Strength for the Road of Life

SERMON - “Strength for the Road of Life”    Proper 7, Pent. 5.  Is. 65:1-9, Ps 22:18-27, Gal. 3:23-29, Luke 8:26-39  June 23, 2013   The Rev. Laura Adelia  

 

Good morning St Peter’s!  This last week as many of you know, was Vacation Bible School.

It was a lot of fun.  Tons of children, from the very young to older ages were all there.  There were games, activities, dancing and music.  And there were special times too where they would participate in a spiritual ritual, and this is very special to see.   Yes, even the very young have a spirituality and feel God’s love. 

The pastor from the Lutheran Church played the Apostle Paul, and the children especially enjoyed going to Paul’s “house”.  It was a darkened room, made up like a tent, and there the children would listen to his stories, pray with him, and participate in rituals, like putting a little drawing of their hand on a wooden cross.  The children became very solemn doing this,  you could tell it was very meaningful for them.

I think we as adults can forget that children can be very spiritual ...and have spiritual needs too!

Think about when you first introduced to God, or felt God’s love and holiness.  Was it when you were a child?  Vacation Bible School, Sunday School, etc. sets a positive base for life… that we are not alone in this sometimes difficult world, and that God is with us and loves us.   

And this is spiritual strength for the road of life!

However, it’s no secret that religion is just not part of many people’s lives these days.  Teaching Religious Studies classes at Mesa Community College, I have gotten to know many students over the years….one of the joys of teaching.  So many students have shared with me that taking the introductory world religions class was / is their first exposure to any religion or what religion is about.

So many these people days have no religious or spiritual upbringing at all.  What might be the effects of this?

It makes you wonder…why do we have religion?  Is religion really needed?  Why do we gather together, sing songs, pray together, do things together and participate in rituals like the Holy Eucharist?

One reason… for strength!

As a chaplain in the military, most recently I have never seen the level of crises and mental distress that I have seen in the entire 23 years I have been in.  I am sure you have heard how the military is currently experiencing extremely high levels of suicides and suicide attempts, as well as other mental issues and crises. 

Last March, I was on duty for 5 days, and there were five major crises! I have never seen anything like it.  I was stationed at Luke for 8 years, and we maybe had one or two in a whole year.  But now, it has seriously escalated.

Why is this?  Is it because so many have done multiple deployments overseas over the years?  Probably. 

As they say, there are no atheists in foxholes.  And it is true.  Nothing against atheists, mind you.  As a chaplain, I have counseled many an atheist and non religious who are in need of pastoral care.  Even people who are remotely religious usually come to chapel, or need someone “safe” to talk to when deployed…they need the spiritual strength, the support, a positive message, hope, it helps them get through the tough times and the stress of being deployed and far away from home. 

Strength for the Road of Life!

When I was deployed to Antarctica in 2010, I was the chaplain at McMurdo Station.  Yep, it’s cold down there!  I left Phoenix and it was 111 degrees…a few days later stepping off the plane that just landed on the frozen ocean runway in McMurdo Station, Antarctica, wearing a big red parka, I was hit in the face with 35 degrees below zero!  Whew!

Now, down there it was a science mission, it was run by the National Science Foundation.  Scientists from all over the world were there doing research in their respective fields;  Volcanologists, meteorologists, biologists, studying the sea life, penguins, seals, global warming, and more.  Yes, the ‘PhD factor’ was pretty high down there!

And not just the scientists.  Many people, young and adventurous, wanting just to go to Antarctica took any job, just to get down there.  Even the dishwashers in the dining hall had PhDs!  So, it was a very interesting bunch of people!

I would go around and visit people in their work areas.  One day I was visiting a new bunch of scientists who had just arrived in the lab.  I introduced myself as their chaplain, and welcomed them.  Most everyone was usually pretty friendly, but this one lady sort of turned her back to me and said, “I’m an atheist!”

Again, I have no issues with atheists.  I soon learned that there was vibe by some people down there that was anti-religious.  I guess they thought I was going to shove religion or Jesus down their throat.  But soon people realized I was “OK”, and they warmed up to me.

But I did learn, that many viewed religion as a “weakness”, that only the weak were into, or needed religion. 

Oh, they have it so wrong!!

For religion and having a faith in God gives us strength!  Strength for the road of life!   Strength through the storms, strength in facing or battling modern day demons and so forth.  And as we know, they do come, don’t they?

