Mars Hill Centre
www.marshillcentre.com
www.marshillcentre.com
Relational & Emotional Healing
Early in my Christian life my experience with emotional or inner healing had consisted of having someone pray with me at an altar service. Things were "broken off", emotional wounds were "healed" and I spoke forgiveness to people who had hurt me in the past. That night, and the next day I felt great. While I would feel a temporary release from my sadness, fear or anger usually returned within the week. To the best of my ability I continued to read, memorize and recite scripture. I prayed and asked others to pray for me but little seemed to change.While I continued to do the right things, I seemed incapable of sustaining the inner peace I so earnestly desired. My inner turmoil manifested itself in the socially acceptable addictions of workaholism, churchaholism, co-dependency and food addictions. My Christian life was difficult and disappointing.
A decade later I finally went to see a Christian counsellor. Meeting with my counsellor, and other life changing events provide the climate for the Holy Spiritπs work to be deepened in my life. Through this process God directed me back to seminary, and into vocational ministry. My biggest frustration was that I had spent the first fifteen years of my Christian life as one of the walking wounded. Wanting to help others enter into the process of soul healing, I asked the Holy Spirit to show me a better model than what I had experienced so far in my life.
With my limited experience, I noted that many models for emotional healing came from an understanding of physical healing, which primarily centres on the gospel accounts. Jesus prayed for people, they were healed of leprosy, haemorrhaging, paralysis or raised from the dead. This pattern seems to continue in the New Testament church where in the book of Acts people are healed of disease (Acts 3:1-10; 9:32-41 & others).
I soon became aware that there was more happening than physical healing. In fact, all the physical healing miracles recorded in the bible had the effect of restoring people to relationship and community. For example, lepers were social outcasts. Levitical law required that they be separated from the rest of society (Leviticus 13:45-46) and they were relegated to leper colonies where a few caring, and brave, individuals delivered food and provisions. Fear and superstition lead to an understanding that others would catch their disease merely by touching them or even having them in the vicinity. Obviously, healing would restore them to relationship and to community.
A woman had been haemorrhaging for twelve years (Mark 5: 25-34). According to Levitical law she was unclean (Leviticus 15: 22-28). Anyone who touched her, or even touched against her clothes became unclean. Consequently, it is likely that she was divorced or had never married. Certainly she shouldnπt have even been in the crowd. Imagine the number of people who had been made unclean simply by bumping against her that day. When Jesus healed her He did more than stop the bleeding. Jesus says to her, "Go in peace and be healed of your trouble." (Mark 5:34b, emphasis mine, Good News Bible.) He restored this outcast woman to community.
Demonic activity in an individual has the potential to exclude them from relationships. In the most dramatic account of the demon-possessed man in the territory of Gadarenes (Mark 5: 1-20), the separation from relationship was most obvious. People were terrified to come anywhere near the young man. In fact, such was his torment that he even despised relationship with himself-slashing his own body. When Jesus healed him he was restored to his right mind and would have been welcomed back into his immediate family and his community.
Even the man with a withered hand (Matthew 12:9-14), while perhaps able to earn a living, would have been socially outcast due to his physical deformity. Today, in our society, any form of physical deformity still has the potential to place relational barriers between individuals.
It is important to note that in each of Jesusπ physical healing miracles he did not worry about social norms of not touching certain people, or even being with them. No doubt even in his touch and presence people gained hope. He was willing to risk touching them and loving them.
We have seen that even physical healing restored people to relationships that had been broken. How did Jesus deal with deep emotional wounds, like the kind of damage done when a person is sexually abused? Jesus' manner in addressing people's heart wounds was quite different. He spent time with them. He entered into relationship with them. We see Jesus spend time with people who were sexually broken like the woman caught in the act of adultery, and other women who were prostitutes. Jesus entered into relationship with these women. Mary Magdalene changes from a woman carrying the weight of shame to the honoured first witness of the resurrection.
Jesus healing ministry delivered the whole person – emotionally, spiritually and relationally. We must do the same. Emotional healing cannot happen in isolation.
Rev. Cheryl Shea
The Mars Hill Centre is a outreach, recovery centre located in the trendy, urban Old Strathcona Area of Edmonton. Since 1995 we have connected with people who are interested in spirituality and healing but may be wary of a typical church. We offer a variety of recovery groups throughout the year aimed at healing hearts, restoring relationships and creating community. Also, we connect with our nation through the 'Native Healing Connection' a nation-wide referral line for adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse. (NHC is a project of World Vision Canadas' Aboriginal Programs.)
Cheryl Shea, M.Div.
Team Leader
Mars Hill Centre
address: Box 4400, Edmonton, AB T6E 4T5
phone: 780-435-0202
office location: 8318-104 Street (basement Strathcona Baptist Church)
email: cheryl@marshillcentre.com
