The Divine Physician

Jesus is sometimes called the Divine Physician, a title that is derived from a passage in St. Mark’s Gospel reading for today.  “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.  I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”  (Mark 2:17bc)  Although we would not equate or make any connection between illness and sin with our modern understanding of illness, these people would have done so.  Because they did not believe in an afterlife, God’s reward for a just person was the “good life,” a life free of illness and shame. 

Considering the fact that most human beings don’t exit this life without some suffering and pain caused by either illness or accident, it is a wonder that they were not able to let go of this concept without great difficulty.  The classic case is, of course, Job from the pages of the Hebrew Scriptures.  However, the Gospels are also populated with characters who are considered sinners simply because they were ill or poor or marginalized by their profession (such as the shepherds). 

So Jesus’ statement would have struck a very definite chord with his contemporaries.  It seems that he is also equating the two – sickness and sin.  However, Jesus is not condemning the sinner.  Rather Jesus is trying to speak to the issue of mercy and compassion.  Rather than isolating one’s self from the sinner, he preaches a way of life that reaches out to them.  Just as we express and demonstrate concern for those who are physically ill, Jesus is concerned about those who are in the grips of a spiritual illness. 

The theme of the Holy Father’s visit to Sri Lanka and the Philippines is emblazoned on banners wherever he goes these days: Mercy and Compassion.  The Pope’s emphasis on these twin gifts is already well-known.  The fact is that we are all sinners.  The Holy Father has named himself among the sinners.  We are all in need of mercy and compassion.  We all need the Divine Physician.

CUSANS who live their lives with chronic illness know well the effects that they have on our daily lives.  The isolation that comes with illness and/or disability may not seem to be as prevalent today when it comes to physical illness.  However, there still is a stigma attached to mental illness and/or disability.  CUSA joins with many other Christian initiatives which seek to break the barriers that are erected around those who suffer from these types of illnesses.  God’s love for us is not mitigated by illness or by disability.  As Pope Francis has demonstrated through his attention to the sick and people with disabilities, the Divine Physician is still needed in today’s world just as it was at the time of Jesus.

Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator