The Lodestar

"Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working” (James 5:13-16).

Even in a pandemic, when many people suffer from the same malady at the same time, the physical pain is individual. Each person must suffer the pain and the discomfort and take steps to heal individually.

The healthy keeps away from the sick, though that is the time the ill need the help of others. I cannot forget the three weeks that I spent in isolation when I was sick and had no one to talk to.

The Bible, however, teaches that though the pain of sickness is personal, the healing process is communal.

While James tells the people who face adversity to pray and those who are happy to sing praises, he advises that when someone is sick, the community should not run away but come together.

“Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord” (James 5:14). James also assures that “the prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working” (James 5:16).

However, praying for the sick is not just for the malady that person suffers but also a time for reconciliation. James was pastor to a very fragmented community, where the wealthy exploited the poor and treated them with contempt, and many were facing trials in life. Sickness in the community is an opportunity for reconciliation that would lead to the wholeness of the body and the community.

God will hear the elders' prayers for the healing of the individual(s). But before that happens, they must confess their sins to each other. Confessing sins to each other does not seek absolution but recognises the wrong done to each other and seeks forgiveness from the offended individuals.

Sickness in the community, whether it affects one or many, is the occasion for the community to gather, seek forgiveness from each other, and, as a fully reconciled community, seek God's favour upon their suffering members.

A group of individuals at peace with each other, and God is the agent of God’s healing.

Do not remain a distant observer when someone in your community is unwell. Gather in prayer, seek reconciliation where needed, and become active in God’s healing work. Wholeness is found not in isolation but in unity and grace.