Dean Powery on 'The Cost of Healing'
Chapel Dean Luke A. Powery says in his latest (Duke) Chronicle column that as the nation sees positive developments in decreasing coronavirus cases and increasing vaccinations, we should remember that, "even as we seek healing in our lives or for our countries, just know that this means change—things will not be the same for anyone, individuals or communities."
He uses an example from the Gospel of Mark in which Jesus heals a man with an "an unclean spirit" who had been howling among the tombs. After the man is healed, the people around him are afraid of him and want Jesus to leave the town—and the man himself is sent on a new mission of preaching.
"On the other side of healing, it can be scary because it means a different way of life, a new order, a new reality, a new creation has arrived," Dean Powery writes. "There is no 'return to normal.'”
"We are, of course, right to hope and pray and work for healing because there will be blessings," he says. "But remember that even with healing there will be unforeseen and surprising costs that come with transformation and new beginnings."