Palm Sunday, Year B When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. 27 And Jesus said to them, "You will all become deserters; for it is written, 'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.' 28 But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee." 29 Peter said to him, "Even though all become deserters, I will not." 30 Jesus said to him, "Truly I tell you, this day, this very night, before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times." 31 But he said vehemently, "Even though I must die with you, I will not deny you." And all of them said the same. 32 They went to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, "Sit here while I pray." 33 He took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be distressed and agitated. 34 And he said to them, "I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and keep awake." 35 And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. 36 He said, "Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want." 37 He came and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, "Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep awake one hour? 38 Keep awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." 39 And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. 40 And once more he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy; and they did not know what to say to him. 41 He came a third time and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Enough! The hour has come; the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 42 Get up, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand." (Mark 14:26-42 NRSV “NO JOKE” Today is both April first and Palm Sunday, an unusual combination. For a long time the first day of April has been called “April Fools’ Day” or “All Fools’ Day”. The origins of this are unknown. It might have started with ancient festivals but nowadays is most often marked by practical jokes. You know, pinning the “Kick me” sign on someone’s back, the dribble glass, and so forth. The “fool” is the individual who is tricked. There can be some kind of deceit involved. You can see where this could get quite mean rather quickly. I guess I tend to see the point of view of the one who is tricked and so don’t really care for pranks. There was a TV show years ago called “Candid Camera” for which they photographed the expressions of people who would see something ridiculous, like a dog driving a car. Other times they would play tricks on people, misguide them in some way and then watch their reactions. One time they had a hidden camera in a hotel room. The TV set didn’t work and people would call down to the desk and complain. The desk attendant would say that he was turning it on and nothing would happen, and typically the people would get angry and call back, and get angrier and angrier. One person who took the room was Mr. Rogers, Fred Rogers, the pioneer in TV programming for children. They didn’t hear a complaint from the room. So they called him. He said, “Oh, we really don’t watch TV.” Their attempt to make a celebrity angry and embarrass him publicly didn’t work because of how gentle he was. The trick was on them. As I said, I don’t like pranks. I do like jokes. Humor, too, involves some kind of “trick”, a surprise, what you were expecting is not there, as in these jokes from a Wisconsin pastor who hosts a humor night at a local coffee shop: Where was the Declaration of Independence signed? *At the bottom of the page What can you never eat for breakfast? *Lunch & dinner If you throw a red stone into the blue sea what it will become? *Wet If you had three apples and four oranges in one hand and four apples and three oranges in other hand, what would you have? *Very large hands If it took eight men ten hours to build a wall, how long would it take four men to build it? *No time at all, the wall is already built. Humor is light-hearted, with the ability to bring people together, sharing in a joyous experience. That is the mood of that day when Jesus came into Jerusalem. Jesus rides in on a colt. People spread their cloaks and leafy branches on the road and shouted: Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming dominion of our ancestor David!” All this has the suggestion that Jesus is coming as a king, a new king, the Messiah in the line of David. They are hopeful that this is the time; their freedom from Roman rule has come. But we know that the week will not continue on in this hopeful note. There is a surprise. The great excitement of this day will not last. As the week unfolds, Jesus will drive the money changers from the Temple and have many confrontations with the authorities. They will plot against him. He will predict the destruction of the Temple. There are signs of trouble ahead and a special meal, a last supper. And Jesus will predict that they will leave him at the hour of his arrest. They scoff, say that this will not be so, but they cannot even stay awake while he prays. They can’t deliver on their ideals. When this does come to pass, they will not act as they thought they would. They will be shocked at how different the reality is from their hopes. This would all be tragic if it were not for the meaning of the week. It begins with celebration, but in the middle of the week there is betrayal, abandonment, arrest. It starts out with hope, but by the middle all hope seems lost. If all you have is the beginning, you might feel you had been tricked. They cannot see the end. That is where the real hope lies. It is not actually the end, but a beginning of something even more glorious than they had imagined. Here, though, in the middle of the week, as