Wednesday, July 8

Today’s Readings: Psalm 54; 1 Samuel 26:1-25; Mark 2:1-12; Ephesians 2:1-10; Psalm 42

So often, individuals think of healing in individual terms. When a person gets physically sick, for instance, we expect the person to seek out a doctor on his or her own. When a person wrestles with psychological or emotional issues, the individual would be expected to seek out a therapist. And when a person grapples with financial challenges, an individual would be encouraged to seek out a financial planner. All of these acts of healing are assumed to occur at the individual level. But every once in a while, there is an experience of healing that occurs within a communal context. I had a first hand experience of this in seminary. During my second year of seminary, my home church voted to discontinue their support of my candidacy for ordained ministry simply because of my sexual orientation. I was crushed by their decision and found myself questioning whether there was a place for me within the institutional church. As I wrestled with the painful questions involved in my discernment process, many of my seminary classmates walked beside me and expressed their support of me. They believed in me at a time when few others did. It would have been extremely difficult to find my way to a place of healing and restoration without their support. The friends of the paralytic in today’s Gospel reading from Mark played a similar role for their friend. When the friends of the paralytic heard Jesus was in town, they could have expected their friend to make arrangements to see Jesus on his own. But they didn’t. Instead, the paralytic’s friends jumped in and helped transport their friend to Jesus so that he could regain his mobility. Today I would invite you to think about the time(s) in your life when members of your community rallied around you and helped move you toward a place of healing. Remember those times and give thanks for the ways your community has played a pivotal role in your restoration. Til next time…