UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST in
Fifth Sunday After Epiphany -
Race Relations Sunday - A Season of Healing
Anne G. Cohen
Mark 1:29-39
For Our Reflection:
Have you not known? Have you not heard? Adonai is the
everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth. God does not faint or grow weary;
God's understanding is unsearchable. God gives power to the faint and
strengthens the powerless. Even youths will faint and be weary, and the
young will fall exhausted; but those who wait for Adonai
shall renew
their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall
run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.
- Isaiah 40: 28-31 NRSV
Lifted Up
It is the Sabbath.
Jesus and four fishermen go home to rest and restore themselves - a
tradition based on one of the ten commandments.
At the home of Peter
and Andrew in
a fever.
As many of us know from recent experience, a fever isn't just heat. It
brings on muscle aches and occasional stabbing pain in the joints. It
saps your strength and lays you low with headache and listlessness. If
the fever is high enough, it puts you out of your mind and gives you
hallucinations. When a person has a fever, the last thing on their mind
is hospitality.
Jesus is called upon to help Peter's mother-in-law. He lifts her up by
the hand - a common theme in the Gospel of Mark. In this touching of
hand to hand, there is a transfer of healing power from Jesus into the
fevered woman. In the process of her body rising, her temperature is
lowered. There is equilibrium, strength, health, restoration.
In both Greek and Hebrew the word for "healed" has multiple meanings
-
raised up, restored, forgiven, empowered. The healing is not just
absence of illness but wholeness of body and spirit, reclaiming of one's
place in the community.
The woman healed is not ASKED for anything. But she feels so well that
she begins to "serve" her family and their friends. The Greek
word for
"serve" is "diaconeo" - from
which we get the word "diaconate" or
deacon. Peter's mother-in-law does not just get dinner ready,
she
MINISTERS to her extended family. This goes beyond hospitality. She
does the work of the holy - voluntarily - with grace. She offers
SABBATH REST to others, as it has been given to her.
Page Two
Meanwhile, the sun goes down, the Sabbath is over. And people with
disease and brokenness, fever and leprosy, sin and sorrow, surround the
house, hoping for a similar miracle, a transfer of divine power, a
"lifting up" and restoration of life, health and community.
And Jesus does what he can. He claims a short second Sabbath early in
the morning to restore himself, then continues his
healing work and
preaching tour.
I believe that there are some people who are genetically programmed by
God and nature to nurture others, to serve the common good, to heal the
world one particle, one person at a time. There are others who are
trained and inspired by life experiences to practice random or organized
acts of kindness - often. And most of us go through cycles of
self-involvement (especially when we're sick) and concern for others
(when we feel good).
I believe that, whatever the source of our motivation for human
kindness, it is difficult to feel that motivation when we are sick -
physically, mentally, emotionally, societally.
And I believe that it is
somewhere in the process of being lifted up out of our pain or
emptiness, addiction or brokenness - that we are remotivated
- perhaps
out of gratitude - to minister to others.
One of the worst parts of being sick or injured is the total dependency
on others - the feeling of being a burden to others. Helplessness,
weakness, despair undermine a sense of purpose and agency we humans
sometimes take for granted - sometimes wrestle to define - when we have
the strength to do so. We are told at an early age that, "It is more
blessed to give than to receive" and my grandfather's favorite,
"You
need to lift yourself up by your own bootstraps." But what if we
CAN'T? What if we are FORCED to receive from others or be lifted up by
others? Does that remove God's blessing from us? Does the stigma of
dependency lead some chronically ill people to commit suicide - to
relieve the burden of their BEING on their loved ones?
In conversations with Carolyn Engel (revealed with her permission) I've
come to understand that on days when her intense chronic pain is
adequately managed, she chooses to spend her limited energy DOING for
OTHERS. I have discovered through personal experience that this is not
a good time to tell her to relax and conserve her strength. She has to
do THAT MOST OF THE TIME. When she feels well ENOUGH, Carolyn writes
letters to people who aren't well or feel alienated, sends notes of
encouragement to her friends and her ministers, attends caregivers'
meetings, calls everyone she can think of who might need "lifting
up."