described by the Gospel reading, we have the failure of the disciples. By the end of the week they will find forgiveness. Here the road seems to lead to Jesus’ death. By the end of the week it will lead to the defeat of death. By the end of the week they will find something different than what they hoped for at first. The road today is lined with palms, but it is an enthusiasm they could not and we cannot maintain. By the end of the week we might find that it is not all up to us, that we have a Savior. What we will find from this week, when seen with faith, is that when we disappoint God, God will not disappoint us. The disciples did not act that week in the way that they would have hoped to. The week did not turn out as they thought it would. Circumstances can change, but even from that we can see a new path, although not one we would have chosen at first. The unexpected can open our eyes in new ways, to new things. We can start out with a fantasy and end up with reality. Pam Kidd talks about a lesson from the unexpected. Soon after she and her husband were married, they were off to a mission parish in Appalachia. They went from a world of plenty into one of poverty—lacking a sanitation system, a landscape defaced by strip mining, uneducated people living wretchedly simple lives. When they were wondering about what to change first, personal disaster struck. Her doctor ordered complete bed rest from complications of an ectopic pregnancy. People from the town brought pies and casseroles each day. People cleaned their house and did the laundry. She describes what happened: “People came to sit and talk, share their own tragedies. ... Faith no longer seemed a dry abstraction debated by textbook intellectuals. Here, faith was living, breathing, reaching out. It was as real as the smell of hot rhubarb cobbler, as clean as the white sheets laundered by a neighbor woman, as sure as the words of comfort offered by a retired miner. Funny, how David and I had thought to change these people. God had other plans when He sent us to that faraway place.” What we will find in the unfolding of this week is the purpose for Christ’s coming to our world. It was not so that we could be confident of our flawless behavior, our perfection in our following him, but that we find God’s mercy and grace. Behind all this is God’s generosity. God does not leave us in failure. We are not stuck in the middle of the week. That is why this week is not what it seems at the beginning. It starts with celebration and will come back to it, but the week ahead is a serious week. What we will be celebrating at Easter is, in fact, a serious matter. It is the fulfillment of our deepest hopes and dreams. But they are not the dreams at the start. With the people lining the way with palms, it is easy to lose sight of what this day means. It is a day of joy, but for different reasons than many of those in the crowd think. It will be a week of frustrated hopes for them as Jesus goes from the procession in the street to his arrest. But for those who see things differently, it is a week of fulfilled hopes. We learn that we are not alone. We learn that God has provided a way to keep our failures from defeating us. We learn that God’s plan triumphs over human wickedness. We learn that there is no shortcut around life’s difficulties. And we look forward to the greatest celebration, the Resurrection, when death itself is defeated.

Resurrection

The 5th Sunday in Lent, Year B The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 32 It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt-- a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the LORD. 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, "Know the LORD," for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more. (Jeremiah 31.31-34 NRSV) Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. 21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." 22 Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. 23 Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25 Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor. 27 "Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say--'Father, save me from this hour'? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name." Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again." 29 The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, "An angel has spoken to him." 30 Jesus answered, "This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. 31 Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. 32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." 33 He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die. (John 12.20-32 NRSV) “THE LIFE OF A SEED” When I was young, I had a small patch of ground out back behind the garage on which I had a garden. I tried growing various things. My grandfather also had a garden, a bigger one, and I remember from way, way back seed catalogs and his grow light to start the plants indoors. I helped in his garden. I remember spending an afternoon weeding his asparagus patch. I can still close my eyes and see the weeds. Didn’t like them; loved the asparagus, however. Everything he planted grew and was wonderful. My lettuce did not turn out. Hot weather makes it bitter, I found out. I did well at green bell peppers which Grampa liked in the years when he could no longer garden and grow them for himself. Also cherry tomatoes which my Dad liked. One of the great things about gardening is that you often have appreciative fans. My carrots were good and zinnias and radishes, but my green beans and sweet corn weren’t. My Grampa’s were. The reality is that to have something grow you have to plant