Open Heart, Healing Touch

Posted on by harasprice

23rd Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 25, Year B)

Almighty and everlasting God, increase in us the gifts of faith, hope, and charity; and, that we may obtain what you promise, make us love what you command; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Mark 10:46-52

Jesus and his disciples came to Jericho. As he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stood still and said, “Call him here.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart; get up, he is calling you.” So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. Then Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man said to him, “My teacher, let me see again.” Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way.

Faith from the Margins to the Web Contributors: Savannah, Jamillah, and David

David and Jamillah have participated in Faith from the Margins before, so they led the interview while helping Savannah, a undergraduate student new to the project, learn the ropes. David and Jamillah began by reading the Gospel lesson while Savannah followed along with the questions.

“What stands out to me” said David, “is that no matter what I’m going through, it’s that Christ is there…you know…if I believe, then he might can rise up, and take my pain away, take the sickness away from me. Even if my body is hurting, Christ can take that spiritual pain away, you know, and make it so that I still feel a cheerfulness in my spirit. That’s what I’m getting out of this.”

Jamillah shared her own reflection next: “I perceive that the people were crying out, sort of like what they were doing in that other story where the lady with the bleeding grabbed out to touch Jesus. Jesus healed her, and this reminds me of that story, with the man here crying out for mercy. I think he’s saying and the people are saying, ‘have faith, this man is the holy man, he’s the one who does miracles.’

Savannah rounded out the first set of reflections, “What I took from it today is that we aren’t alone. God will take care of us, if we call out. You know, the man in this story, he basically says, ‘Jesus, I need you’ and Jesus comes and takes care of him. You know, I sometimes just think I need to take care of everything by myself, but I have to remember to trust, to pray, to hold it out there to God.”

“Prayer changes things” added David, “And a lot of times, you know, we’re looking for something but we don’t believe. But if I do believe, if I have seen things than I am supposed to believe but I don’t always do that”

“Yeah, I know!” said Savannah, “Me, too. We have to trust but it’s hard to believe sometimes.”

“But there it is for us, right there” said David, “Go, and your faith will make you well!. I’ve seen a whole lot of healing. I’ve made some bad choices, and get tempted. I can see how God says, ‘Hey, cool down. Take a bath…get an ice cube!”

They all chuckled at that, knowingly.

“You know, it takes people sometimes” said Jamillah. “See, I was homeless and David here, he showed me some ways that I could get back on my feet. And I thank God for that, because here I am. I think God is active in that.”

Savannah shared her story, “I feel like I’ve been on quite a journey finding where God is in my life. I feel like God’s been helping me, you know, even when I’m taking classes and I get scared. God teaches me that there are some ways through the fears that I’ve been dealing with, that I’m learning for a reason and I don’t need to get all stressed! I mean, I’m getting all stressed about my classes and then in one of my social work classes we learned these exercises to help teach our clients about how to deal with their stress. And we were doing some deep breathing exercises and I just started praising God and thinking: I can learn these things! I’m here to help others, but it’s helping me, too. I needed to learn these things. I was asking, ‘God, have mercy, help me through my stress.’ But, the solution is sometimes right there with us.”

Jamillah added, “For me, I’ve been trying to learn the value of my life, of who I am to God. I don’t know if it was the age factor or the maturity factor but I’ve learned over many years enough about the Bible to try to read it, to listen for God speaking through me. I keep thinking I don’t know enough to read it. But then, I open it and I learn and hear God and I remember I am enough; God is with me.”

“My Momma used to tell me…you know, she was a strong Christian and she studied the Bible…and she did the work and lived the life. She taught me with her actions, and I’m trying to get back to that, to living in this life and wandering away from home. But, Jesus still loves me” added David.

“For me, I didn’t grow up reading the Bible much,” said Savannah. “We went to church on Christmas and Easter. But, my Grandma and my Aunt, they have a deep faith. I feel like I’ve been doing it in reverse: I got into community and got into social work and now I keep hearing and thinking about what my Grandma and my Aunt have taught me in their words and in their actions. All of that made me want to learn more, to figure out where God is, to do projects like this.”

