John 4:46-5:18
I want to start today by asking
you a question. What things did Jesus do
in his ministry? Teaching, preaching and
healing. Anything else?
Why healing? Do you think it was to get people’s attention
so that they would pay attention to him?
Do you think it was so people would like him, come to listen to
him? Was he trying to be liked? Was he trying to show signs to prove he was
who he said he was? Was it about
proof? Was it about forcing people to
believe? Or was it for another reason?
Jesus spent a lot of time
touching, caring for, listening to, and engaging people that other people
rejected. Those with leprosy were
outcasts. They couldn’t live with their
families and it was assumed that someone in their family or the person
themself, must have done something wrong and that is why this person was
sick. Disease was believed to be
punishment. Some people still have this
thinking but they call it Karma. While there
are different understandings of what Karma is (so I’m not knocking the idea
itself), some believe that while it may not be clear why there are people who
suffer and others who don’t, those who suffer must have done something to
deserve it, either in this life or in a past life. But Jesus first confronted this idea with
words like “the rain falls on the righteous and the unrighteous,” and “He
replied, “Do you think the suffering of these … proves that they were more
sinful than all the others? No, I tell
you!” But he went much further than just
declaring that it wasn’t their fault that they were afflicted.
He touched, he talked to and
with, and he healed any who were in need – the rejected, the outcast, the
condemned, the judged, the dismissed. He
touched them, included them, treated them as the incredible and beautiful
people that they were, regardless of how others treated them.
I have a ten dollar bill
here. If I mangle it and squish it and
stomp on it, if I make it dirty or even filthy, what is it then worth? It is still worth ten dollars. The appearance, the condition, the outward
attributes of this money don’t change it’s worth. Well, Jesus was able to see that this is the
same with people. He saw beyond the
outside of the bill. He saw beyond the
dirt, the scrounge, the disease. He saw
beyond the vocations, the successes, the judgments, the rejections. He saw beyond their achievements, their
choices, their mistakes, their sins. He
saw beyond all of that to who they WERE.
And who they were is the same as who you are – you are a child of
God. Worthy of infinite value.
I came across an article in
Sojourner’s Magazine that was talking about Henri Nouwen. Henri Nouwen was an amazingly gifted priest,
professor and writer. I love his books,
I love the way he thinks. He has a
brilliant as well as deeply faithful and spiritual mind. But after teaching for many years, he was
invited to become pastor to a community of people with intellectual
disabilities. He soon discovered that
they didn’t care how brilliant he was, and all the wonderful things he had
written and taught just didn’t mean that much to them. He told the story in one of his books, Life
of the Beloved, of one particular woman, Janet, who one day asked Henri for a
blessing. When he tried to bless her
with the sign of the cross on her forehead she became very upset and said, “No,
I want a real blessing!” He didn’t know
what to do with that, but that evening at worship, he mentioned that Janet had
asked for a real blessing, and as he was speaking she marched up to the front
and gave him a huge hug. In that moment,
he found the words that were needed.
“Janet, I want you to know that you are God’s beloved daughter. You are precious in God’s eyes. Your beautiful smile, your kindness to the
people in your house, and all the good things you do show us what a beautiful
human being you are. I know you feel a
little low these days and that there is some sadness in your heart, but I want
you to remember who you are: a very special person, deeply loved by God and all
the people who are here with you.” She
gave him a satisfied smile, but as Nouwen then turned away, he found himself surrounded
by the others in the community also asking for blessings. Henri gave each one a hug and a personal affirmation
that they were loved as they were. And
Henri walked away a changed man.
There is a video called “Who You
Are: A Message to All Women.” The man who created it also did one for all
men. I wish I could show you, but
instead I’m just going to read to you the words. The person who created this did this video
for all of you: for all people. In the
video, he walks onto a stage and he says this:
“You are beautiful. You are smart. You are funny. You are kind.
You are unique. You are worthy of
Love and affection. You are never too
much. And you are always enough. You are
precious. You are a diamond, a rose, a
pearl, the most stunning of all God’s creation.