it. You can admire the catalogs and be overjoyed when the seeds arrive, put them in a special place, and dream about what the garden will look like and the vegetables will taste like, but when the time is right—and there are many different ways of telling when it is the time for planting—you have to let go of the seeds. They have to disappear into the earth. Only then will the full potential be fulfilled. Only then will they come alive. Only then can the hopes become reality. In gardening, first you have to get the soil ready. Grampa had a machine to help with this. When I used to do this in my little garden, it was by hand, and I would see bits of glass and old tin cans. It puzzled me as I was getting ready to put things into the ground, not expecting to take them out of the ground. I found out that the neighbors used to bury their garbage on our lot. As I would turn over the soil, the garbage of the past came out. But that comes first, and then the planting. That is the message of the Gospel reading this morning. Jesus starts out saying that the hour has come for him to be glorified. That is, the time has come for his death and resurrection. He describes it by talking about a grain of wheat. The grain of wheat must die, vanish, disappear before there can be a yield. By itself, it is just one grain of wheat. But having died and risen it becomes many new grains. This is the pattern of Christ’s life, he dies, but there will be a resurrection. It is a sign of what is to come for him, but also for those who have faith in him. Jeremiah gives the word of the Lord to the people and tells them that there will be a new day. They will come back to the land from exile, back to the land they had been deported from. They lost the land because they could not keep the covenant with God. But God will do a new thing. Instead of laws which they cannot keep, God’s word will be planted in their hearts and God will enable them to keep it. It will give them a new heart, not a disobedient heart of stone, but a living heart of obedience. It is a hopeful land not only because its bounty will sustain them, but because there, again, God will be their God. And the past will stay buried. Lent is the time when these ideas come together. We long for newness of life, such as we see all around us in spring. We long for God’s word to be in our hearts. We long for the salvation of our souls and hear God’s words through Jeremiah and Jesus’ words and know that they are to apply to us. In a week we will begin Holy Week, and know that we will remember Jesus’ suffering and death. Those are our reasons for hope. Jesus’ life and death for us gives a shape to our lives as well. He is the seed dropped into the ground to bear much fruit. In Christ’s death and in our Baptisms, the power of sin is destroyed. It is what lets our past sins stay buried. But the resurrection is what we long for. Jesus’ life tells us about our own. As we hope for the future, we must give up holding on to the seed. We must let go of what we cling to and give it to the ground in faith so that it will bear fruit. There are things we need to give up, place in the ground, before there can be a harvest. What Christ experienced shows us that we are not alone. Just like in life, my Grampa was an example to me in gardening, so Christ shows us life and death and the new risen life and gives us hope. He has been through it and can accompany each one of us along this path of life. That can give us hope in life instead of fear. Evelyn Bence writes this about letting go. She has a fear of heights which makes navigating the District of Columbia subway system difficult, especially the long escalators riding up. When her older sister Alice came to visit they rode the subway to an unfamiliar stop. She panicked. Alice encouraged her and held her hand all the way up. Some time later, a friend asked her, “If you could choose one person to be at your side when you die, who would it be?” “Alice,” she answered quickly—“I’d want her to hold one hand. And Jesus the other.” With the promise of Christ with us we can bury our fears. We also have the example of Christ to us to inspire our daily lives. God can bless how we live as we learn to let go of what we have to find something better as we entrust it to God. The old can turn into the new. It is how seeds work. Tim Williams associates this with spring in the desert. It is a harsh environment. A lone white primrose appears. The next day it the rocky earth is covered with them of all colors. He recalls another sign of spring. It was a young lady from the poorest of homes gathering the tough young boys of the neighborhood into her back yard with a plate of cookies to hear Bible stories. There they heard that God loved them. Williams does not know how they all turned out but as he puts it, “for a least a single spring morning, beauty reigned in a barren place.” God can use what we offer to God. It can bear fruit in unexpected ways. To explain what was soon to happen to him, Jesus talked about a seed. A seed must go into the ground before it can do anything. What we hope it will do is produce much. What we hope for is not the end of life but a new life. What we hope for is more than one seed. This is a picture of what is to come. Jesus must first go into the ground of the tomb. But then comes the resurrection. This is the hour for Christ to be glorified. We will remember that in the weeks to come. He goes before us in death and in life. Then it will be the time for him to walk with us in glory. Now is the time for us to walk with him in faith. What we plant will rise. Let us plant our lives with Christ, in Christ. Soon, the resurrection comes.