“That’s good!” said Jamillah, “School work is hard but it’s work for your soul, good work!”

“I think about compassion a lot” said Savannah, “I don’t know enough about the Bible yet, but the love and the compassion stand out to me and help me want to learn more.”

“I like what you said there” said Jamillah, “that’s how I learn, too. I heard that “love your enemies” and I realized that if we do that, we really will come to know God. For me, I fell in and out of church but I kept the word in my heart. When someone made me angry, I would sometimes step aside and think: love your enemy. This is a situation that helps me know God.”

“Sometimes I see stuff” said Savannah, “I see the way people treat other people, and it’s filled with hate or prejudice. And then I get really upset, but I remember there is a place for God in this.”

“The thing about Christianity” said David, “is that you have to open your heart. You have to not be closed and clenched, but to be open to seeing the Love in the world. That’s where God is.”

Thank you to this beautiful trio for helping us see and know the healing power of God in our midst!

And they followed…

Posted on by harasprice

A Faith from the Margins to the Web bible study for Epiphany 3, Year B

Contributing Authors:  Lisa and Alisha

Give us grace, O Lord, to answer readily the call of our Savior Jesus Christ and proclaim to all people the Good News of his salvation, that we and the whole world may perceive the glory of his marvelous works; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Mark 1:14-20
After John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”
As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” And immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.

“And they followed him!”

Unanimously, both Alisha and Lisa agreed this was the phrase that stood out to them.  Lisa, a regular at Friday’s Red Door lunch, had been living unsheltered for the past year.  Alisha, a student at the University, was eager and interested to hear Lisa’s story as she grew in her own life of faith.

Alisha expanded a bit on that idea of following, “I mean, they just left everything, they were like “ok, let’s go!”

Lisa nodded, “It reminds me that sometimes you just have to let things go, put it aside, be ready to follow.  I mean, everybody has family and everyone has problems, like I’m having one now with my mother. But we have to believe that if we take those problems to the Lord, and if we give them over to Him and follow Him, that He is there to lead us through.”

Alisha added, “to me, what caught my attention was that part when it ways ‘after John was arrested, then Jesus came.’  It reminds me that they had to realize that Jesus was the one person to follow. If they didn’t listen to John, now they knew they had to follow Jesus.  One thing happens, then the other.  It’s hard to do that, when you see problems arising in your life, like they saw everything happening there with John, and then to have to let go of everything and follow Jesus like the disciples did. It makes all the difference, though.”

Lisa spoke with honesty, “That is so hard to do! I’m sorry to say that…

Alisha interrupted her kindly, “Oh, no, you have no need to apologize! It is hard! It is really hard.  We are only human and we experience those times when we’re praying, we’re trying and it seems like just problem after problem in our lives. That’s when we are suppose to keep our faith and it’s when its the hardest, too. I read this thing one time that said, “Doubt your doubts” and that really spoke to me. I thought, I don’t need to doubt God. What I’m doubting is that sense I’m having that I somehow need to fix everything, or that everything has to all be OK before I can follow.”

Lisa said, “I’ve always liked that saying, ‘when one door closes, another opens…’ and I had a hard time believing that at first, but I’m starting to come around and see it now. Just because I don’t have a place right now…a “home” home…that doesn’t mean I can’t work or get a job. People tell you one has to come before the other but it wasn’t working that way for me.  I had to figure out what would work for me, to go through the process of thinking about what I could do and was being asked to do and now that I’m doing that, I really believe it.  Door close, but others open when we follow.”

Alisha was in agreement, “I know just what you mean! It’s like we are waiting, hoping for something better. And God is saying, ‘just wait; I have something wonderful planned for you, in fact its already happening’ but it’s still hard for us to believe it.”

Their conversation continued.  Lisa explained her own understanding of this passage, “I’m seeing God working right now in this Gospel in wanting to take care of those disciples.  It’s hard to follow but Jesus is wanting to take care of them, too. In my own life, I know that I am grateful to be still alive and I’ve learned that God provides for me what I need and when I need it.”