You are worth more than you could ever imagine. Worth more than the numbers on the scale, or
the hair product you use or the shoes you wear. More than how many (people)
wish they were you, or how many people wish they had you. More than the price tag on your clothes or the
percentage on the top of your math test or even the number of followers you
have on twitter. Your worth surpasses
all earthly things because in the eyes of God you are loved and you are worth
dying for. Regardless of who you think
you are. Whether you model in a magazine
or you model pottery with grandma. Whether you are on the hot list or the not
list. Whether you’re head cheer leader
or a high school drop out. Whether you
are miss popular or whether you’ve never had anyone you could call a friend. Whether you love yourself and love your life
or you can’t stand to look in the mirror and you feel everything is falling
apart. Whether you are such a winner or
you feel like the world’s biggest failure.
Regardless of who you think you are.
The reality is that you deserve someone who would give up their life for
you because you are powerful and strong and capable. Read about the women in the bible: Esther,
Ruth, Mary, Martha. These women changed
the world forever and inside of you each and every one of you is a person with
that same power and strength and that same world changing capability. And your
responsibility is to find that woman and set that woman free. This is who you are. And any voices in your mind that try to tell
you differently are not from God. And
when you hear that voice you say to it, no: not me. I am a daughter of the living God: cherished,
loved above all things. I am
awesome! Please, don’t forget it.”
This is a beautiful
sentiment. But the reality is that it is
a different thing when that kind of blessing comes from someone who really
knows you and really loves you, when the blessing is genuine because it is from
a place of real knowing. One of the lines
in a praise song that I like is. “This is what I’m sure of, I can only show
love When I really know how loved I am. When it overtakes me, Then it animates
me, Flowing from my heart into my hands.”
I think there is deep truth in this.
Unlike some of our faith brothers
and sisters who say our relationship with God begins with our conversion, with
our submission, with our choosing to change, I believe with every fiber in my
being that instead, our relationship with God begins with God loving us, with
God choosing us. That love allows us to
change, that love gives us the courage and strength to change, that love is
what allows us to love others and to follow in Jesus’ footsteps.
Jesus not only healed the bodies
of the outcast, the oppressed, the disadvantaged, and the physically
broken. He healed their souls by showing
them, reminding them, acting in a way that said beyond a doubt that they were
loved and valued, that they were worthy, that God still saw them as more
important and beautiful than anything they could imagine.
In
writing this sermon, I found myself reflecting on the movie The Help. The Help is a movie about the caste
system in the Southern states, especially in the late 50s and early 60s. Poor and oppressed African American women
worked as “help” to the powerful, wealthy white women. The help raised the white women’s kids, the
help cleaned their clothes, made their food, took care of their families and
homes but were treated like dirt, were less than, were always the servants and
never treated as equals. Despite this, despite
this, the black women often loved the white babies they cared for. They genuinely cared for and about them,
knowing all the while that those white babies would probably still grow up to
be their own oppressors. In the movie,
the main character, Abilene, had care over a specific toddler, Mae Mobley, who
was not loved by her own mother. Mae
Mobley’s own mother saw her as a hassle, as a problem, as a burden. She did not want her or love her, and did not
want to care for her. And so, as Mae
Mobley herself said to Abilene, “You are my real mother” and in so very many
ways she was. Abilene had a routine,
then, that she did every day with Mae Mobley.
She would take this little girl of two or so years of age and say to
her, “You is smart. You is kind. You is important!” And she would ask Mae Mobley to repeat it and
remember it. Towards the end of the
movie Abilene was fired. And Mae Mobley was
left with this mother who didn’t like her.
Abilene, in tears, turned to the little girl and said, “Baby, I have to
retire now. You are my last little
girl. But I need you to remember
everything that I told you. Do you
remember what I told you?” To which Mae
Mobley repeated, “You is strong. You is
kind. You is important!” “Yes,” Abilene cries, “Please remember.” And then she turned to the mother and told
her to give her sweet girl a chance.
We
are invited to do the same. As we are
called to follow, we heal others by showing them how loved they are. That starts by remembering how loved YOU are,
by trusting in that love, by resting in that love. God’s love for you is so deep that Jesus
healed. God’s love for you is so deep
that God continues to offer all the different kinds of healing: healing of
soul, healing of emotions, healing of spirit especially. That may not look like physical healing. But healing is offered in many, many ways. It is often not the physical healing we would
hope for: our bodies age and all of our lives are mortal. But that does not mean that healing is not
there for us. It is there, but in many
different ways. We are called to look
for it, to accept it, to embrace it. And
then to go into the world, affirming, uplifting, and healing one another. Amen.
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