The 4th Sunday in Lent, Year B You were dead through the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once lived, following the course of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work among those who are disobedient. 3 All of us once lived among them in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us 5 even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ-- by grace you have been saved-- 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God-- 9 not the result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life. (Ephesians 2:1-10 NRSV) And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. 16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. 17 "Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. 20 For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. 21 But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God." (John 3:14-21 NRSV) “THE WORLD? THE WORLD!” Belonging to a group is a basic human need. There are all sorts of groups in the world, large to small, formed by people with a common purpose, or common interest, or common origin, or common beliefs or ideals, or a common identity. They vary as widely as Kiwanis to bowling leagues to Sons of Norway to political parties. Sometimes these groups arise naturally as when those sharing a hobby get together or when people from a certain part of the world move and settle in a new place together. Sometimes the people can be different in almost every way except the one that they share. Sometimes they are alike in almost every area of their lives. They might have all grown up together. Sometimes, though, very different people come together without any prior connection and form a tightly knit group. The story of one such group has recently been told. “E” Easy Company, the 506th Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division of the Army, has been described first in the book by Stephen Ambrose and then as a 10-episode miniseries for television. It was impressively done. They run it occasionally. I have seen a few episodes. One quick note from what I saw, there are a few scenes and some dialogue that are not rated PG. It follows a group of soldiers, as realistically as possible, from their basic training in Georgia to D-Day to liberation of Carentan and the siege of Bastogne, to the liberation of a concentration camp, and they were the first to enter Hitler’s mountain retreat in Berchtesgarten. It shows their part of the effort to stop evil and set the world right. But it not only the story of the action one group of men saw in WWII; it is the story of how the men from all over the country, with very different backgrounds, formed one unit in that war, in which they fought the enemy together and fought for each other. They left their homes to find one in each other. It shows their triumphs and losses, their joys and their sorrows. The name of both the book and TV series is “Band of Brothers” which is taken from Shakespeare’s play Henry V. King Henry is outnumbered by the French on the eve of St. Crispin’s day and gives a speech to his men. This is a part: From this day to the ending of the world, But we in it shall be remembered- We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he to-day that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile, This day shall gentle his condition; Such is the character of those tied together. Even the lowest of them, by fighting together becomes the brother of the king. But enough with Shakespeare. That is where the title comes from. “Band of Brothers” tells the story of great WWII heroism and camaraderie, but even in it there are hints of how it does not always work, as when one of their buddies is wounded and comes back from the hospital and then is not accepted back into the unit because he did not suffer as they suffered at Bastogne. And in spring of 1945 the replacements that come are not welcomed. They had not been together from the start. When a group draws together tightly, people can be excluded if they have not shared in the experience or values. The Gospel reading is the familiar words, maybe too familiar. God the Father sent Jesus into the world to save it. We hear again that God loved the world. Not one little corner of it, not just the people who think like we think, not just our family and friends. God loves the whole world. God’s purposes and love are bigger than ours. God loved the world and did something about it. That is why God sent the Son into it. All the things that we think make up community pale in comparison to this. It is faith in Jesus which either makes a person part of the community or not part of the community. It is like a bright light which either you turn to or run from. This is a community across the ages and across the globe with only one thing in common—faith in Jesus. It is faith in Jesus that gives us eternal life, makes us one, makes us brothers and sisters. For a long time now, this passage from the Gospel of John has been used in many places to call people to join churches. It is used as a means of invitation. There are those who think that churches are to be tightly-knit communities and they are right. We share a mission to promote the gospel. We share many views and an identity. We come together to support one another. But we also have to ask the question of whether others are shut out when we come together. Do we understand God’s love which is given to us is to be shared or think it is to be hoarded? In Ephesians, we are given another version is this idea. Do we earn our place in the kingdom? Paul talks about how the gospel and faith has given them life, has taken them from what they were, dead because of their sins, going through the world completely unaware, slaves to the lower passions of life. Even in that state God loved them and had mercy on them and us. And God made us, like them, alive with Christ. We have been saved by God’s grace, by God’s gift. It is not through our greatness that this happens. We are not loved because of what we have done; we are loved despite what we have done. And so we have nothing to boast about except God’s greatness. We have no great superiority we can claim. And anyone else has the same way of belonging. Does what we do invite others to join us or turn them away? Are we a part of this community of faith because we are better than others? No, it is given to us as a gift. If we understand this, then others should be welcomed on the same basis. Places can become closed off without really intending to. Gina Bridgman’s eyes were opened when at the library and she picked up a book on the architecture of houses in America. She found that one of the earliest design elements was the porch, connecting the house to nature and the world outside. The tall stone structure of castles are designed to keep the world out, the porch welcomes the world to the front door of a house. She thought of the “front porch people” she’s met, whose ways invite others to get acquainted. It’s too easy to smile and say Good morning, without much thought behind it in a Sunday-morning service. We should be giving others a genuine welcome. The porch is not only the place where people see us. It is not only the place where we talk to those we know well. It is where we can invite them in. We welcome others on the basis on which we ourselves are welcomed, God’s love. We long for closeness. Closeness gives much joy and meaning to our lives. The danger of closeness in groups is that it can turn from including others, especially strangers, to excluding them and just staying around each other. We remember God’s invitation. It is for the whole world, it is for those who have faith to join God’s family. It is an invitation to belong to a community formed by God and serving God’s purposes. When we find that for ourselves, it is life’s greatest blessing. And it is a reminder that it is to be shared with others so that they can find a home. For God so loved the world. For God so loved us.

