Rev. Maureen Frescott
Congregational Church of
Amherst, UCC
September 22, 2013
Psalm 79:1-9; Jeremiah
8:18-9:1
“Is There a
Doctor in the House?
The
Balm of Gilead was a healing compound made from the resinous gum of a bush
which grew plentifully in the area of Gilead during biblical times.
The
sticky balm was thought to cure a whole host of ailments, from skin diseases to
headaches to easing the pain of broken limbs.
We may
snicker at the simplistic remedies of ancient times, but I wonder how many of
you are familiar with a product called BAG BALM.
Bag
Balm is an ointment developed in VT in 1899 by a dairy farmer.
The
farmers rubbed it on the udders of their cows to soothe irritation after
milking. When the farmers' wives
began noticing the softness of their husbands' hands, they started using the
product themselves. Today, Bag Balm can be found in drug stores, ski resorts,
and of course farm and feed stores, as it’s still regulated by the FDA for use
only on animals. It’s used to soothe psoriasis, dry skin, cracked fingers, burns,
acne, diaper rash, bed sores, sunburn, tattoos, and even pruned trees. It’s
also used to lubricate rifles, shell casings, and squeaky bed springs.
Basically,
Bag Balm is the duct tape of medicine.
It
comes in a 10-ounce green square tin with a cow's head on the lid.
The
packaging, and the balm, have remained unchanged since 1899.
Further
proof that there are some sources of healing that withstand the test of time.
After
hearing our two scripture readings this morning, we may be asking ourselves if
there is a balm in Gilead.
Between
the Psalmist’s lament and Jeremiah’s tears, we may be left wondering, “Where is
the Good News?”
How
did these people find healing in the midst of such despair?
This
can happen when we hear passages without knowing their full context.
We find
that we’ve stepped into the midst of an ancient people’s pain with a limited
understanding of where it’s coming from.
The
truth is, there’s a lot of pain present in scripture.
About
1/3 of the Psalms in our Bible are categorized as Psalms of lament.
Laments
are just as the word describes – a passionate expression of grief or sorrow.
For
some of us, the last thing we want to hear in church on Sunday morning is a
lament. We have enough grief and sorrow in our lives, and we come here to find a soothing balm and a
clean dressing for our open wounds – an infusion of hope, that will help us to
go back into the world with a little extra padding between us and our pain.
Even
if we’re not experiencing a personal sorrow at this time, the Psalmist laments
can be difficult for us to hear.
When
we read Psalms that call on God to pour out anger and destruction upon nations
for the wrongs they have commited, we get dismissive.
This
is not the God that most of us worship - This God of vengeance and judgment who
smites entire peoples for their transgressions.
But
let us not confuse the words and actions of God with the words and actions of a
people in pain.
The
scripture texts we heard this morning are the words of a people trying to
understand the role that God plays in the world.
Amidst
war and destruction, they can’t help but ask,
“How
is it that our enemies have overrun us when God has promised to protect us?”
“How
is it that worshiping God seems to do little to alleviate our suffering?”
Jeremiah
calls out to God, and asks, “Is there a balm in Gilead? Is there no physician here
to restore us to health and ease our pain?”
The
people of Judah were in desperate need of a balm, a soothing remedy to heal
their wounds.
When
Jeremiah was a young man a new king came to power.
King
Josiah.
One
of the first things that Josiah did was renovate the Temple in Jerusalem; to
return it to the glory it had known before the Assyrian invasion.
During
the renovation of the Temple, workers discovered a book hidden in the recesses
of the walls. It was the book of Deuteronomy.
Believed
to have been written by Moses himself, the book contained a detailed
institutional code: Laws governing worship, the appointment and regulation of
religious leaders, and blessings and curses for those who keep and break the
law.
Using
Deuteronomy as his guide, Josiah banned the worship of all other Gods,
reinstated the celebration of the Passover, and launched a program of religious
reform that made the Temple the center of all Jewish life.
Local
shrines were closed and the people were required to bring their offerings to
the Temple in Jerusalem. Only the priests who practiced in Jerusalem now had
the power to absolve sins.
There
is an interesting sidebar to this story.
There
is an earnest debate among modern scholars over how much of the discovered book
of Deuteronomy was original and how much of it was amended by Josiah and the
Temple Priests. It is curious that the “discovery” of the written code during
the Temple renovation conveniently moved all power to the Temple priests and
provided a scriptural basis for the reforms that Josiah had already begun
putting into place.
God
is still speaking indeed.
Regardless
of how the reforms came about, the result was that Judaism became centered and
strengthened by the elevation of the importance of the Temple and Temple
worship.
And
then King Josiah was killed in battle.
