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REJOICE
IN THE WONDERFUL THINGS JESUS IS DOING ____ THE REV. JOHN E. KITAGAWA ____ THE THIRTEENTH SUNDAY
AFTER PENTECOST ____ JEREMIAH 1: 4-10 HEBREWS 12: 18-29 LUKE 13: 10-17
P.O. VOICE: 520-299-6421 FAX: 520-299-0712 E-MAIL: WEB SITE: WWW.STPHILIPSTUCSON.ORG |
It is not often
that I wish be a dancer and choreographer.
Before you conjure up ugly mental images of me “galumphing around” the
chancel, let me tell you what makes me have such a wish. At an international and ecumenical
gathering 20 years ago, I saw a dancer interpret today’s Gospel. In my mind’s eye, I see a tall, slender
dancer walk into a theater in the round.
She put on a simple scarf, then twisted, contorted and folded herself
to become the woman described as “crippled for eighteen years … bent over and
… quite unable to stand up straight” (Luke Because I had begun sermon preparations, all this was in my mind when I attended a routine Habitat for Humanity Tucson board meeting on Thursday. New life and fresh appreciation for the images of that dance were kindled by parts of the agenda. The president invited one of Habitat’s newer employees to speak. She came to us as a graduate from the state’s prison for women, and of that prison’s Habitat program. Through our partnership, female prisoners work at our homebuilding sites. In addition, the women have opportunities to learn trade skills and earn college credits. As she shared parts of her story that led to incarceration, I saw images of the twisted, contorted and folded up dancer. As she described the impact of being in the partnership program, I saw the dancer flowering before our very eyes. Developing the skills and the prospect of eventual employment introduces a powerful measure of hope. Of equal significance, the Habitat staffer suggested, is that in working with the staff and volunteers many of the women have their first experience of being treated with dignity—especially by men. For many if not most of them, previous relationships with men had been abusive or destructive in one way or another. Later, the
Executive Director, Michael McDonald shared the story of a recent visit with
a new homeowner. [Let me pause for a
quick commercial. Michael will be the
featured speaker at the Outreach Forum following the Some of you may be expecting me, and others willing me, to use this Gospel text as a platform to recruit you to serve in our many significant outreach ministries. First, I need to speak to the ways in which we identify with Luke’s crippled and bent-over woman, and to those who relate in some way to the life-experience of the female prisoners, or to the Habitat homeowner before she moved into her house. Most of us manage to cope with the commotions of life most of the time. Sometimes, however, unsettled or unsettling relationships, unhappy employment or a family strained by activities and obligations can overwhelm us. The world of anxiety may arise from one’s health issues or those of a loved one, the uncertainty of health care coverage, or fears about the adequacy of financial plans developed decades ago. Disease, substance abuse and pain can all have a crippling impact on our lives. The weight of multiple responsibilities at home, at work and elsewhere can bend us over and make us feel like we are spinning our wheels and just cannot get ahead, or cannot move beyond a particular impasse.
All this is the real stuff of our lives. So, before you think you are somehow
deficient or fundamentally flawed, and before you develop a sense of guilt
about feeling figuratively “bent over and crippled,” listen to the insight of
an early Christian writer, Gregory of Nanziansus: A soul in trouble is near unto God[1]. |
A more contemporary
writer, John Sanford writes in The
Kingdom Within:
It is those who have
recognized that they have been injured or hurt in some way in life who are most
able to come into the kingdom. There is
no virtue in our weakness or injury as such … but unless a person has recognized
his [or her] own need, even his [or her] own despair, he [or she] is not ready
for the kingdom …”[2]
They suggest “need
itself can be a door, an entrance, a path to … hope and security in God[3]. So, why is it so difficult to seek healing
and transformation, or to recognize and receive help when it is offered? What gets in our way of letting go, and
inviting God to heal, liberate and empower our lives? Giving up egocentric ways is not easy. It is difficult to let go of a familiar
though uncomfortable or painful way of life in favor of a promise of a more
holistic but unfamiliar life.
In this vein, one of the insights of all
twelve-step programs is that we must recognize we are powerless to free
ourselves. We must surrender ourselves
to the power, mercy and love of God.
