There are scenes from the Farrelly Brothers' 2001 movie Osmosis Jones that have rented way too much space in my head since the 7th grade. Most of these scenes are quite disgusting, featuring some sort of bodily function (and usually - some sort of bodily fluid) in the bustling world inside Billy Murray's character, Frank DeTorre.
When a deadly virus enters Frank's body, Officer Osmosis "Ozzy" Jones (voiced by Chris Rock) of the White Blood Cell Police Department is put on the case. I somehow convinced my husband into re-watching it with me yesterday. I was still grossed out at all the same scenes (I even gagged at one point; aforementioned husband can testify), but I was just as amazed yesterday as I was in 7th grade health class at how creatively brilliant it is. Through Story, I started to understand a little better how my body works and functions.
A Text-To-Text connection I made was to Disney Pixar's Inside Out. Same basic concept, though it explores mental rather than physical health, telling a Story about a teenage girl's personified emotions running a control panel in her head and guiding her decisions.
From there, a Text-To-Self connection was discovered. Over the past three years, my therapist and I have been exploring and practicing 'Internal Family Systems' (IFS), a model of psychotherapy developed by Dr. Richard Schwartz that views the mind as comprised of various 'Parts' or sub-personalities, each with its own unique perspective and role. The goal is to create inner harmony among each part that exists - the ones you've exiled and shamed, the ones that try to keep you safe by avoiding the scary unknown of change and growth, and the ones who take over control in times of crisis or emergency. These are known, respectively, as Exiles, Managers, and Firefighters.
A Text-To-World connection brought to mind the prevalence of mental illness that plagues almost a quarter of the US population today; in shocking fact - suicide makes the list of the Top 10 leading causes of death in our country.
From there, I turned to Scripture to seek out a Text-To-Divinity connection. What I found is this:
Peace Heals.
I had never noticed before how often Peace and healing are connected throughout the Bible. Of course. Forgive the disturbing metaphor, but a scab that continues to be picked will not heal. It's basic health science.
So what is Peace?
In Old Testament scripture, 'Peace' was both a greeting and a bidding farewell among the Jewish people. The word is 'Shalom', meaning wholeness, completeness, and well-being.
Jesus made big medical news headlines with his miraculous healings. In one of my favorite healing Stories, we see Peace as an Invitation to a woman who had been ill for twelve long years. In the journal account from the physician, Luke:
As Jesus was on His way, the crowds almost crushed Him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. She came up behind Him and touched the edge of His cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.
"Who touched me?" Jesus asked.
When they all denied it, Peter said, "Master, the people are crowding and pressing against You."
But Jesus said, "Someone touched Me; I know that power has gone out from Me."
Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at His feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched Him and how she had been instantly healed. Then He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in Peace." (Luke 8:42-48, NIV)
One translation says, "Go (enter) into Peace."
What if Peace isn't just the result of healing, but the catalyst for healing? What if it is the necessary bandage that protects the wound so that your body can do what it was designed to do - to heal?
What if Peace is our Prescription?
In my mind's eye, I see a crew of construction repairmen cells in the world of Ozzy Jones trying to fix a damaged wall while it is still being bulldozed. They must build, of course, because Hope is what keeps them employed. But until the dust settles, they won't see much tangible progress.
So how do we receive this Healing Peace?
The prophet Jeremiah spoke of a Healing Peace that comes by calling on God as our Great Physician. He tells it like this:
This is what the Lord God says, He who made the earth, the Lord who formed it and established it - the Lord is His name: 'Call to Me and I will answer You. I will tell you great and Hidden things that you have not known.' (Jeremiah 33:3)
(Side Note: Isn't it a comforting thought that there is always more that can be known and discovered about God?)
He goes on to speak of God's promise to Israel in verse 8. Two translations stood out to me:
Behold, I will apply a healing dressing to it and cure, and I will heal them, and will reveal unto them an abundance of Peace and Truth.
Behold I will close their wounds and give them health, and I will cure them: and I will reveal to them the prayer of Peace and Truth.
I like how Pastor Charles Finney connects Peace and truth: "Peace in abundance comes to you when you know the Truth of the abundance that has been accomplished and prepared for you through the Cross."
The hard truth about healing, however, is that sometimes we don't see it this side of heaven. Sometimes the cancer wins. Sometimes suicide steals. For some, chronic illness and pain are a companion walking side-by-side in life, for the rest of life. What then?
In another journal entry from Dr. Luke, we read about the prophet Simeon's Peace in the face of death:
Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation (noun: the comfort received by a person after a loss or disappointment) of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Messiah.
Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took Him in his arms and praised God, saying:
'Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in Peace." (Luke 2:25-29)
For Simeon, Peace was about having seen the fulfillment of God's promise in his life. Though he experienced a physical death, as we all eventually will, His soul was gifted the healing balm of Peace in his departure as he believed in Faith that He he was about to enter an eternal heavenly home of Shalom.
Jesus says: "Peace I leave with you; my Peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." (John 14:27)
After these words, he tells his disciples of his own departure that is soon to come, and makes a promise that He will come back to them. When He fulfills this promise and appears before the disciples, He reminds them:
Peace be with you! (Luke 24:36)
This same Peace is offered to you as healing medicine. I have first-hand experienced such a miraculous healing this year, but it was only when and because I slowed down enough to let Peace do its healing work; that is - when I stopped picking at the scab.
For me, Peace today looks like Jesus welcoming every Part of me - my Exiles, my Managers, and my Firefighters - to come to the Table. An Internal Family Reunion of misfits with a Father who runs, arms wide open, before we can even apologize. A Mother whose tender presence feels like warmth on the skin. A patient Teacher, getting down at eye level, and explaining complicated things in a way that a child can understand. A warm embrace of estranged siblings after a long fight and harsh words.
A final thought on healing: Bones don't heal overnight. Bruises look worse before they look better. Sometimes we need the help of local doctors and medication as we navigate our this life in our frail human bodies. But we must keep building anyway. It's Hope that keeps us employed.
For further reading, a love poem to my Exiles exists here. Try writing one of your own and see who emerges. Listen to their Story, and try journaling about it.
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