Page Three
This week she baked a rhubarb pie from scratch for (as she put it)
friends "who would love me the same if I put out hot dog buns."
She
WANTED to do it - as a gift - and to feel NORMAL - just for awhile.
And, in spite of the ensuing, unbearable pain, she says it was worth
it. This rhubarb pie was not mere hospitality. It was ministry - to
others and AND to herself - lifting up the holy
moment of temporary
equilibrium and gratitude for life and friends.
The ministry of "lifting up" works both ways.
"As Gandhi wisely [pointed ] out [and Wayne Muller restates], even as we
serve others we are working on ourselves - every act, every word, every
gesture of genuine compassion naturally nourishes our own hearts as
well. It is not a question of who is healed first. When we attend
to
ourselves with compassion and mercy, more healing is made available for
others. And when we serve others with an open and generous heart, great
healing comes to us."
- Wayne Muller, Brussat p. 337
Because there are so many ways to be crushed and laid low by life, there
are as many corresponding ways to be lifted up. How many of us have
been lifted up - perhaps to a standing ovation - by music or theatre or
a work of art. How many of us have had our spirits lifted by a humorous
comment or an affirmation of our worth, a single iris or a bouquet of
balloons?
How many times have we been lifted up, inspired, humbled in a way that
makes us light on our feet - by other people who have been crushed and
found redoubled purpose and meaning for their lives. Because of his
response to his own paralysis, how many people will Christopher Reeve
lift up? Because of weariness and will power, how many lives did Rosa
Parks lift up? How many of us were moved by Mohammed Ali lighting the
torch at the Olympics several years ago? How many lives were
transformed by the imprisonment, release and life example of Nelson
Mandela in South Africa? And how many hearts were released from hatred
by Bishop Desmond Tutu's TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION healing process in a
nation brought to its knees by racism?
Compassion and kindness do not have to be free of self-interest to be
blessings. How much better can it be if everyone involved is lifted up
- as many of us feel when we realize that our presence or progress has
lifted someone else? The work of ministry does not have to be done in
our free time, outside of our efforts to survive and provide for our
families.
Page Four
If we pay attention, we will find limitless opportunities to be partners
with God in the "lifting up" of others and ourselves in the midst of
ordinary life.
A story from Being God's Partner by Rabbi Jeffrey K. Salkin:
A few years ago, a young taxi driver drove me to
on Long Island. After a few minutes of conversation, I discovered that
Mike had belonged to my synagogue years before I came to the community.
"So rabbi," he asked while we sat in heavy traffic, "what do you
say to
a Jew like me who hasn't been in a synagogue since his bar mitzvah
ceremony?"
Thinking for a moment, I recalled that in Hasidic lore, the baal
aqalah (the wagon driver) is an honored
profession. So I said, "We
could talk about your work."
"What does my work have to do with religion?"
"Well, we choose how we look at the world and at life. You're a taxi
driver. But you are also a piece of the tissue that connects all
humanity. You're taking me to the airport. I'll go to a different
city
and give a couple of lectures that might touch or help or change
someone. I couldn't have gotten there without you. You help make
that
connection happen.
"I heard on your two-way radio that after you drop me off, you're going
to pick up a woman from the hospital and take her home. That means that
you'll be the first non-medical person she encounters after being in a
hospital. You will be a small part of her healing process, an agent in
her reentry into the world of health.
"You may then pick up someone from the train station who has come home
from seeing a dying parent. You may take someone to the house of the
one that he or she will ask to join in marriage. You're a connector, a
bridge builder. You're one of the unseen people who make the world work
as well as it does. That is holy work. You may not think of it this
way, but yours is a sacred mission."
- Brussat, pp.308-309
Giving someone a LIFT is ministry.
Feeding people who have no place to live is ministry.
Judging someone by the content of their character
and not the color of their skin
or the orientation of their emotional attachments
or their age or their physical abilities - this is ministry.
Page Five
Speaking gently to someone on the telephone when they are upset or angry
- is truly a ministry.
Giving a standing ovation to a teenager - for being who they are - is a
rare and holy gift.