Alisha said the Gospel spoke to her as well, “It reminds me that I can be focused on all the little things that I want. But as you said, there are people who don’t have even big things I can take for granted: food, shelter, clothes, a jacket or something…sometimes getting what you really need is like finding blessings.”

Lisa related this to her own life, “Now that I don’t have any of the luxuries I once thought I needed, I’m grateful for what God does provide me in my life. It’s a hard lesson to have all that and then to lose it all. But God has been with me; I see God that way in my own life right now.”

Alisha spoke about where she saw God, “In this passage, I see God in that whole thing of following him. It’s one thing to go to church and listen, but another thing personally to decide ‘I’m going to follow you with my whole heart, even when troubles arise.’ In my life right now, I see God working in me trying to pray more and read the scriptures more, even if there aren’t a lot of people my age doing that. But, I’m not just doing that for me, or to make other people happy. I’m doing it to follow God.”

Lisa empathized with her, “I remember feeling that growing up. My family didn’t go to church much, and I didn’t really know a lot about God. But, ending up out here living on the street, often times we turn to churches and it has made me want to learn more about God, about what where and how God is leading me.”

Alisha asked, “What do you think this scripture is saying to us?”

Lisa responded, “I think it’s reminding us to just trust and believe in the Lord. If you don’t get your way, don’t throw a hissy fit and walk off. Maybe the thing we want isn’t the best thing for us. We want it all, we want to have it all perfect. We think “this has to be.” But it isn’t always the way it seems. Like for me, a couple weeks ago there was a job that I thought was perfect for me…a five minute walk, easy. But, I didn’t get it and then I was angry and disappointed. Then, just one week later, I got called about another job which is really wonderful, at the hospital. I didn’t think they would take me. But they did! I got that job and it is right up my alley. I start as soon as they process my paperwork.  I didn’t get what I wanted at first, but then another door opened and its one where I will get to help people.”

Alisha was genuinely happy to hear this, “What a blessing to see an example like that for you, not giving up but waiting and following and knowing God is working things out.”

Lisa offered another example, “I have been working for months to get into community college, too, to be a substance abuse counselor. There was a problem with my high school transcripts and I was ready to give up. But the admissions counselor there reminded me: don’t give up. I prayed, and I trusted God, and I kept going and being persistent. It worked out, and I didn’t give up. I’m going to be starting there in January, too!

Alisha was excited for her, “That’s so great!”

Lisa reflected a bit, “I think of it this way. I know how good it feels when someone notices you, speaks to you, reminds you that God is with you. So, I try to do that. I don’t walk past people. I stop and say hello, talk to them. I never knew how much that meant but now I know it means a lot. That is something I can always do.

“We need more people like that!” said Alisha, “People who can see others and remind them, we are all human, too.”

“I’ve tried to do that.” responded Lisa. “I think it’s a skill that I have and something that I’m called to do. People deserve to feel like human beings.”

Alisha was beaming: “You’re like a light! These people may feel like they’re in the darkness but you are a beacon of light, reminding them that to have that hope.”

She went on to reflect on her own life, “My own gifts and skills…well, I feel like God gave us a voice for a reason. I can be shy at times, but when I feel shy, I remember that God gave me a voice. If more people would raise their voices, and remember that God is with them and remind other people of that, the world would be a better place. So, I think a gift is to use my voice, to use the voice that God gave me.”

Lisa echoed this importance of this gift, “You’re right.  You never know. Someone you pass by might be depressed, might feel like they are ignored or worthless. They might even have had thoughts of ending their life. And the smallest thing, that time it takes to say hello, could make all the difference in the world. You never know. I’ve been that person. I’ve been the homeless person someone smiled at. It changed my whole day, my whole world. Hearing ‘have a blessed day’ actually touched me and changed me.”

 

When we follow, our lives can change and so can the lives of others.  Sometimes following seems so challenging, so huge, so drastic.  But the big, huge, drastic difference can come in the empathetic, compassionate voice that sees God in another human being.  Thank you, Lisa and Alisha for listening to your call and for sharing your story with us this week!