The 3rd Sunday in Lent, Year B Then God spoke all these words: 2 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; 3 you shall have no other gods before me. 4 You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, 6 but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments. 7 You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not acquit anyone who misuses his name. 8 Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work. 10 But the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God; you shall not do any work-- you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. 11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it. 12 Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. 13 You shall not murder. 14 You shall not commit adultery. 15 You shall not steal. 16 You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 17 You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor. (Exodus 20.1-17 NRSV) The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. 15 Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16 He told those who were selling the doves, "Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father's house a marketplace!" 17 His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for your house will consume me." 18 The Jews then said to him, "What sign can you show us for doing this?" 19 Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." 20 The Jews then said, "This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?" 21 But he was speaking of the temple of his body. 22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken. (John 2.13-22 NRSV) “REMINDERS” How do you remember things? There are all sorts of ways. There is the classic string around the finger. Sometimes we will ask others to remind us of things that we should not forget. Nowadays, we have electronic watches and calendars and computers that will beep us or make some noise to remind us of appointments and events. Myself, I am a big fan of writing things down. The Post-It note is a great invention. The only problem is that you still have to look at them. This morning we have one of the greatest reminders by writing things down that ever took place. The book of Exodus is to most people about escaping from slavery in Egypt and crossing the Red Sea. That is the miraculous, action-packed part. That is the big Hollywood part. But about half of the book is concerned with giving the Law and worship. Those are much duller reading for most people. But those are the things that are going to make these freed slaves out in the desert into the people of God and keep them free. It is this part where they form the covenant with God that will define them, make them God’s special people, and shape them over many centuries. And central in this is writing it all down. Moses on the mountain heard God’s commands and was told to write them down to take them to the people. We call these the Ten Commandments realizing, of course, that God gave other laws to Israel. These seem foundational and capture our attention. They are short, essential, a set by themselves. They give starting point to life. That’s what a lot of controversy concerning them seems to be about, that they define us as a nation. That’s why they are written down and keep being written down. But that is only half of it. They are written down not just to remind us of who we are, though; they are written down to remind us of what God wants from us. They are written not only to be seen, not only to be conspicuous; they are written to be followed. They are more than a symbol, they show us that we belong in relationship to God. They are about important things. These are not like parking laws. Parking laws bring order to traffic flow, but rarely are matters of life and death. The first ones, of these Ten Commandments, are about God, what our behavior and attitude towards God should be. If there is a foundation, that is it. The others are foundational to society, in them the basic the rights to property, to faithfulness in relationships, to protection against being falsely accused are found. They are the things which make living together possible. They do not cover every possibility but they are a start. A very good start. It is easy for things to slip our minds. I had to laugh at a friend from college who had left himself a note to read the note that was the actual reminder. But in more serious ways we forget what we should remember. We start out with these and do not pay attention to them for very long. History is filled with the ways we have forgotten these commandments. We forget God and forget that others are objects of God’s care just as much as we are. When asked to summarize all of God’s laws and commands Jesus said: love God and love your neighbor. You can’t do better than that. But before we are given the commands, we see God, the giver. Another example of how these slip our minds is found in the Gospel reading this morning. Jesus drives the money changers out of the temple. They had forgotten that it was to be a place of worship, not worship of money, not of people, not of activities, but of God. When you forget what it is for, you end up with a lot of silly things, like sheep and goats. It was to be God’s house, where they meet God. Jesus drove them out, remembering what the right purpose of it was. The authorities asked him on what basis he was doing this and his reply was somewhat mysterious. They asked for a sign and the sign was that if they destroyed the temple he would raise it up in three days. They thought he meant the huge temple building. No, he meant his body, which they eventually would kill. A person can get into trouble for pointing out the ways people do not live up to who they think they are. This trouble will lead to his death. It leaves us with the question of what his death will lead to. But he will be raised up on the third day. God will not leave him in death. They were talking about buildings, Jesus about God’s purposes in