The Sermon uses scriptures Mark 5:5-13 and Psalm 143: 7-8. It was preached on March 17, 2019 at Vespers Service at Presbyterian Communities in Florence, SC. This is park of the sermon series on brokenness.
Giving
Comfort
When I was in seminary, one summer I did a directed study.
It is a type of independent study
where you work with a
professor
on a topic that is not
usually part of the
curriculum,
yet has theological or
pastoral connections
to future ministry.
My subject was Ministry with a Chronic Illness.
I
wanted to examine how to care for oneself
when as the minister,
one is dealing with a chronic illness.
Chronic illness could be something as familiar as
diabetes
or something along the
lines of cardiac problems, cancer,
or rheumatoid arthritis.
What I discovered through the study is a simple truth:
we are all broken in some way.
None of us are without flaws or challenges.
Out of this, I knew the next step was to classify
these
different types of
brokenness
and examine each
Biblically and theologically.
The topics include chronic illness,
addiction
and obsession.
mental
and emotional,
grief
and loss, and finally sin.
For each of these subjects,
I also wanted to have an
object to symbolically reflect
the goodness and hope
to link to each form of
brokenness.
Today, I have brought with me an unfinished prayer
shawl.
~u-p-s~
Prayer shawls have long been symbols of
the unconditional love of
God;
they comfort, cover,
embrace and
let the one who receives
a shawl know they are loved
not
only by God but by neighbor as well. ~u-p-s~
Giving
Comfort could be applied to any of these 5 topics,
but for today, it is
about mental and emotional.
There is no blame
to be placed on someone with
mental or emotional
issues;
the same way you cannot blame someone
for a physical health
problem.
And there is a variety of mental and emotional issues ~u-p-s~
from anxiety and
depression to bipolar,
schizophrenia, obsessive-compulsive
and many more.
Giving
Comfort is something you and I can do;
the
simple definition of comfort is:
to
give strength and hope or
to
ease the grief, trouble, or suffering. ~u-p-s~
In our scripture from Mark, there is a man suffering,
“he was always
howling
and
bruising himself with stones.” ~u-p-s~
What was his ailment? What was his disorder?
We do not know, and it does not matter what is was;
Mark only states there is an unclean spirit within
this man.
An unclean spirit (sometimes referred to as a demon)
can include a wide range
of illnesses,
making someone
convulse, cry out, and injure themselves;
there
is suffering. ~u-p-s~
This is not the
first time Jesus has encountered an unclean spirit.
In the first chapter of Mark, there is another man suffering,
the unclean spirit
recognizes Jesus’ authority…
“I
know who you are, the Holy One of God.”
The suffering demon-possessed man in chapter 5
also recognizes Jesus and
his authority…
“What
have you to do with me, Jesus,
Son
of the Most High God?
I
adjure you by God, do not torment me.”
These unclean spirits know Jesus can relieve the suffering
of the men they are
possessing by removing their demons.
The healing/exorcism
that Jesus does
by rebuking, quieting,
and commanding the unclean spirit
relieves suffering. ~u-p-s~
Jesus as the Son of God can and does heal.
He faces the one who calls himself ‘legion’ and
sends the multiple
unclean spirits into the herd of swine.
The man is restored, healed ,cleansed, and made whole.
Jesus in all authority takes the imitative to drive
out
the unclean spirits
-no one has come to him
asking to heal
this demon-possessed man.
Does that mean no
one is concerned with his suffering?
I am not sure what the answer to that question is…
have the people become
accustomed to the man as he is;
since they do not know
how to help him,
do
they ignore his condition;
or is it like talking
about
emotional
and mental issues today:
It can be hard to acknowledge or discuss the subject. ~u-p-s~
In the psalms, we hear prayers to God for restoration,
for harmony in the midst
of chaos,
for relief from many
forms of suffering.
Psalm 143…
Answer me quickly, O Lord; my
spirit fails.
Do
not hide your face from me,
or
I shall be like those who go down to the Pit.
Let
me hear of your steadfast love in the morning,
for
in you I put my trust.
Teach
me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.
The psalmist continues to plead…
…preserve my life.
In
your righteousness bring me out of trouble.
Whether the trouble be enemies, illness, fear,
judgement,
or something else,
the psalmist knows God
can heal,
comfort, restore
righteousness,
and that God is always
present with us.
That is the great hope in our brokenness.
No matter
what flaws we have,
what challenges you
and I face,
God’s love is present
with us always. ~u-p-s~
You and I experience
God’s love,
we
strive to follow in Jesus’ footsteps,
his
compassion and care for those suffering,
through the
Holy Spirit,
we are given the blessing of discipleship,
the ability to reach out to others,
you
and I support each other on our journeys,
we
love neighbor, and we give comfort.
Which brings us back to this unfinished prayer shawl…
So why is the prayer shawl unfinished? ~u-p-s~
Why?
You and I
can be there for someone, giving comfort; ~u-p-s~
you and I
show our love to others, ~u-p-s~
we can be there in times
of challenges, for support,
~u-p-s~
being the listening ear, ~u-p-s~
the shoulder to cry on, ~u-p-s~
the one holding a hand
with someone on their journey;
yet, you and I can only do so much alone.
Jesus acknowledged being dependent on
the power, the authority,
the Spirit of God.
God’s grace,
God’s unconditional love
fills the empty spaces,
embraces the vulnerable,
comforts those who are hurting,
relieves suffering,
completes that which you
and I may leave unfinished.
Thanks be to God! ~u-p-s~
 |
| thanks to Rev. Kelly Lindsay for creating this unfinished prayer shawl |
~u-p-s~ means unfinished prayer shawl hich is lifted up for congregation to view
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