Common Good

The Church’s Role in Health

Ordinary Time (First Section)Health and Healthcare Systems Week 11 · Day 6

Scripture References

Read First

Old Testament

Psalm 146:5-10

⁵ Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD, his God,
⁶ who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps truth forever;
⁷ who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. The LORD frees the prisoners.

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⁸ The LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD raises up those who are bowed down. The LORD loves the righteous.
⁹ The LORD preserves the foreigners. He upholds the fatherless and widow, but he turns the way of the wicked upside down.
¹⁰ The LORD will reign forever; your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the LORD!

New Testament

Acts 3:1-10

¹ Peter and John were going up into the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.
² A certain man who was lame from his mother’s womb was being carried, whom they laid daily at the door of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask gifts for the needy of those who entered into the temple.
³ Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive gifts for the needy.

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⁴ Peter, fastening his eyes on him, with John, said, “Look at us.”
⁵ He listened to them, expecting to receive something from them.
⁶ But Peter said, “I have no silver or gold, but what I have, that I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk!”
⁷ He took him by the right hand and raised him up. Immediately his feet and his ankle bones received strength.
⁸ Leaping up, he stood and began to walk. He entered with them into the temple, walking, leaping, and praising God.
⁹ All the people saw him walking and praising God.
¹⁰ They recognised him, that it was he who used to sit begging for gifts for the needy at the Beautiful Gate of the temple. They were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

Thought for the Day

Psalm 146 begins with praise and then refuses a particular kind of despair: “Do not put your trust in princes.” Not because leaders do not matter, but because they are mortal. Their breath goes out; their plans perish. The psalm does not end in cynicism. It ends in hope: the Lord executes justice for the oppressed, gives food to the hungry, watches over the foreigner, upholds the widow and the fatherless.

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In Acts, a man who has been carried to the gate each day is met by two apostles who have no money to offer. Yet Peter speaks with a different kind of authority: in the name of Jesus Christ, rise up and walk. The healing is not a private miracle. It is a public sign at the threshold of worship, declaring what sort of kingdom Jesus brings.

The Church’s role in health is not to pretend it can replace medicine, nor to wash its hands of the sick. It is to pray, to accompany, to advocate, to give, to notice the person at the gate. It is to keep hope alive when bureaucracy grinds and patience thins.

Lord, make us a people who praise and also practise mercy. Let our congregations be places where the bowed down are lifted, the lonely are visited, and the suffering are treated as brethren. Teach us to trust you more than any prince, and to serve our neighbours with quiet faithfulness.

Prayer Points

Respond

Lord, uphold the oppressed, the hungry, the displaced, and the forgotten; let your justice be felt as real help
Strengthen the Church in works of mercy; give courage to visit, to advocate, and to persevere in love
Bless those working at the sharp edge of need; keep them from cynicism and protect them from burnout

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Give wisdom for partnerships between churches and public services; that care would be coordinated rather than fragmented
Forgive us where we praise with our lips and neglect with our lives; make our worship truthful
In the name of Jesus, bring healing where you will; and where healing tarries, give comfort, community, and steadfast hope

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