This is a very unusual issue of ML. In its entirety, this issue is crafted to reflect on the healing dimension of ministry. When I say that, I know most of us think of the outward actions, the ways in which we facilitate healing, offering hope and the promise of reconciliation to others. That is some of the hardest work of ministry: reaching out to those who are suffering, to those marginalized by society or even by the church, and offering to them the healing presence of Christ. It is soul-wrenching, heartbreaking work, but even knowing the cost we walk deliberately into those painful situations because we are compelled to do so by our very identity. In our good intentions we are often rebuked and rejected, and some days we think how much easier it would be to just walk away. Other times the reward for our efforts is immediately evident, and those graced moments give us the spark that encourages us to labor on. In this issue we consider not only how we help others to heal but also, of equal importance, what we must do to maintain our own health. This is an issue without “nuts and bolts.” Everything points to how we can find our way to the humble path that calls us to serve without counting the cost, to honor the Christ present in all who suffer, and to witness always to the God who watches over each of us in every moment.

Ron Raab offers us a glimpse into his ministry with those who suffer with mental illness. He writes of the guilt and shame he hears from people who are powerless to free themselves from those burdens because of their illness and poverty. He describes how the experience of sharing their journey and offering reconciliation is different from that in a middle-class community and how this has changed him. Healing has a very different meaning there.

Joni Woelfel brings a firsthand experience of illness and healing to ML. She describes herself as “a perpetual student of what healing, faith, and life in the body mean.” She speaks of her insight into the spirituality of illness as a person who has struggled with illness and has counseled others in the way of healing.

Ada Simpson brings us a parish story of death and resurrection. She tells how one small parish community lost two pastors to illness and death in a single year. The witness of those pastors in the face of death and the love and spirit of the people in the community are inspiring.

Helen Keating shows us a way to heal ourselves as she describes a retreat experience at the Osage Monastery “Forest of Peace” in Sand Springs, Okla. While many of us are quick to work ourselves to exhaustion, we are not always as effective at dedicating time for focused prayer, time away, and, most importantly, retreat. Without that time of “disconnect” in our multitasking routines, we run the risk of losing our energy, creativity, and spiritual focus. There is more than enough in our church and world to push us toward cynicism and other types of destructive mindsets. If we fail to take time away to just be with God, we guarantee that we will begin to engage in negative thought and behavior. We cannot hope to help others heal if we don’t work to heal ourselves first.

As we continue to ponder the ways the Exsultet invites us to live, we find strong words to encourage us. In the light of Christ, the darkness of evil is shattered and the promise of peace is restored. When we can find it within ourselves to witness to that light in our own suffering, to serve others in theirs, and to embrace the humility to let others serve us, the healing begins.

The power of this holy night
dispels all evil, washes guilt away, 
restores lost innocence, brings mourners joy;
it casts out hatred, brings us peace, 
and humbles earthly pride. ML

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