Mary, out of whom he cast seven devils

It dawned on me this morning that Mary Magdalene is a case of miraculous simultaneous healing. The Bible passage doesn't say what all these spirits were. After 400 AD, the Catholic Church began to portray her as a prostitute so most folks think those devils were lust-related or sin-related. But hey, who knows what trouble and affliction they actually caused?

In the Bible Jesus healed some sick folks with a word, with a gesture or an action, or by casting out devils. Sometimes he healed the sick by seeming to think of it as a sickness; other times someone else with the same illness is healed by the casting out of a devil.

So, whatever Mary Magadalene's problems were...it seems some or all of them were caused by devils. So, whether it was wild-eyed demonic possession as in the man who had the legion in him, or physical illness. . . Mary was miraculously healed of disparate troubles. Seven in all. Other than the fact that seven means perfection, thus a perfect healing. . . it's also one of the few times in the Bible where someone was healed of many different problems at the same time.

Think of all the folks who go to healing ceremonies. They say: "My arm hurts, I get headaches, I have diabetes. I have high blood pressure. I have cancer. I'm obese. I need knee surgery. Well, I guess you could ask God to heal the cancer." The assumption is that God is not a multitasker and we have to choose one thing to be healed of. But isn't that limiting the Holy One of Israel? Doesn't God use a whole lotta generalities: All, nothing, everything, everyone. He heals ALL our diseases. NOTHING shall be impossible to him who believes. Etc, Etc.

This realization really blessed me this morning. At the end of the month Gabe and I are going to a healing service. I would so love all the afflictions, trials, illnesses, of Gabe and me to go in one quick divinely miraculous moment. Yes, seven devils in one swoop sounds dang good to me! -C