Working hard to clean up our own messes - external or internal - is a
ministry to everyone around us.
Being partners with God isn't always hard or complicated.
It is being a person around whom others feel lifted up.
It is seeking health and wholeness within ourselves and for others.
It is sharing power and being grateful
and practicing random acts of kindness and senseless beauty.
May we lift one another up with our ministry
here and in our daily lives,
now and with every breath.
******************
Bulletin
Music for Gathering
Welcome and Perspective on the Day
Musical Preparation for Worship - A Time for Centering
+ Morning Blessing
May God raise you up above everything. Spread out like water of a
lake.
Be abundance that never ends, that never changes. Be like a mountain.
Be like a camel. Be like a cloud - a cloud that brings rain always.
And God promised that it would be so.
+ Hymn of Struggle Lift Every Voice and Sing Hymnal #593
African-American National
Anthem
+ Opening Prayer (unison)
The right hand of God is writing in our land,
Writing with power and with love.
Our conflicts and our fears, our triumphs and our tears
Are recorded by the right hand of God.
The right hand of God is pointing in our land,
Pointing the way we must go.
So clouded is the way, so easily we stray,
But we're guided by the right hand of God.
The right hand of God is striking in our land,
Striking out at envy, hate and greed.
Our selfishness and lust, our pride and deeds unjust
Are destroyed by the right hand of God.
The right hand of God is lifting in our land,
Lifting the fallen one by one.
Each one is known by name, and rescued now from shame,
By the lifting of the right hand of God.
The right hand of God is healing in our land,
Healing broken bodies, minds and souls,
So wondrous is its touch, with love that means so much,
When we're healed by the right hand of God.
The right hand of God is planting in our land,
Planting seeds of freedom, hope and love,
In these American lands. Let God's people all join hands,
And be one with the right hand of God.
Time for Silent Reflection
One: My soul waits in silence.
All: God is my rock and my fortress. I will be at peace.
Silent Reflection
The Assurance of Good News (unison)
God will raise us up on eagle's wings,
bear us on the breath of dawn,
make us to shine like the sun,
and hold us in the palm of God's hand.
Sung Response
Hallelujah! God be praised!
Conversation with Our Children A Story from Does God Have a Big
Toe?
Reading from the Christian Gospels Mark 1:29-39
Hymn of Affirmation God Made From One Blood
Hymnal #427
Teaching and Proclamation Lifted Up Anne Cohen
Solo
"I'm Gonna Tell God All My
Troubles"
Spiritual
Bob Erickson
Intercessions, Celebrations and Encouragements
Taize Call to Prayer (sung in unison)
Ubi caritas et amor,
Ubi caritas, Deus ibi
est.
(Where charity and love are found, God is there.)
Time for Silence
Our Joys and Concerns and an Offering of Prayer
Sung Response In Solitude Hymnal #521 vv. 1 & 2
We Offer Our Gifts So That Our Lives May Be Our Prayer
Offertory
Offering Prayer (unison)
O Love ever burning and never extinguished charity
My God set me on fire.
+ Hymn of Vision Let Justice Flow Like Streams Hymnal
#588
+ Commissioning (unison)
Goodness is stronger than evil;
Love is stronger than hate;
Light is stronger than darkness;
Life is stronger than death;
Victory is ours through God who loves us.
+ Sung Response Hymnal #775
And God will raise you up on eagle's wings,
bear you on the breath of dawn,
make you to shine like the sun,
and hold you in the palm of God's hand.
+ Postlude
WORSHIP NOTES:
The cross marks (+) in the order of service are an invitation for those
in the congregation who are able to stand to do so.
The New Century Hymnal or Hymnal has a black cover.
The Chapel Songbook is a blue, looseleaf notebook.
Morning Blessing is from Samburu, Kenya, taken from
An African Prayer
Book Ed. by Desmond Tutu, c.1995, Doubleday (p.126)
Opening Prayer is by The Caribbean Conference of Churches, Ibid.
(pp.30-31 adpt.)
Offering Prayer is by St. Augustine, Ibid. (p. 8)
Commissioning is by Desmond Tutu, Ibid. (p. 78 adapted)