In the Acts of the Apostles, Luke, the evangelist who seeks to present the Christian faith to the elites of the Greco-Roman world, tells how Peter’s shadow could heal the sick just like the handkerchiefs that belonged to Paul (cf. Acts 5:15 and 19:12). At other times, Luke is very critical of magic. He tells us that in Ephesus new converts to Christ burned talismans and magic books worth 50,000 silver coins (cf. Acts 19:19). The ancient world was fond of magical procedures and protective amulets. Our world is not so different, as evidenced by widespread use of horoscopes and recourse to self-styled witches and wizards. How did Jesus find his way in such a world? What did he think of those who came to him with requests for healing or protection?
We need to make two introductory remarks. First, at that time there were no clear distinctions between healings and exorcisms, between medicine and religion. Temples dedicated to Aesculapius and other divinities were also often privileged places of healing. During his public ministry Jesus reconciled his teaching with the working of miracles. We must realize that this choice was by no means obvious and that he therefore constantly ran the risk of not being taken seriously as a teacher, and even being identified with itinerant healers who made a living from their “art.” There was a much less sharp distinction of roles than there is today.
Folk Religion
Today we know that physical healing and spiritual enlightenment are related processes, as the human being is a unity. In the world of healing we are increasingly hearing about a holistic approach to the person. And, if one looks at the Gospels, isn’t that the way Jesus approached the people he met? Sociologists often make a distinction between “high” and “low” religion. What does that mean? One response would be that there is the religion of teachers, scholars, priests, those who consider themselves “experts,” a religion more focused on dogmatic truth, on the exact performance of rites and pronouncement of formulas, of public and official prayers. Then there is the religion of the “simple” people, whom the rabbinic tradition sometimes calls the am ha-aretz, the “country people,” those who do not claim to know their religion in terms of doctrine, but who wish to receive the blessings of the gods, or of the god, and are more focused on apotropaic rites and formulas intended to ward off bad luck. In Judaism, Christianity and Islam, these practices, considered by authorities to be marginal, or sometimes truly reprehensible, have always existed. They are dismissed as charms, invocations, sacramentals, to use a Catholic term, which sometimes receive more focus than the sacraments. So, in many ways, our world is undoubtedly very different from that of antiquity, but, on the other hand, at the level of deep humanity, it is similar, in that human beings have the same aspirations and fears, the same anxieties and desires, are possessed by a powerful desire to promote life and fertility, and to ward off evil and death. This article is reserved for paid subscribers. Please subscribe to continue reading this article
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