Snippets and healing

There are small overlooked phrases from the Bible that have stuck with me for years. Concise little greetings and comments, that - when I have paid attention to them, have rewarded me with comforting gems and healing power. This one is from the King James version of the Bible, and it sounds so intimate and sweet. In few words it captures the feeling of God as a gentle father and wise mother:

“Oh Lord, my God, mine holy One.”

Another one: John, one of the disciples, often started his letters with a humble, loving greeting to those he had come to meet:

“My little children….”

And yet another desire of pitiful patience and encouragement:

“O man, greatly beloved, peace be unto thee. Be strong, yea be strong.”

And another one about people earnestly waiting for Jesus to come into town:

"And the people gladly received him, for they were all waiting for him.”

These snippets color the Bible with a familiarity of God that has lasted over thousands of years.

One morning, I had a Bible snippet come to thought. It was prior to a response Jesus gave to a man who had asked him a question:

“And Jesus, beholding him, loved him.”

I like the word behold. It is one of those full round embracing words. I could just imagine the compassionate look on his face, answering this rather cocky, but earnest man.

Well, one morning, my younger son woke up for school and said in a very thick voice, “I kennud talk. Muh voiy ih gun and muh thro huhrts.” (I cannot talk. My voice is gone and my throat hurts.) And then the phrase,

“and Jesus, beholding him, loved him”

popped into my thought. I love my son. So I beheld him. It then occurred to me that he might have to stay home, then I would have to get his homework for the day and then he would spend the next two days catching up. This was not helpful.

So instead, I prayed. It was a simple thought: A germ does not determine what Gabe does, God determines Gabe’s day. This day belongs to God. Period. Together Gabe and I talked about his identity as a spiritual idea and prayed with the "Scientific Statement of Being" from Science and Health (p 468). We finished. He finished breakfast. Got dressed. Said in a clear voice, “I’m off!” and took off for school, completely free of the sore throat.

Another snippet came to thought:

“Heal me and I shall be healed… for thou art my praise.”

(Bible quotes in order: Habakkuk 1:12; 1 John 3:18; Daniel 10:11; Luke 8:40; Jeremiah 17:14)

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