A Saving Touch
There is this interesting phenomenon that always happens at camp on Thursday night. Everything tends to get a bit emotional. The girls normally cry. The guys usually do their uncomfortable fidgeting thing. You would think that the end of the week dance would be the main contributing factor to this. It’s not. It’s actually the last evening worship of the week. One piece of the evening that has been around even when I was a camper is a time of affirmation. I remember how it happened when I was a camper. As a cabin group we would stand in a circle. One by one each person would step into the circle and everyone would place their hand on their shoulders or head. We would go around the circle and everyone would say something affirming about the person in the center. Typically it was reflecting on the gifts we had seen them show during the week. Then the staff person would pray for the person in the middle. Now you know why it would get really emotional! This is some powerful stuff going on! I remember the weight of the hands on me and the weight of the words that were spoken. What we were doing for each other was giving each person a reminder that they were a dearly loved child of God and blessing them for the journey.
What struck me about the gospel lesson from Luke today is the way in which Jesus’ healing takes place. He sees this woman who has had a spirit that crippled her for 18 years. It’s weighed on her so much that she can’t even stand up straight! Again it is Jesus who initiates this miracle. There’s no great test of faith from the woman. She doesn’t ask for it. She’s just there for her Sabbath worship time. Jesus sees her and proclaims to her healing “Woman, you are set free from your ailment.” But that doesn’t make it happen. It’s when he lays hands on her that she is then truly healed.
We can identify with this woman or at least I can. We’ve had experiences where something has weighed heavily on us, on our spirit. You can feel it, right here, in your chest. It can feel at times so heavy that we feel bent over; bearing the weight of whatever it is we’re dealing with. A lot of the time we need someone else to help lift that weight off so that we’re able to stand up straight. Two weeks ago while I was at the Churchwide assembly I started feeling anxious. I started to hear again those voices telling me in general that I wasn’t good enough and begin to call into question who I am. Those voices happen sometime. That day in worship we had the opportunity to explore some different worship stations. One of them was praying with a pastor. I joined a line and waited for it to be my turn. The pastor I sat with was a middle aged African American woman from Chicago. As soon as I sat down she grabbed my hand and asked me how she could pray for me. I shared with her what those comparative voices were telling me and she nodded with a sense of deep understanding. She grabbed my head and pulled me in close and began to pray. As she prayed and reminded me of who I was and whose I was, I felt the heaviness in my spirit disappear.
Today’s gospel reading reminds us of the promise that God gives to us in baptism. It actually starts with baptism and continues in communion. God is not far away. God is close to us. Period. In baptism we receive a new name, child of God. We are adopted into the family. Through word and water we are confident that in Jesus Christ, God is near to us always. Healing, wholeness, renewal and restoration are always there whether we have the strength to ask for it or not. When we’re feeling weighed down and bent over, we can remember that we’re a child of God through baptism. Christ comes to us and says “Woman, Man, you are set free from your ailment.” In communion every Sunday we also receive a reminder of those same promises. In bread and wine, we taste and see that God is good. Jesus draws near to us and we remember him in a simple meal shared in community. God is not far off, but right here to have and hold. When we’re feeling weighed down and bent over, we can remember that we’re a child of God through communion. “Woman, Man, you are sent free from your ailment.”
Another way that we see this and embrace it is through the love that we have in Christian community. It seems as though youth embrace this the most quickly. Every large scale youth event I have been to always has some youth who will make a “free hug” sign to carry around them. They are ready to show the love they have in Christ in a very real way. Of course, since youth embrace it the most quickly you have to be careful in how it’s carried out, thus the creation of the “side hug.” Instead of a normal hug, you just hug from the side. It’s safer and still conveys a certain amount of warmth. It’s almost become an automatic for me from working those summers at camp. The problem is, you can tell it’s a side hug. It’s pretty obvious. It doesn’t totally convey the warmth that a real hug has behind it. But, there are rules that are put in place, I understand, so that those who work with youth or even youth themselves engage in a way that can’t be taken the wrong way. We constantly have to be careful in the way that we interact with each other so that our actions won’t be mistaken for ill intent. The rules keep us safe but also typically keep us at arm’s length from each other. I have to admit that even writing this sermon was difficult because how do you convey the importance that physical interaction can have on us without sounding creeper? It’s obvious that physical interaction is a huge part of our faith. Our faith is embodied it’s who we are. So how do we carry this out as a part of our interaction between one another?
What’s most important to remember is it’s not just the interaction, but also the words that accompany them. What makes baptism and communion a sacrament is not just the physical element, but the words that are spoken as a part of it. Those two things together make these celebrations powerful. We hear the reminder in addition to feeling it. One way that we can do this in community outside of the sacraments is through the process of blessing. This isn’t something we’re too used to, but let’s try it this morning. Yes, I know, again with the full contact, interactive sermons. Here’s the deal, I really like being church among one another not just doing church…so here we go. I want you to find someone near you, trace the sign of the cross on their forehead and say “Name, child of God you are dearly loved.” Be sure to look at them. Don’t look over the top of their head or anything. Also, make sure everyone gets a blessing, no one left behind. Ready? Go. (Pause here until everyone finishes) How did it feel to be blessed? How did it feel to speak the blessing?
We are called through our baptism and given freedom through Christ’s death to go out and bless others. Now we don’t always remember to do that. We get busy, distracted and tend to overlook each other. We forget that we are children of God and we forget that others are God’s children too. Still Christ comes to us through water, through bread and wine and through the sign of the cross to remind us of who we are. Still Christ dies for us to display fully the love of God. That no matter what, God will seek us and embrace us. We are God’s children called and blessed to be a blessing to others. Called to go and embrace all of God’s creation. Think for a moment, who is someone in your life that you interact with every day that could use a blessing? Your goal for this week is to bless them. Find some way to bless them maybe it’s a side hug. Your blessing, your embrace, could be the saving touch that they need to lift a burden off their spirit. It will allow them to stand up straight, free from their ailment. Through you they will see and experience Jesus. Amen.
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