That is exactly what happened to Anne Lamott. In Traveling
Mercies, she recounts the story of her conversion after years of drug and
alcohol addiction and a botched attempt at an abortion, which nearly killed
her. She tells of how she had struggled
to keep God out of her life because she could not believe that God could or
would love someone like her, someone who had made such a mess of her life.
One week later, when I
went back to church, I was so hung over that I couldn’t stand up for the songs,
and this time I stayed for the sermon, which I thought was ridiculous, like
someone trying to convince me of the existence of extraterrestrials, but the
last song was so raw and pure that I could not escape.
It was as if people were
singing in between the notes, weeping and joyful at the same time, and I felt
like their voices or something was rocking me in its bosom, holding me like a
scared kid, and I opened up to that feeling and it washed over me.
I began to cry and left
before the benediction, and I raced home and felt like God was [like a] little
cat running along at my heels, and I walked down the dock past dozens of potted
flowers, under a sky as blue as one of God’s own dreams, and I opened the door
to my houseboat, and I stood there a minute; and then I hung my head and said,
“ it: I
quit.”
I took a long deep
breath and said out loud, “All right.
You can come in.”[4]
And, “Jesus said,
‘Woman, you are set free from your ailment.”
The first step to healing, liberation, and
reconciliation is to be open to God’s grace. Thankfully, God is always ready to
respond to our need, and may be doing so, but we do not notice. In fact, as Jesus demonstrated, God is
willing to go to great lengths in order to touch us with the healing power of
God’s love. God in God’s mercy is eager
to liberate, heal, and empower us, and may be doing so even while we are
unaware.
The healing context for the biblical woman
was a synagogue where she was probably keeping pretty much to herself. Anne Lamott was an
anonymous worshipper in church. For the
Habitat employee and her companions, the healing context was a construction
site. For the new homeowner, the healing
place was a home. Jesus’ direct contact
was the healing touch for Luke’s woman.
For Anne Lamott, a hymn was the vehicle for
God’s healing touch. For the Habitat
employee and her friends, healing began with the absence of human touch, and
receiving ordinary kindness and respect in interactions with strangers. For the new homeowner, the healing touch came
through the focused mission and institutional capacity of an organization
called Habitat for Humanity.
Think about this. Today’s stories show us that we never know
where or how God’s Holy Spirit might touch us in unexpected and unforeseen
ways. We never know how we might be
opened to allow God into our lives in new and healing ways. We never know when a hymn, an anthem, a
prayer, or even a sermon might inspire and empower us to accept and respond to
God’s mercy, love and grace. The woman
in the Gospel was probably surprised by Jesus’ compassionate action. In the end, Lamott
was grateful that God overcame her resistance.
For the Habitat staffer and her companions, dignity and a sense of
self-worth were unexpected gifts discovered through an opportunity to learn job
skills. For the new homeowner, peace and
the ability to get on with life were the joyful results of having decent and
affordable housing.
In conclusion, I highlight something the
Habitat employee touched on in her presentation. Several times, she stressed the significance
of having the opportunity to give back to society through her work, and even by
becoming a taxpayer. Giving back helps
her to build self-respect and self-esteem.
This reminded me of the spiritual truth contained in the first words of
the last sentence of the serenity prayer:
For it is in giving that
we receive …[5]
So, yes, be a Habitat
volunteer on 09.11.07, or any of many the workdays it will take to complete the
house. Help assemble Migrant Survival
packs. Go to the Information Station to
pick up an Outreach brochure to learn about ministries and volunteer. Find out how you can give by joining the
Parish Life Committee, participating in our Pastoral Ministries, our Formation
Ministries, or by giving of yourself in so many ways here and in the
community. There are no excuses for not
being an active agent of healing and transformation. For as the female prisoners attest, you have
through your everyday interactions with people, the opportunity to exercise
great healing and transforming power by “… seeking and serving Christ in all
people, loving your neighbors as yourselves;” and by “… striving for justice
and peace among all people, and respecting the dignity of every human being”[6].
AMEN.