A reading of the leper’s healing in Matthew 8:1–4 through ethnomedical anthropology

Scholars offer several options for Matthew’s value of the leper’s story in his narrative that range from revealing Jesus’ attributes of compassion and sympathy, manifesting God’s empire, to portraying Jesus’ function as a temple. Although these suggestions aptly portray Matthew’s rhetorical use of the leper’s healing in his narrative to address societal concerns of his time, for lack of referring to the social setting of the narrative, they do not capture the holistic healthcare system embodied by Jesus in Matthew’s narrative that portrays Jesus as a superior healer to the rest of the other healers in the Roman Empire. The findings of the research for this article establish the argument that employing ethnomedical anthropology as a lens to read the leper’s healing narrative in Matthew 8:1–4 in the context of Matthew’s social setting reveals Matthew’s ideology for a transcendent and immanent Christology. The aim of the article is to demonstrate the effectiveness of medical anthropological theory in explaining the dynamics of health and healing reflected in biblical texts.Contributions: This article contributes to the interdisciplinary approach to the study of religion by employing a ethnomedical anthropological perspective to read the leper’s healing in Matthew 8.1–4 in reference to the first century CE health systems in the Roman Empire. This approach procured that Matthew’s immanent and transcendent perspectives of Christology is crucial in demonstrating the text’s function in constructing and sustaining the identity of Matthew’s community in antiquity.

Reflections on music therapy with older adults from an ethnographic perspective

Purpose Older adults often navigate periods of disruptive transition, such as rehousing, that can be understood in terms of ritual transformation, a concept that describes changes to the social self in terms of deconstruction, liminality and reconstruction. Music therapy can assist older adults’ movement through these stages. This paper aims to engage theoretical perspectives on ritual to consider the social and cultural transformation of these residents of a long-term care nursing home. Design/methodology/approach Ethnographic theory and literature on the ritual process are used to reflect on one music therapist’s (first author’s) experience providing music therapy to older adult residents of a long-term care nursing home. The therapist facilitated a collaborative “healing story” whose performative aspects engaged the residents in their own healing process. These experiences culminated in a group songwriting experience with a resident choir ensemble. Findings The healing narrative involved aspects of the person, selfhood, relationship and culture more than elements of physicality or functional abilities. Music therapists working with older adults may find this theoretical perspective informative in interpreting resident behaviors and needs, identifying and addressing therapeutic goals and fostering a healing narrative. Originality/value Care and interventions for older adults are often guided by the biomedical model of aging as an illness. While sociological and psychological theories of aging offer alternatives, these are not always prominent in interventions. This exploration of aging and transition as ritual transformation offers one such needed and insightful perspective to inform practice.

Narrative Medicine, Healing and Salutogenesis: Contrasting meta-narratives

While narrative medicine “fortifies clinical practice with the narrative competence to recognize, absorb, metabolize, interpret, and be moved by stories of illness”, (www.narrativemedicine.org), the role of healing in clinical narratives has yet to be considered. Salutogenesis, defined by the late Anton Antonovsky, is the ‘creation of health and the fostering of healing’ where healing does not simply address reversal of disease but emphasizes health-promoting experiences and behaviors as distinct and differentiated from the illness perspective. This contrast between illness and healing offers an opportunity to consider a deeper meta-narrative (identity stories that confer legitimacy on what we do) – that can significantly broaden and likely add to the impact of narrative medicine. In this 45-minute workshop, Drs. Kreisberg and Huffaker will guide participants through two narrative exercises – the first, an illness narrative, and second, a healing narrative. By introducing Antonovsky’s perspective on healing, participants will gain an awareness of a deep and widespread meta-narrative comparison that has yet to be articulated in narrative medicine. In contrasting these meta-narratives, it is suggested that work has yet to be done to fully explore the potential for healing narratives in narrative medicine. They can afford the exploration of stories far beyond the bio-medical illness paradigm and introduce the likelihood that including both illness and healing stories offers an enriched potential for narrative elements of whole person care.