ST PAUL LUTHERAN CHURCH, ABQ NM – 15 OCTOBER 2006

NINETEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST – The Rev. P. L. Holman

“Service of Healing and Hope”

The lessons appointed for this Sunday might seem a bit odd for a healing service.  What people want to hear Amos (Amos 5:6-7, 10-15) ranting at the unfaithful folks whose lavish lifestyles “turn justice to wormwood, and bring righteousness to the ground” in this “evil time” – who wants to hear that when their own hearts are seized by fear of cancer or burdened with grief?  What seekers of hope among us want to hear Jesus redirecting a rich man’s path (Mark 10:17-31) – calling him to shift his relationship priority from his own wealth to his neighbors in need – when for most of us that hits too close to a place we don’t want to look? 

Yet these very words from Scripture draw do just that: they our attention to places in our lives and our world where healing is desperately needed: to the evil times of war and devastation wrought by anger, greed, fear and hatred; to the suffering and death, the poverty and hunger exacerbated by unjust distribution of wealth and resources; to the heinous suffering of school children and families wrought by people whose lives are out of focus and out of control – God alone knows why – and to our own brokenness. 

Into the midst of this day, and these readings, the writer of Hebrews (4:12-16) offers the assurance of hope:  “God means what he says.  What [God] says goes…Now that we know what we have – Jesus, this great high priest with ready access to God – let’s not let it slip through our fingers…[Jesus] has been through weakness and testing, experienced it all – all but the sin.  So let’s walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give.  Take the mercy, accept the help.” [Verses 15-16 THE MESSAGE, E. Peterson].

Turning to Jesus we seek hope for the future – in our own lives, in our world.  Turning to Jesus we seek healing, the path to wholeness that frees us to trust that there is a future and we will be in it, that there is a future to share with the world.  Jesus reminds us, as he told the man with many possessions, in order to know the promised future we must transform our relationship with the present.  What are those things that preclude us from having life-giving relationships now?  For many of us in this richest nation it is our relationship with money and possessions.  Louder voices are being focused now on global warming, calling us to take seriously the role our consumer habits play in destroying this globe we share.  Recent studies on lifestyle and diet call us anew to rethink the emphasis we place on foods filled with fats and empty calories, a luxury that is killing us.  Advances in medical technology are detecting more abnormalities earlier and developing advanced treatments while the world is still suffering from the spread of AIDS and still dying from malnutrition and still grieving the loss of innocents too soon gone.

Closer to home, closer to our hearts, the pain of strained relationships, the fractures wrought by anger acted out, the silence borne of fear of illness and death – these and so many other forces weaken our sight and deplete our hope.  The burden can be overwhelming…

One day a small boy was trying to lift a heavy stone, but he couldn’t budge it.  His father was watching his son’s efforts from a distance.  Finally, he approached the boy and spoke: “Are you using all your strength?”  Frustrated, the boy cried: “Yes, Dad, I am!” To which the father calmly replied, “No, son, you’re not.  You haven’t asked me to help you.”  [Cavanaugh, MORE SOWER’S SEEDS p.37]

This day we turn to Jesus, our companion who knows our journey, who knows our every weakness and need and loves us anyway, we turn and ask for help.  We turn to Jesus, present at the center of our lives to impart mercy and grace.  We turn to Jesus who alone can give us strength to remain steadfast in the face of trial and challenge, who alone can help us find our voice and our purpose on the way.  We turn to Jesus with open hands and open hearts, to receive the blessing of hope.  And with simple words and the touch of hands, with a cross of oil and the Amen of grace, we receive God’s assurance of hope.

Come, now, let us turn to God seeking healing for the burdens of our hearts, our bodies, our community, our world.  Let us turn to the Source of Life to find healing and hope in these times.  And in turning let us pray,