the world. We, too, need to reconsider what the right purposes of God’s gifts are. The temple authorities had forgotten that. We need to remember that the goal of the Commandments is to remember God in our lives. Terry Helwig tells the story of when he met with a friend to whom he mentioned his ardent desire to continue on his spiritual journey. The friend suggested that searching for God might be like a fish searching for water, that in fact, just as a fish is surrounded by water, we might be surrounded by the presence of God. Perhaps our seeking God is more recognition. The Commandments are not ends in themselves but the means by which we can see the Creator in our lives and world. We rediscover God’s purpose as we remember what God has given us. We also need to remember that the Commandments were given to us for our world. They are to change how we see it, particularly how we see others. We are not to go about life, and forget them as well. Brigitte Weeks saw what a neighbor was in a new way one day when frustrated by unemployment and taking a tunnel shortcut in New York City. She ran into many people on their way to work. While feeling very much alone, she remembered: “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself,” says the second great commandment. Were these people her neighbors? she wondered. When a young man in a suit and tie almost ran her down and then apologized she realized that they were. Because we are who we are, we tend to forget things. We remember the stock market, or birthdays, or the score of the game, or what is on sale, but we forget God. We remember our projects or our hopes or our setbacks, but forget the lives of those around us. God has given us some reminders. We are reminded by the sun that comes up, by the rain that falls, the wind and the change of the seasons. We are reminded by the care and love of our families and friends, by the long histories of our nation and churches. We also have these words, that in life we would look up, that we would remember who created us, to whom we belong, and to whom we owe our lives. They are so we live lives that honor God, but most importantly, that through them we draw close to God. How do we remember? It is written down for us. Just look.

The 1st Sunday in Lent, Year B

To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul. 2 O my God, in you I trust; do not let me be put to shame; do not let my enemies exult over me. 3 Do not let those who wait for you be put to shame; let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous. 4 Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths. 5 Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long. 6 Be mindful of your mercy, O LORD, and of your steadfast love, for they have been from of old. 7 Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for your goodness' sake, O LORD! 8 Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in the way. 9 He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way. 10 All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his decrees. (Psalm 25:1-10 NRSV)

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. 11 And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased." 12 And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13 He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him. 14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, 15 and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news." (Mark 1:9-15 NRSV)


“GETTING INTO TROUBLE”


When I started seminary years ago, one of the first things they did was break us new students into groups. In each group was a student who had been there a year or two who would answer any questions we might have. It was good to hear what we needed to know starting out from someone who had just been through it. Janet was leading our group. She was a truck driver who was going to become a minister. We had questions like where the Laundromat was, about car insurance, where to park, and so on. They were those things that would make our day-to-day lives easier. After those questions were answered, one of my classmates asked, “Where do you go to get into some trouble?” He meant, of course, not serious trouble, but the kind of fun that you don’t typically associate with seminary and the ministry. The answer was “East Dubuque, Illinois”, across the river.
The psalm this morning acknowledges that we get into trouble on our own. We don’t have to look very far to find it. There are enemies. But beyond that is our tendency to stray from God. The psalmist recognizes that. The psalmist wants to know God’s ways. He or she wants God to teach him or her, will wait for God to do that. God will instruct sinners in the right way. But also, the psalmist is honest about his or her life. He or she is mindful of God’s mercy and asks for it because he or she has sinned. That is why he or she is depending on God’s steadfast love. There is forgiveness for the past. There is hope for the future as the psalmist learns to live God’s way.
The Gospel reading is also fitting for this season. With last Wednesday, Ash Wednesday, we began the season of Lent. It is the period of forty days before Easter in which we seek forgiveness and a new direction in life and strengthen or renew our discipleship. It is when we pay special attention to following Jesus. This morning we take a look at where he went. After he was baptized, after he heard that voice that declared he was the beloved child of God, he went out to the wilderness. In fact, the Spirit drove him out there. He was with the wild beasts. There, in the wilderness, life is at its minimal. There are no conveniences, no luxuries. There, a person can barely survive. But in that special place new things can happen. It is in imitation of that state of being, that in some traditions people give up luxuries or comforts for this season. It is in imitation of Jesus’ time in the wilderness, that we go back to what is basic, to rediscover our lives, to live how he lived.
