Jan 10th OneYearBibleBlog comments

Mike at OneYearBibleBlog asks, among other questions:

do you believe that Jesus still heals people today?

and

Do you believe he can?

for the Jan 10^th readings. My own personal feeling is that these two questions are intricately related. It's been my experience that people find what they expect to find. If they expect healing, then healing is available to them. But if they bring cynicism and suspicion, then that's exactly what they'll get back. Healing of the physical is insignificant compared to healing of the spirit. Of course, I should add as a caveat that I've never suffered from a debilitating illness, so this may be a case of me speaking of things I know nothing about. I do know that I've experienced some spiritual healing in my life, but I've a long way to go.
Andrew Jones had some thoughts prompted by this passage as well, related to healing, or lack thereof. Worth a look.
Other thoughts on these verses:

Matthew 8:5-13 - Jesus heals the Centurion's servant
I've seen discussion focused on verse 11, which reads (NRSV)

I tell you, many will come from east and west and will eat with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven,

Now, that's a wonderful passage, but you need to continue to verse 12 to get the real "punch":

while the heirs of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Jesus didn't have very nice things to say about the established religious order of his day. I think he'd have even harsher words for the established religious order of our day. Being a well-respected church leader does not guarantee that you've "got it right." We all need to be listening for corrections (healing?) in our lives.
Oh, and, on a lighter note: even though the burial of Sarah is a somber moment in Abraham's life, I laugh every time I read the account of the "negotiations" for the burial plot. Abraham may have been faithful, but simple and direct he was not. ;)