THE LORD LIFTS UP THOSE WHO ARE BOWED DOWN[1]

THE REV.

JOHN E. KITAGAWA

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SUNDAY 10 JUNE 2007

SECOND SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

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I KINGS 17: 8-16

GALATIANS 1 11-24

LUKE 7: 11-17

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Today, we begin a five week lectionary sequence[2] drawing from the Epistle to the Galatians. In verses prior to today’s reading, it is apparent that Paul and members of the community are at odds. Though he had founded the Church in Galatia, Paul’s authority was being challenged by those who “are turning to a different gospel—not that there is another gospel” (Galatians 1: 6-7). At the core of the tensions was the specific issue of compliance to Jewish law by Gentile converts. In other words, who can be considered a member of the Galatian Church, who cannot and on what basis. Quite simply, who is “in? And, who is “out”?

Given this context, we can see in today’s passage Paul offering a kind of “back to basics” response. He reminds his colleagues of his conversion and call “through the revelation of Jesus Christ” (Galatians 1: 12). This revelation, he notes, was at the core of his conversion from “violently persecuting the church of God and … trying to destroy it” (Galatians 1: 13) to a new vocation, “proclaiming the faith he once tried to destroy” (Galatians 1: 23), and specifically to “proclaim [Jesus] among the Gentiles” (Galatians 1: 16). Even before Paul meets Peter in Jerusalem, the apostles begin hearing that Paul is glorifying God by his proclamation of faith.

Later in the Epistle, Paul takes a far less gentle approach to the people of the Galatian Church. For example, in a passage not in the five week lectionary sequence, Paul says,

You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? (Galatians 3: 1).

There follows Paul’s treatise on the relationship between law and faith. He is careful to note that the later development of law does not nullify previous covenants between Israel and God. Similarly, he argues, law is not nullified by the revelation of faith in Jesus Christ. Paul concludes that through the grace of Baptism and faith in Jesus Christ,

There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.

Fundamentally, this is Paul’s basis for asking the Galatian community to end their controversy over who’s in and who’s out.

As Episcopalians, we are quite familiar with the dynamics of discerning Christian vocation in the context of controversy and tension. To be sure, the specifics of the “who’s in and who’s out” controversy have changed. Nevertheless, I believe Paul would similarly argue for inclusion as he calls us to fulfill our vocation to proclaim by “word and example, the Good News of God in Christ”[3].

“What,” you may ask, “would be the content of this proclamation?” Today’s stories in First Kings and Luke offer us insights and clues. These are healing stories in which two widows play prominent roles.

In ancient Israel, women whose husbands had died had no inheritance rights and were dependent upon other family members or charity for their very survival. … Jewish law demanded care for sojourners, orphans, and widows (Deut. 10: 17-19; 24: 17-24; 27: 19)[4].

But, of course, the law was not always nor universally respected and fulfilled. Many widows lived in poverty and at the margins of society, with no lifeline and no hope for the future. .

Like the sustaining supply of wheat and oil, Elijah’s bringing the son back to life is a sign of God’s presence and power in the woman’s life. Despite all the objective negatives in the widow’s life and all evidence to the contrary, Elijah brings the improbable good news that God is very much engaged in this scenario[5]. In Luke, we are told that Jesus acted “because “he had compassion” (Luke 7: 13) for the widow of Nain. An initially fearful crowd quickly changes its tune, saying:

God has looked favorably on his people!” (Luke 7: 17).

I am quite certain that if I asked you to identify what and who is in need of healing today, each of you could come up with a lengthy list. Some of your answers would be global in nature. Iraq would probably be somewhere at the top of many lists. The rift between Israelis and Palestinians would be on my list, as would the situation in Darfur. It is difficult to see the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel in such situations. Sometimes, it is even difficult to pray with any sense that God is engaged in these scenarios of deep and massive brokenness. And, yet, not long ago, the so-called “Troubles” in Northern Ireland, and the oppression of apartheid in South Africa would have been on the top of my list of situations in need on healing. At least in relationship to South Africa, Archbishop Tutu is convinced and convincing that God was very much engaged in that scenario.

Surely, there are among us people in need of healing today—probably all us in way or another. Among us are people suffering from heart disease and other serious ailments. Some are battling the ravages of cancer. Others are slaves to addictions to alcohol, drugs or other self-destructive behaviors. There are people suffering the pain of broken relationships, whether with a spouse, a partner, a child, a parent, a sibling or a friend. Some are “possessed by a lust for power and money” that strangles all that is good in life. Some, I am sure feel the need for healing in their estranged relationship with God.

The healing stories in today’s scriptures are powerful and hopeful reminders that God can and does heal us. Such powerful and seemingly miraculous healing stories can also be a disservice if we appropriate them too literally. For God does not always heal us in such dramatic ways. Nor does God respond in the exact manner we pray for.

Donald Coggan, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, told of a well-known clergyman who had an incredible ministry in a London Parish. Thousands flocked to hear him and he was much in demand as a preacher all over the world. His preaching and his ministry emphasized the power of prayer and how it can heal. He was only in his early 40’s when it was discovered he had cancer. Literally tens of thousands of people around the globe prayed for him to be healed. But the cancer progressed and it soon became evident he would die. Just before his death, he said: “God does answer all prayer. I know now God had a different kind of healing in mind for me than what I prayed for”[6].

Many of us are familiar with the Helen Keller story. She lost her sight and hearing in infancy. Nevertheless, she eventually graduated from Radcliffe with honors, and went on to live a remarkable life. Late in her life, she wrote this:

Once I knew the depth where no hope was and darkness lay on the face of all things. Then love came and set my soul free. Once I fretted and beat myself against the wall that shut me in. My life was without a past or a future, and death a consummation devoutly to be wished. But a little word from the fingers of another fell into my hands that clutched at emptiness, and my heart leaped up with the rapture of living. I do not know the meaning of darkness, but I have learned the overcoming of it”[7].

Years ago, the Dean of an Episcopal Seminary had to bury a son who had committed suicide.

Several days after that shattering experience, he climbed the pulpit in the seminary chapel and said these words of conviction: “I have been to the bottom of the pit. But I have found the ground to be firm!”[8]

As I noted earlier, powerful and miraculous healing Bible stories can be a disservice if we think of them as the only models for healing. Many of you know I am a process oriented person. So, it should come as no surprise that I believe that healing is a process. It begins with the recognition of the need for healing. Quite often that recognition only happens when we hit the bottom of the pit, or when we recognize either that we are helpless in the face of brokenness, or that we do not possess the power to heal ourselves. I believe the second step of Twelve Step programs like Alcoholics Anonymous is to recognize that a higher power is essential to the healing process. Then there is the next step, which is often a stumbling block. This third step calls us to entrust our lives to God’s care. So, the question is not whether or not God is engaged in the scenarios of our lives. The question is whether we are willing to entrust God with our suffering, our pain, and our brokenness. Do we have faith to invite God into our lives as healer, reconciler and change-agent? Have you experienced or have you observed the Lord lifting up those who are bowed down? Do we have faith to accept that the healing God provides may not be the healing we pray for?

So, finally, what might be the content of our proclamation of the Good News of God in Christ? Perhaps, a paraphrase of what Playwright Eugene O’Neill once said might be a good summary. To it, add the specifics of what you have experienced or seen. O’Neill said,

“Humankind is born broken. We live by mending. And the grace of God is the glue”[9].

AMEN.