Universal longing

"That evening at sundown they brought to [Jesus] all who were sick or possessed by demons. And the whole city was gathered together at the door." - Mark 1:32-33

It was like a scene taken from the pages of the Bible. There were mothers with babies strapped to their backs and cuddled in their arms; there were old people, barely able to walk and some in wheelchairs; there were young children, teens and adults streaming in from every corner. The people spoke to one another with hushed and subdued excitement and in different languages, not recognizable to me. People wore their Sunday best but that mostly equated to simple, modest fabrics, with many of the women wearing long skirts and head coverings.

Such was the gathering our icon class attended today at St. George's Orthodox Monastery in Taylor, PA. A myrrh-bearing, miracle-working icon visited the monastery between 2-4 pm and we were there to venerate it, while at the same time participating in an outdoor worship service on the feast day of the Transfiguration.

Between 250  - 300 people gathered in all, each lining up to have a personal moment of a prayer with the Theotokos (mother of God) and to be anointed by the sweet rose-smelling ointment which has been seeping from Mary's face in this particular icon for a few years. Dozens and perhaps hundreds of people who came into contact with the icon and its myrrh have experienced miraculous healing.  And so we thronged peacefully toward her this afternoon, with constant chanting and prayers led by nuns for healing of all who are afflicted, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

I thought of those who thronged toward Jesus wherever he went in Galilee for the very same thing: Healing of body and soul. He laid hands on as many as he could, but eventually he had to move on, just like this icon at its appointed time. For there were more sick people somewhere else waiting to venerate and witness this special happening. We weren't the only ones with the longing to be healed and made whole.

God's healing work is a mystery! I feel no need to limit that healing power to rational understanding. Today I was exposed to a healing tradition that was, until now, foreign to me but just as valid an expression of faith as I have been witness to.

Standing in that long line of the faithful, waiting for over an hour for my turn to approach, I was reminded that the healing for which I long and pray - for myself and my loved ones, for others who hurt, for divided communities and nations - is not unique to me, my family, or my church. It's part of all of us - the mommas and the papas, the newborns and the teens, the young children whose parents had to lift them to reach the icon.

And though I am skeptical of much, of this I am confident: God hears our prayers and receives our longings. And in God's infinite love, those longings of the universe are fulfilled.

Healing come, healing come.