“I believe in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I believe that he suffered, died, was buried, and was resurrected on the third day in fulfillment of the Scriptures. I believe he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. I believe he will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his Kingdom will have no end.” These are some of the lines from the Nicene Creed, which I learned as a young Catholic before I even understood what they meant. Today those words are very dear to me. No longer a Catholic, but a joyfully born-again Christian, I find myself in a constant state of searching for my roots. What are our roots as a Church? What beliefs do a “true Christian” have? And which, if any, of my Catholic roots are consistent with my Christian faith? Perhaps those verses of the Creed, first written more than 1,700 years ago, are so dear to me now because they are the root that endures all the fluctuations of history and my spiritual wanderings across denominations. Cultural fluctuations, debates and differences have been the fate of the Church since the beginning. But Jesus remains the same. For this article we were asked to discuss how the modern Church differs from the early Church. In response to this, I will narrow the scope of the discussion to our changing expectations of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit as they relate to a particular experience common to all members of the Church: physical suffering. I often struggle to reconcile my belief that God heals and answers prayers with the reality of suffering and premature death among believers. As a hospital chaplain who serves forty to sixty-four hours a week, I am with the dead and dying... middle of paper... it is strange that God's promise to heal, is so clear in the Gospels, is today qualified in so many ways." (Droege, 28-29) Droege is right – it's strange. But that doesn't mean I haven't done it myself. I too asked for healing if “it is by your will, God”. I too asked that the doctor's hands be guided by God rather than asking that a tumor simply disappear. I have downplayed my expectations and asked for miracles through people, tests, and treatments that would seem far less than “mighty signs and wonders.” Ultimately, our low expectations of God confirm the great difference between the Apostolic Church and the Church today. . Many of us talk about God or invite the Holy Spirit into our lives simply because “it couldn't hurt.” In truth, we are suffering. Our bodies ache and our souls ache as Jehovah Rapha waits to hear from us.