"The Way of
Healing"
a condensed version of the
sermon delivered by Rev. Kirk Moore on Wednesmday, February 20, 2008 at the Community
Lenten Breakfast Series at The Federated Church of Sandwich, Illinois.
PODCAST of "The Way of Healing"
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Even in 2nd and 3rd grades it made me want to cry. I didn’t always have the courage speak out and say
"Knock it off!"
And I wish I had.
Mark was in my graduating class in high school. He was different. He had a compulsion that made it necessary for him to drink out of each drinking fountain in a row of fountains. There were other obsessive compulsive things Mark did. And high school students were cruel to him. I remembered Jennifer and I didn’t want to be a coward this time. I was Mark’s friend. Later on in life I found that I also knew Mark’s older sisters. I was so glad that Mark and I were friends and that I didn’t have to explain to his sisters why I had been such a jerk in high school.
Jennifer and Mark were outcast by their peers. They were shunned and made to feel as if they didn’t matter at all.
And it still makes me want to cry.
In today’s Bible reading from Luke 5:12-16, Jesus met a man who was covered with leprosy.
We don’t know exactly what this man had. It could have been what we call ‘Hanson’s Disease’ today,
But more likely is was simply some kind of skin rash. But since the rash was thought to be and was likely contagious, this man had to abide by the code from Leviticus:
(Leviticus 13:45-46 NRSV) The person who has the leprous disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head be disheveled; and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, "Unclean, unclean." {46} He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease; he is unclean. He shall live alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp.
This man, and anyone in his condition, was outcast, shunned, made to feel as if they didn’t matter at all.
And Jesus would have none of that.
While everyone else would shout "Jennifer germs!" Jesus reached out and touched the man with the contagious skin disease. He made the man clean.
Clean -- purified – made well – restored.
Just like that.
I can’t explain how Jesus healed this man’s illness. I don’t know why some people are miraculously cured of diseases when we pray and some aren’t and some are cured when we don’t pray at all.
But I can explain this way of healing – this way of Jesus.
Jesus reached across a social boundary and ignored the taboo to touch an outcast and restored him
The woman from Luke 8 who had been bleeding for 12 years thought, "If I can just touch the fringe of his cloak I will be healed" and Jesus didn’t shout "unclean!" Instead he said that she was made well, cleansed, purified – restored.
The blind man by the side of the road from Mark 10 was marginalized from society because nobody thought he could do anything. Jesus restored his sight and restored the man.
This way of healing – this way of Jesus, is about being made well, cleansed, purified– restored.
And for Jesus, the healing meant that he had to reach across boundaries – taboos – uncrossable lines, to offer healing, cleansing – restoration.
How do we follow Jesus way of healing? None of us are magic. If God heals someone when we lay hands on them and pray it’s all about what God is doing and not about any magic healing powers coming from our hands. But this way of healing is about something else. It’s about restoring the outcast.
Have you ever been shunned or ostracized? Ever been excluded for your accent or skin color, gender social class, religion or politics -- family? When I see God’s children marginalized and outcast as modern-day lepers it makes me want to cry.
We can follow Jesus’ way of healing by reaching out to and welcoming the marginalized and the outcast.
Think about who that is in your life. What person – what group of people is often thought to be outside of our acceptance and love? Who seems beyond healing? Who have we shunned?
We can follow Jesus’ way of healing by reaching across boundaries – taboos – uncrossable lines to offer God’s healing, cleansing – restoration.
Close with prayer.
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