those things are
nice; and we’re absolutely right to thank God for all the blessings that fill
our lives. But when we pray “Thy will be done,” we’re praying for something
much bigger than just a blessing here and there. We’re asking for the same
thing that we’re asking for when we pray “Thy kingdom come.” We’re praying that
all of God’s children might be healed of whatever is afflicting them so that
everyone might be filled with the health and wholeness that God intends for all
of us! Because that, my friends – that
is God’s will.
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