A
new King came to power. One who did not value the reforms that Josiah had put
into place. The new king was not as attentive or as passionate about managing
the Temple. The priests and the people became content with going through the
motions of ritual and sacrifice and saw no need to demand more of themselves in
the service of God.
When
the threat of outside invasion returned to Judah, the people blamed God for
abandoning them, and the hollow rituals of the Temple provided little balm to
soothe their pain.
It
is in this atmosphere of an ineffective Temple and a weakened spiritual resilience
that Jeremiah offered up the lament that we heard in our scripture reading
today.
By
following the letter of the law without nurturing the spirit of the law, the
Temple and the people were ill equipped to handle the challenges and the unrest
of their time.
Some
would say that we are in a similar situation in our own time.
With
the ranks of the religiously unaffiliated growing year by year, we wonder if
the message of Christianity has lost its appeal.
The
institutional church is no longer seen as the place to find healing in a
hurting world.
The
people are asking, “Is there a balm in Gilead? Is there a doctor among us who
can restore us to health?”
And
while we in the church wring our hands trying to figure out how to pay our
utility bills, the people continue to seek that healing balm elsewhere.
In
work and busyness, in money and material goods, in pharmaceuticals and fad
diets, in addictive pleasures and distractions.
The
lament that we raise as modern day believers is worthy of its own Psalm.
“What
must we do, oh Lord, to bring healing to our hurting world?”
When
Jesus was walking the roads of Palestine, people flocked to him because he had
the power to heal whatever ailed them…whether it was withered limbs or
hemorrhaging bodies. But more importantly, Jesus had the power to heal their withered
and hemorrhaging spirits.
He
spoke of a loving and forgiving God who welcomed all, and his words were like a
soothing balm spread upon dried and cracked skin.
When
the apostle Paul took the message of Jesus and set up house churches in towns
and cities far and wide, Jews and Gentiles alike poked their heads through the
doorways to see what the fuss was all about.
Some
walked away thinking he was just another charlatan selling snake oil, but
others stayed to listen, and found healing they had not expected to find.
Over
the course of 2,000 years the church has repackaged and refurbished Jesus
message to speak to the needs of hurting people in all ages and all corners of
the world. Jesus is a balm that
has withstood the test of time.
How
is that the words of this first century Palestinian Jew have resonated with so
many – Greek philosophers, medieval peasants, renaissance artists, stoic
Puritans, African slaves, civil rights marchers, immigrants, refugees, and
people of all times and places who’ve sought the liberating love of God.
And
how is it that those same words of liberation have resonated with Kings,
wealthy business owners, and white middle and upper class Americans whose lives
are far removed from the suffering experienced by so many?
Because
regardless of our life circumstances, we’re all human beings.
We
all experience pain – the pain of loss, grief, and despair.
And
we all experience joy - the joy of
creation, compassion, and love.
Being
a part of a spiritual community is the primary way human beings throughout the
ages have sought to express their joy and heal their pain, and I don’t expect
that to change anytime soon.
Our
challenge as a church in the 21st century is to envision the ways
that we might be the healing balm that the people of our time are seeking.
How
might we find meaning in the context of our faith communities?
How
might we use tradition and ritual AND creativity and innovation to both anchor
and liberate the next generation of believers?
How
might we take a page out of Paul’s book and encourage people to poke their
heads through our doorways to see what the fuss is all about, and hopefully have
them stay to find unexpected healing?
Perhaps
we could start where Jesus and the original disciples did.
In
the gathering of community, nurturing our faith through prayer, reflection, and
worship.
And
out on the street, serving others and living our faith in the world.
As
the body of Christ we’re called to both receive and offer the balm of healing.
The
church is meant to be a sanctuary – a place where we come to find respite from
our busy lives, to find communion with God and other people, to share our joys
and shed our burdens, and to discover the gifts that we have to give to the
world.
And
the church is meant to be a prophetic presence – challenging the status quo,
speaking out against injustice, demanding sacrifices of each of us so that all
might share in God’s bounty, and moving against the grain of a culture that
elevates consumerism, nationalism, and individualism above God and our call to
be the body of Christ in the world.
There
is a balm in Gilead.
To
make the wounded whole
There
is a balm in Gilead
To
heal the sin-sick soul
The
Good News is that the laments of Jeremiah and the Psalmist did not fall on deaf
ears.
As
author Brian McLaren writes:
The good news is that God loves the world and didn’t
send Jesus to condemn it but to save it; the good news is that God’s wrath is
not merely punitive but restorative; the good news is that the fire of God’s
holiness is not bent on eternal torment but always works to purify and refine; the
good news is that where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more.
What
pain are you hoping to have soothed by coming here today?
What
pain is the person seated beside you carrying with them?
How
might we come to understand and be a healing presence for one another?
Might
we let God in, to make our wounded world whole.
Amen.