In today’s gospel, Jesus heals the Gerasene man possessed by many demons whose name is “Legion”.  Gerasenes is the region where the city of Jerash is located.  It is an ancient Greco-Roman city, located in north-western modern day Jordan.

So Jesus steps off the boat and is met by a man possessed by many demons. The man lived in the tombs among the dead and wore no clothes.  He suffered seizures, hurt and harmed himself and had to be chained.  He is unpredictable, violent and alone, his life out of his control.  The poor man lived a life of total misery.

The modern day worldview?  The man suffered from mental illness.  But people in the ancient Middle East regarded all illnesses as the result of the power of evil.

Jesus heals the man.  The man is no longer ill, the demons, gone.  He sits at Jesus’ feet. 

The man now in his right mind wants to follow Jesus.   But Jesus tells the man to return home and to tell people how much God has done for him.

When I was sick, I know the doctors who helped me get well saved my life.  But also, I know, God was in my healing.    God, the love and power of God is in all healing.  Ever notice hospitals usually have a chapel?    No matter the skill level or specialty of the doctors, nurses, etc., even the non-religious will most likely pray when facing death, illness or injury!  

We have all known people who have battled their demons…drug addictions, alcoholism, and so forth.  Friends, family members…

A couple of years ago, while working at the VA Hospital in Palo Alto, CA, I worked with a chaplain who was a recovering alcoholic.  She had been sober for 30 years, and among other things, she led the Addictions Spirituality Group for veterans battling their addictions. 

Being that I have known people who have battled this demon, and some who have sadly lost this battle, including my own sister…I asked her how she did it.  How did she beat alcoholism?

I wondered, for the sad statistic is that most do not beat this modern day demon.

And she told me her story.   She had tried numerous times, and always gave in to the urge to drink. 

And then one day, her prayers answered; she was able to resist the urge to drink…just for one day.  And then ‘one day at a time’, as they say.  How or why she was able to finally beat her demon, and why so many others cannot, she said she did not know exactly.  

But, what she did know was that God gave her strength and was involved in her healing and deliverance from her addiction. 

And in her healing, came her life’s work… to help others break free from addiction, and be made whole through the power and love of God. 

Love and the power of God will always conquer the forces of evil.

And no one, and I mean no one, is beyond the power and reach of Christ’s healing love!

Amen.

The Woman Who Dared...

Sermon – June 16, 2013.  Proper 6, Pentecost 4.  “The Woman Who Dared”  2 Sam 11:26-12:10, Psalm 32, Gal 2:15-21, Luke 7:36-8:3   The Rev. Laura Adelia, St Peter's Episcopal Church, Casa Grande, AZ.

Good morning everyone!  And a Happy Father’s Day to all out there!

This last week, I had a few days military duty, a chaplain conference over in San Luis Obispo, "SLO" as they call it.  Oh, it was so beautiful, and 60 degrees!  So, I was at the airport gate waiting to catch my plane back to Arizona, waiting for the boarding call.  

A young college age woman, after getting her ticket checked at the gate, oblivious that the boarding call had not yet been announced, walked right toward the doorway to the ramp where the planes were outside.  The ticketing agent yelling to her not to open the door, she opened the door and the security alarms went off wildly, the TSA people running every which way.   It was a big commotion.

All eyes were on her as she walked back into the gate’s waiting area, where all the people were, including me, waiting to board the aircraft.  And she said loudly to everyone, “My bad!”

Embarrassment.  We have all been there, one way or another! 

And embarrassment, as we know is one of our many emotions, usually felt when we make a mistake such as in a social blunder. 

Some psychologists categorize emotions and say some are “root” emotions.  For example, fear would be the root emotion of negative emotions like annoyance, contempt, jealousy, pride, shame, guilt, etc.   

Conversely, love would be the root emotion of positive or pleasant emotions such as joy compassion, etc.

There are many theories about emotions, what they are, how to classify them, and so forth.  But one thing is certain, we experience them, we feel them, and we express them.  

Our emotions affect our physical body, our mind, and our spirit…and vice, versa.    For example, feeling or experiencing prolonged negative emotions such as anger or stress, can actually affect our health and make us physically and spiritually ill!   

We have all met people who have “baggage” and carry around their hurts and anger…unable to let go for whatever reason.   And they are usually no fun to be around.  Stuck, they can’t move forward, heal and be happy. 

The key is being able to let go. I know, much easier said than done!

It can be especially difficult to let go of anger and hurt when we were the ones who have been wronged.  That person who offended or hurt us perhaps doesn’t deserve our forgiveness!  

