Not long ago, I wrote a Saturday 6th Summons reflecting on a familiar pattern in the Gospels—Jesus healing someone and then telling them to tell no one.
I’ve always assumed Jesus did this to protect Himself, to keep His identity from being revealed too soon. After all, His hour had not yet come.
But recently, another thought struck me. What if Jesus was also protecting the person He had just healed?
Imagine you’ve been blind or lame for years, and suddenly, in an instant, you are made whole. How would people react? Surely, your family and friends would rejoice with you. But would you also become a spectacle? Would people flock to see you, to stare, to ask endless questions? Would you be tempted to make the story about you rather than the One who healed you?
Any good thing in our lives points back to the Lord. It is not our own doing. While there is value in sharing what God has done for us, perhaps there is also wisdom in waiting, in letting the work of grace settle before we proclaim it.
Sometimes, silence is part of the healing.