Matthew under the arm 30

There was a gate through into a field which was lying off its hinges. Columba and I tried to put it back. But it was too heavy even for two of us. I called Columba a 'wimp' and we messed around in a mock boxing match, laughing our heads off! We heard a groan coming from the wall beside the gate, and there was boy in tears. 'He's broken his leg', I shouted. The boy had tried to jump the gate earlier and hadn't quite made it. Columba bent down looked at the leg and said to the boy, 'Look at that rabbit over there...' As the boy tried to look, Columba gave his leg a quick pull..... There was a scream.... 'It's not broken', said Columba quietly. The boy looked at Columba in amazement and got up gingerly totry his weight on his feet. When he looked up, he said thank you. But then he realised that C0lumba had already left and was almost 400 yards away.

Matthew 8:1-4….
Why Jesus wanted no one to know about his healing miracle – curing a man of skin-disease – may seem puzzling. However, all the time in this scene, we are drawn to God. Miracle-working attracts adulation which detracts from Jesus who is summoning us to take responsibility for ourselves. God is present in Jesus and totally so. God is as he is in Jesus. Christ who heals is the Christ who is also crucified. The crucifixion rubs out stardom - celebrity. The dynamic of the culture of love is from God. The healings are foretastes, trailors of a new culture. We are drawn to look beyond this moment in hope not a hero Christ, but in ourselves.

Awaken me to Thy Presence. Heal me in Thy Christ. Enliven me in Thy Spirit


Take responsibility for the God-given gift of hope and healing within you. Move into pray; move into receive the sacrament of His Body and Blood – in order to leave and find the Love of God ‘out there’. The sentence (or sentences!) are trinitarian – the Creativity of God present now (Father); the healing of Christ happening now (The Son) and the energy that keeps hope alive (The Spirit) expecting the fulfilment of love beyond this moment in the mystery of God. Repeat the short phrases and then remaining in silence.