As well, if we are the one who has done something wrong, how difficult it can be to forgive ourselves!

But here is the secret about forgiveness…. it is not for the other person.  Forgiveness is for us, so we can be free!   Free of the hurt, free of the anger, free of the pain, and whatever we have been hanging onto!  

The Gospel story we just heard in Luke, is all about wholeness, healing, love and forgiveness.  

Jesus was attending a private dinner in the house of Simon, a Pharisee.  The people gathered for dinner would be reclined around the food in circular fashion on the floor.  In walks an unknown woman, she stands behind Jesus’ feet, cries on him, dried her tears with her hair, and then kissed and anointed his feet!

Whoa!  Imagine being at a dinner party and this happens!  As this action would be pretty outrageous today, it was even more so back then.  

In those days, Jews did not touch certain people.  Men did not touch women, women did not touch men.  And here, Jesus allows the woman to not only touch him, but to kiss him and anoint him, breaking all kinds of rules of social boundaries and etiquette.

Can you just picture the other dinner guests squirming with embarrassment?    This was no ordinary greeting!

In the Middle East, it was and still is very common for men to kiss each other hello.  In many countries, such as India, Bangladesh, and in other Asian countries, kneeling, kissing or touching feet upon greeting is a sign of respect for an elder, a teacher or a religious leader.  It is still done to this day, but traditionally it is done only by those of the same gender.  

But in the Gospel story, we have a female touching and kissing a man’s feet, Jesus’ feet, a big social no-no for the day.  

Instead of being embarrassed, Jesus did not stop the woman.  He just let’s her do her thing!

Simon the Pharisee, the host, is watching the whole thing.   Being judgmental and thinking, ‘Hmmm. If this man were really a prophet, he would have known what kind of woman is touching him, a sinner.’

Jesus senses Simons’ thoughts, and in usual Jesus fashion, takes the moment and uses it to teach.

He tells a riddle story to Simon of two debtors, one owing more than the other.  They both could not pay, so the creditor cancelled the debts.  (Nice creditor!)  Jesus then asks Simon, ‘which debtor will love the creditor more?’

Simon answers, ‘I suppose the one who had the greater debt cancelled’, and Jesus responds that he judged rightly.  And then Jesus packs in the power punch!

He then says, ‘You see this woman here?  When I entered your house, you gave me no water for my feet, but she has washed my feet with her tears.  You gave me no kiss, but she has not stopped kissing my feet.  And you did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment’.

You see, Simon had actually displayed intense rudeness to Jesus, as hospitality in those days dictated that the host provide these things for a guest.  And Simon provided none of these things, a statement in itself.  

Jesus continues, ‘Her sins, which were many, have been forgiven, for she has shown great love.  The one whom little is forgiven, loves little.’

Jesus then turns to the woman, tells her that her sins are forgiven, and that her faith has saved her.

The usual interpretation of this is that Jesus was the one who forgave her and made her whole.  

But let’s look at it from a different point of view.  What if Jesus was simply stating a fact?  Her great love and faith, her trust in God, made her well!  

We tend to think of ‘sin’ as the result of an evil act. But the word ‘sin’ actually means, ‘to miss the mark’.  For example, when an archer does not hit on the target with their arrow. 

In other words, to ‘sin’, in it’s root form from Greek and Hebrew, sin actually means to error, or to make a mistake.

So the unknown woman, a sinner, had made many mistakes. From her sins, she carried burdens, emotional scars… perhaps sadness, shame, guilt…and other negative emotions…who knows what else.  We do not know what her sins were… or how she sinned, it is really not important. 

What is important is that she is made whole again.  As Jesus said, her great love, her faith, made her well. 

The woman showed great courage too.  It takes a lot of guts to do what she did, break the rules of social boundaries and endure judgmental eyes.  But she dared to live in love, and not fear.

We have all made mistakes…we are human.  And many of us, like the unknown woman in this story, may carry hurts, angers and burdens of long ago.   Or, perhaps like Simon the Pharisee, we may be too quick to judge others, or may be blind to our own flaws. 

But, what if we dared to live and walk in love and dared to live courageously…in faith, in trust?

She performed an act of love, which helped her feel love, and became love in her heart!

Fear only leads to more fear….and love leads to more love.   

Did the woman love because she had been forgiven?  Or was it her love, that led to her forgiveness, healing, and wholeness?  

Perhaps, it was a bit of both!    

May we all walk in love.

Amen.

