Ordinary Time 
Pause
Spend a few moments saying a “breath prayer,” silently repeating these phrases from Psalm 139 on each deep inhale and exhale.
Breathe in – Search me, O God,
Breathe out – and know my heart.
Listen
While Jesus was speaking to them, a ruler came and knelt in front of him, saying, “My daughter has just died. But come and place your hand on her, and she’ll live.” So Jesus and his disciples got up and went with him.
Matthew 9:18-19
Think
Jesus is talking to his disciples when this man approaches him. I can only imagine the emotions the ruler might’ve been feeling — grief over losing his daughter, mixed with desperation to find any possible help. She wasn’t able to help herself in this moment, so even in the midst of his own hardship he set out to do whatever he could. He doesn’t know until later whether his daughter will be healed, but even so he reaches out to Jesus, playing his own part in bringing about her healing.
Most of us can’t relate to the particular tragedy this man is experiencing. But what other things in your life need healing? Is there a relationship that feels broken, or a situation in your community that’s causing people to suffer? Even if you can’t heal physical pain, is there a way you could brighten the day of someone experiencing it? Whether each hurt is big or small, may the ruler’s plea for his daughter remind us to help bring about healing wherever we can.
Allison Wehrung
Pray
God of compassion, when things around me feel broken, guide my eyes and my actions to the parts that I can help mend.
Give me the confidence to do what I can in bringing about the peace-filled world you desire for everyone.
Amen.
Go
We come to you, O loving Lord,
in our distress and pain,
in trust that through our nights and days,
your grace will heal, sustain.
Herman G. Stuempfle Jr. in “We Come to You for Healing, Lord” (2013)
