Letters from Adina - #23

Letter XXIII. The Healing of Eli.

“I say unto thee, Eli, stretch forth thy hand whole.”

My Dear Father,

With joy I have received your letter, in which you say you shall leave Egypt with the next Passover caravan, in order to visit Jerusalem.

Last week, Eli, the paralytic, whom you knew, a scribe of the Levites, whose hand has been withered nine years, so that he had craved alms of the worshipers in the Temple, hearing of the power of Jesus, sought Him at the house of my Uncle Amos, where He was abiding.

It was our blessed privilege to have Him our guest, for John, His beloved disciple, now the husband of the fair daughter of Uncle Amos, my gentle cousin Mary, always led the Prophet to our house.

Jesus was reclining with our family at the evening meal, at the close of the day on which the uproar had taken place in the Temple, as I told in my letter, when Eli came and stood within the door.

Humble and doubting, his knees trembled with fear, and he timidly and anxiously looked towards Jesus, but did not speak. I knew wherefore the afflicted man came, and approached him, saying,

“Fear not, Eli; bessech Him, and He will make thee whole.’’

“Ah, lady,” he answered, “I fear it is too much joy for me to expect. It is more than I dare hope.”

His voice trembled, and tears dropped from his eyes, as he thought of his family in poverty, and of his own helplessness.

‘‘How shall I speak to the great Prophet, my daughter - I, a beggar at the gate of the Temple? Speak for me, and the Lord shall bless thee, my child. My tongue cleaves to the roof of my mouth!”

Jesus looked not towards the poor man. His face being turned towards Rabbi Amos, to whom He was explaining the meaning of the sacrifice of Abel.

But leaving this discourse, He said, in a gentle voice, without turning His head. ‘‘Come to, me, Eli, and ask what is in thy heart, and fear not; for if thou believest, thou shalt receive all thy desire.’’

At this Eli came forward, and casting himself at Jesus’ feet, kissed them and said: “Rabboni, I am a poor sinful man. I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of the Blessed!”

  “Dost thou believe, Eli, that I have power to make thee whole?’’ asked Jesus, looking steadfastly upon him.

“Lord, I believe,’’ answered Eli, bowing his face to the ground.  

“Thy sins, then, be forgiven thee. Rise and go to thy house, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon thee.”

“Doth this man? forgiveth sins also?’’ cried the old priest, Manasses, who was at the table. ‘‘He is a blasphemer! for God alone forgiveth sins. Will he call himself God?” And he rose quickly up and rent his robe, and spat upon the floor in hate.

‘‘Manasses,’’ said Jesus, mildly, “tell me whether is it an easier thing to do - to say to this man kneeling here, ‘Thy sins be forgiven thee,’ or to say, ‘Stretch forth thine hand whole as the other?’’’

“It would be more difficult to do the latter,” answered Manasses, surprised at the question.

“Who alone can do the latter, O, priest?’’

“God alone, who first made him,” answered Manasses, gazing upon the withered arm, which, shriveled to the bone, hung useless at Eli’s side.

“If then, God alone heals, and God alone forgiveth sins, both acts, Manasses, would be of God. Therefore,’’ continued Jesus to the paralytic, ‘‘I say unto thee, Eli, stretch forth thy hand whole!’’

The man, gazing upon Jesus’ face, and seeming to derive confidence from its look and power, made a sudden movement with his arm, which was bared to the shoulder, exhibiting all its hideous deformity, and stretched it forth at full length.

Immediately the arm was rounded with flesh and muscles; the veins filled and leaped with the warm life-blood, and it became whole as the other.

The change was so sudden that it was done before we could see how it came to pass.

Amazed and delighted, Eli bent his elbow, expanded and contracted his fingers, felt the flesh, and pressed it with his other hand, before he could persuade himself he was healed.

Then he lifted up his voice in praise to Jehovah, and casting himself at the feet of the Prophet, cried -

“Thou art not a man, but Gabriel the angel of God!”

“Thou art now healed, Eli,’’ said Jesus, solemnly; ‘‘worship God, and go and sin no more!”

“Master, thou knowest all things! Lo! my sin even was not hid from thee, though I thought no eye beheld it."

"Men and brethren,” he continued, addressing those who were assembled, ‘‘well did this holy Prophet, or angel of God say unto me at the first my sins were forgiven, instead of bidding me stretch forth my hand; for it was a great sin for which I was stricken with paralysis as a punishment.

I had copied a parchment for the Levite Phineas, the tax-gatherer for the Temple service, and wickedly altered a figure in an amount, by which I thought to gain four shekels of silver.

Instantly upon writing the last figure I felt a stroke of palsy, and my arm fell dead at my side."

"It was God’s judgment upon me. This was eight years ago. No eye beheld the deed but God’s and my own; but I have repented in deep humiliation.

Therefore, as my withered arm was for the punishment of my sin, well did my Lord, the mighty Prophet, say unto me my sin was forgiven. With forgiveness came the remission of my punishment; for already at His word I felt the blood coursing through my parched veins.’’

On hearing this confession, Manasses cried in amazement -  “Truly, God is good to Israel. The hour of His promise is come.

Verily, oh, Jesus of Nazareth, Thou art the Son of the Highest! Forgive a worm of the dust, and pardon my sins also!’’

And the proud priest fell at Jesus’ feet, and bowed his snow-white locks upon them in adoration and worship.

If, then, dear father, the secret sins of men are known to Jesus; if He forgives sins as well as heals diseases; if He removes the temporal penalties which God inflicts upon men for their iniquities, what name, what power, what excellence shall we not ascribe to Him?

Shall we not, with Esaias, call Him ‘‘Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Prince of Peace, who shall sit upon the throne of David to establish it with justice and judgment henceforth, even for ever?’’

Who, I repeat, with Manasses, ‘‘who forgiveth sins but God alone?

Your devoted daughter, Adina

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LADY DONNA PROGRAM

The new Lady Donna Immersion in Spirituality, Academics and Citizenship @ the "I AM" School will study abridged excerpts of the Letters from Adina taken from Reverend Ingraham's original edited version of 'The Prince of the House of David', published by Cassell & Co. Ltd (1903), that reveal remarkable insights into the Living Etheric Record left by Beloved Jesus's Ministry in the Holy Land.