She used an idea from Marcus Borg to look at Jesus anew, moving beyond the images of Jesus from childhood that often create difficulties for us as we age. We then turned to the work of Phyllis Tickle, specifically a book entitled The Words of Jesus, a book whose "Reader's Guide" was actually co-authored by Linda, to examine a few sayings of Jesus.
I was especially struck by a structural occurrence in many of the healing narratives. Jesus heals someone and then tells them to "Go!" Linda offered that everyone is called to go, but that we have things holding us back. The point of the healing stories, then, is not the healings themselves, but rather the "Go!" that is issued after that which is holding us back has been removed.
And this explains why we see Jesus asking people if they really want to be healed. Oftentimes, we like having things in our way, because we don't want to "Go!" We are comfortable where we are, even if we like to complain about it, for at least it is safe and predictable. Remember when Moses led the people out of Egypt?
What is holding you back?
And what would you do if it were removed?
I was especially struck by a structural occurrence in many of the healing narratives. Jesus heals someone and then tells them to "Go!" Linda offered that everyone is called to go, but that we have things holding us back. The point of the healing stories, then, is not the healings themselves, but rather the "Go!" that is issued after that which is holding us back has been removed.
And this explains why we see Jesus asking people if they really want to be healed. Oftentimes, we like having things in our way, because we don't want to "Go!" We are comfortable where we are, even if we like to complain about it, for at least it is safe and predictable. Remember when Moses led the people out of Egypt?
What is holding you back?
And what would you do if it were removed?
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