When Miracles Don't Happen

Jesus raising the son of the widow at Nain

Sermon   “When Miracles Don’t Happen”  June 9, 2013  Pentecost 4, Proper 5, 1Kings 17:17-24, Psalm 30, Gal. 1:11-24, Luke 7:11-17  The Rev. Laura Adelia  (Sermon given at St Peter's Episcopal Church, Casa Grande, AZ)

I have to tell you, this sermon just did not want to come to be this morning.  I have been wrestling with the text all week !!

I mean, at first glance, the scriptures we just heard seem like they would be an excellent topic to preach upon. 

In Kings, Elijah heals the widow’s son, and brings him back to life!

And similarly, in Luke’s gospel, Jesus is walking by, sees a crowd carrying a coffin and a grieving widow.  He goes up to the widow, tells her, “Don’t cry”, touches the coffin and says, “Rise!” and the young man comes back to life!    The people who witnessed this event, naturally were frightened by what they had just seen.

So, two miracle stories!  Perhaps I could say, this is evidence of God’s power and love in action!  Or preach on how Jesus, and Elijah were both moved with compassion over the situation of the widows, and they were compelled to act and help them.

Hmmm.  

Miracles, answered prayers, compassion…these are all wonderful things.

But what about when miracles don’t happen?

What about when tragedy, or illness occurs…and we pray, and pray and pray for the healing of a loved one, or for God to save them, and our prayers remain unanswered?

Or our prayers do not get answered in the way we had hoped?

It seems that is what happens mostly.  Miracles are a rarity.  They seem to happen a lot in Biblical times, not so much in the modern day.

Does this mean we should just give up hope?  Are we left to fate?

We in the modern world expect results from our efforts.  We have been taught, work hard, and you can be successful in your career or work!  Study hard, and you will get good grades in school, and so forth. 

So it stands to reason that if we “pray hard”, we should get what we pray for! Right?    

I was reading a blog on this very topic, and the writer, K.W. Leslie commented, “God is not your genie!”

He says, he has noticed that certain people arrogantly expect everything they pray for to happen.  They named it, they claimed it, so God has got to give it because God promised we would get whatever we ask for in Jesus’ name!

And hey, God wants us to live successful and prosperous lives, right?  If God comes through, we call God a mighty and loving God!

And if we do not get what we want, or prayed for…well, maybe we did not pray hard enough!    Or maybe we prayed ‘wrong’!

Or, how about this…maybe our faith was / is not strong enough.  Or perhaps we lack enough good works…

Eeesh!   

Oh if it were only that easy…to just pray and get whatever we want!

Sadly, though, I have met many people, and I am sure you have too, who have said they no longer believe in God, or chucked religion and church because they prayed and prayed for a miracle…for God to save their daughter, (or husband, or mother, etc.), and their loved one died anyway. 

The thing is though, miracles do happen all the time.  Ask any person in the medical profession or who works in a hospital.   Someone is ill with terminal cancer, and then out of the blue, it’s gone!

The reality is, all of us at one point or another in our lives, will be touched by illness, or the suffering of a loved one, and loss.  Is there anyone here who has not?

But when tragedy strikes we are shocked, and our world turns upside down.  Of course we know that the world is not fair and tragedy follows no line of reasoning. 

Yet when the world comes crashing in around us, who hasn’t asked or wondered, “How could this have happened?”  Or, “Why did this happen to me?” or  “What did I do to deserve this?” 

I confess, when it happened to me, I asked my doctor, “How did this happen?  I’m a semi vegetarian!  I eat organic!  I exercise!  I pray and meditate!”  And my doc answered, “If I knew the answer, I would have the Nobel Prize!  Just work on being well.”

As people of faith, we try to look where is God in the chaos.  While all attempts to make sense of the senseless prove futile, we turn to God to find meaning.  We look and pray for God’s compassion to bring our world back into alignment. 

We can’t stop ourselves from praying for the most impossible of miracles, especially when it concerns those we love. 

And sometimes, like the widow at Nain, we actually get the miracle we pray for.  

For those of you who have gone through tragedy or illness or trauma, what got you through it?    What helped?

We are social animals, and we need people!  We need each other!  We need strength and support from one another!  We are meant to share our stories, our faith journeys with each other, and be there for each other.  From this, we gain spiritual strength and learn from each other.

Stay focused on God. Pray anyway, even when miracles don’t happen.  Keep the faith. 

I know this sounds like a platitude.  But what is faith?  It is trust.   Trust...

It’s not easy, I know.  But that’s why we need each other...for strength through the storm...and especially when miracles don't happen.

Amen.