313. How was sickness viewed in the Old Testament?
(Comp
313) In the Old Testament sickness was experienced as a sign of weakness
and at the same time perceived as mysteriously bound up with sin. The prophets
intuited that sickness could also have a redemptive value for one’s own sins
and those of others. Thus sickness was lived out in the presence of God from
whom people implored healing.
“In brief”
(CCC 1526) "Is any among you sick? Let him call for the
presbyters of the Church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in
the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith will save the sick man, and the
Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven"
(Jas 5:14-15).
To deepen and explain
(CCC 1502) The man of the Old Testament lives his sickness
in the presence of God. It is before God that he laments his illness, and it is
of God, Master of life and death, that he implores healing (Cf. Pss 6:3; 38;
Isa 38). Illness becomes a way to conversion; God's forgiveness initiates the
healing (Cf. Pss 32:5; 38:5; 39:9, 12; 107:20; cf. Mk 2:5-12). It is the
experience of Israel that illness is mysteriously linked to sin and evil, and
that faithfulness to God according to his law restores life: "For I am the
Lord, your healer" (Ex 15:26). The prophet intuits that suffering can also
have a redemptive meaning for the sins of others (Cf. Isa 53:11). Finally
Isaiah announces that God will usher in a time for Zion when he will pardon
every offense and heal every illness (Cf. Isa 33:24).
On reflection
(CCC 1500) Illness and suffering have always been among the
gravest problems confronted in human life. In illness, man experiences his
powerlessness, his limitations, and his finitude. Every illness can make us
glimpse death. (CCC 1601) "The matrimonial
covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership
of the whole of life, is by its nature ordered toward the good of the spouses
and the procreation and education of offspring; this covenant between baptized
persons has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament"
(CIC, can. 1055 § 1; cf. GS 48 § 1). (CCC 1499) "By the sacred
anointing of the sick and the prayer of the priests the whole Church commends
those who are ill to the suffering and glorified Lord, that he may raise them
up and save them. And indeed she exhorts them to contribute to the good of the
People of God by freely uniting themselves to the Passion and death of Christ"
(LG 11; cf. Jas 5:14-16; Rom 8:17; Col 1:24; 2 Tim 2:11-12; 1 Pet 4:13).
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