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Psalm 13
A reflection given by the
Rev. Douglas M. Donley
As the Thanksgiving meal translates into leftovers, we
begin the transition to the Christmas Season.
Liturgically, we will have to go through Advent first, those four
Sundays leading up to Christmas. While
the malls may well be ready, we certainly are not. At church, we will approach Christmas at a
much less frenetic pace. There will
hopefully be less guilt-tripping and certainly more cheer than we will find at
your average mall.
But before we even get to Advent, we have this last
Sunday of the liturgical year. It’s a
time when we, bloated as we are from so much food, naturally reflect upon our
lives in the past year as well as the past few days. As we reflect on our lives, perhaps we can
see those places where we need the help of a healing God in order for us to
integrate ourselves back into a life that is fulfilling and whole.
I mentioned a few weeks ago that the Bible is full of
healing stories. It is full of
miraculous events that have people turn toward each other in amazement and turn
toward God in awe, wonder and even thanksgiving.
Mark tells the story of how Jesus
began his ministry by casting out demons.
He did this one in the synagogue on the Sabbath. The demons it seems even knew who he
was. “What have you to do with us, Jesus
of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy
us? I know who you are, the Holy One of
God.” The disciples would spend their
whole time with Jesus not knowing whatthe demons
already know. This was Jesus’ work. “What have
you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?
Have you come to destroy us? I
know who you are, the Holy One of God.”
But Jesus neither acknowledged the question
nor the mantra. Instead he let his
actions speak for themselves. He said,
“Be silent, and come out of him!” And
the unclean Spirit left the man.
Think of the demons that invade your lives.
Are
there doubts that you have?
Are
there old wounds that were re-opened along with the candied yams?
Is
there an ailment that concerns you?
Is
there a decision with which you have been struggling?
While I would never presume to be a healer like Jesus, I
do believe that when we pray together and even lay hands upon those who need
it, offering support and comfort, healing happens. We’ll have a chance to do this in a few
moments.
The new Share the Care ministry team has already been
doing healing work as they accompany people in times of crisis, attending to
both the physical and spiritual needs of the people in their care. What a healing force.
Prayer is a powerful force. It releases the healing power of God to
people in need. It sets us in the right
mood and it has power. When I was on Sabbatical,
I met with a Navajo Medicine man. I
asked him about the medicine pouches that people wear and the medicine that is
for sale at the local flea market. He
said that the medicine pouches are sacred and that they are there to help
restore balance to our world. I asked
how the medicine worked if you bought it at a flea market. He gave a grin and said,
the medicine wouldn’t work that way.
First of all if it is real medicine, you would never buy it. Your grandmother would give it to you. Medicine needs a healthy family relationship
in order them to be effective. Let that one swim around in your brain a
while.
When
I did a sweat lodge a few days later, a big part of it was based upon
reconnecting with our ancestors, our grandfathers and grandmothers, those sages
with wisdom who have gone before and who look from beyond back upon our
lives. My Navajo guide told me that a
sweat lodge is also good because it is filled with prayers, singing and support
of the community. Some things, he said,
you need to sweat out in order to get rid of the impurities and be set free.
I
know there are things we figuratively sweat out in our lives, but enduring is
not the same thing as healing. In the
sweat lodge, we endured the heat, but also sang and prayed. We would not have been able to do it
otherwise. We need our prayers and our
songs to assist us on our path to healing.
The
other thing that the Medicine Man said about the herbs is that they are only
effective if they are given with the right songs and prayers. We need more than medicine in order to be
healthy people. We need songs, we need
prayers, we need the support of our community, we need
our ancestors. God acts through all of
these things in order to bring us into a healthy place.
Psalm
13 gives voice to one who is feeling lost and alone. The psalmist cries out to God, “Do not to
forget me forever…Don’t let my enemies prevail over me.”
The
good news is that the God we follow is a healing God. God grants help to those who need it and
support in times of trouble. Nobody ever
needs to suffer alone. God is there to
cast out the demons and bring you back toward health.
In a few moments, we will enter into an extended time of
prayer. Mindy will read portions of a
litany and we will sing a response as printed in your bulletin. During this time, we invite you to consider
that for which you need healing. Pray
for the healing of our world, for the healing of a hurt in your life, for a
time of peace in your life. If you would
like, I will be at the back of the sanctuary available to pray with you
individually as you come forward.
Sisters and brothers, we follow a healing God who has
offered God’s self in Jesus Christ so that we might have life and have it with
abundance. This God has promised to take
on our burdens, share them and grant us peace now and forever more.
Let us take advantage of a
conversation with such a healing God.