There in the wilderness, Jesus was tempted. We might think of the desert as a place that would be free from such things. It is not like East Dubuque, after all. It is a place of utter simplicity. And yet even there, the devil can find Jesus. Temptation is not limited to time or place. It is inside us, trying to separate us from God, trying to separate us from others, from the best in life. There are all sorts of temptations. What would follow you wherever you went, even out to the desert? Would it be a temptation for you to be wasteful of time or resources? Would it be to accumulate things you do not need? Would it be self-indulgence? Would it be how you treat others? Would it be to ignore God as much as possible? There are many things in our lives that are much more serious than whether we give up a treat or some comforts. Temptations come in many forms. But if we stop and think, we all know the things we fight against, over and over again.
At the end of his time in the wilderness, Jesus was victorious. He did not fall to the temptations presented to him. That gives us hope, gives us a goal. And after that experience he began to preach. He presented the good news of God. The time has come; the kingdom of God has come near. We are to repent and believe. Lent is a time to do that.
What if we focused, not on giving one or two things up, but on going to the desert? What if we made use of this time, not paying attention to the sacrifice of some comforts, but on finding new ways of greater faithfulness? Maybe sacrifice should not be the end in itself, but a way to know ourselves better and find the power of God to help us. Perhaps sacrifice will then help us cut free from the bonds within us to find new ways of loving and serving others. Lent is a time when we take time to know God’s ways. That takes serious concentration. It is a different kind of sacrifice. It might involve a trip to the desert. It is a thing we choose; it is a bother or a sacrifice or a time self-discipline that we willingly take on for the hope of a spiritual benefit. It is work to interrupt the harmful and relentless temptations in our days. This is something we do to change that. It is trouble we choose to get into.
We can benefit from cutting our dependence on things and habits that enslave us. This takes effort on our part. We can use this time to learn from God the new attitudes and habits that make our lives richer in spirit. J. Barrie Shepherd envisions this new learning in his poem, “Looking for Lent”. Rather than give things up, he wants to take on “the task of noticing whatever had been there unseen from the beginning,” to see “perhaps even the footprints of the gardener himself.” Lent can be a time when we grow in faith by some new direction or activity in our lives. Service or outreach, study or prayer, can be that new thing that can open our eyes to where God is and what God is doing in the world.
Lent is a time when we seek to be better than we were. We seek to know God better and have less to do with those things that lead us away from God. We want to follow Christ in the path that conquers temptation, even if that temptation is to direct no effort into following Christ. Gina Bridgeman recalls Ash Wednesday Mass early in the morning before school. She would leave the sign of the cross on her forehead the rest of the day despite the teasing of her classmates. But she didn’t care. To her it was a sign that helped her say that she was a child of God. These days she also thinks of life beyond Ash Wednesday, beyond having that mark that set her apart. What will show the world that she is still God’s child? The peace of the Lord in her heart? Hands that reach out in compassion to someone in need? A smile to share the joy of Jesus? She chooses things that give up a part of herself to someone else as a tangible way of showing God’s grace. Just like Jesus began his ministry once he came back from the desert, so what we do in this time, the attitudes and decisions we make can increase our faithfulness to what God is doing around us.
This Lent let us go to the desert. Let us walk where Jesus walked. It is quiet there; we will hear God. It is simple there; our needs and purpose will become visible to us. And there is temptation—even there—but we will find God’s power to overcome it. We might have to set aside some of what we brought in there with us. We might find that we are not the same when we come back. And when we come back, let us still listen for God. Let us still live with purpose. Let us begin something new. Let us use this time to make a difference in our souls, our lives, our world. If we look for trouble, let us look for the kind of trouble that changes us.

Transfiguration of the Lord, Year B

Now when the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. 2 Elijah said to Elisha, "Stay here; for the LORD has sent me as far as Bethel." But Elisha said, "As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So they went down to Bethel. 3 The company of prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, "Do you know that today the LORD will take your master away from you?" And he said, "Yes, I know; keep silent." 4 Elijah said to him, "Elisha, stay here; for the LORD has sent me to Jericho." But he said, "As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So they came to Jericho. 5 The company of prophets who were at Jericho drew near to Elisha, and said to him, "Do you know that today the LORD will take your master away from you?" And he answered, "Yes, I know; be silent." 6 Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here; for the LORD has sent me to the Jordan." But he said, "As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So the two of them went on. 7 Fifty men of the company of prophets also went, and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan. 8 Then Elijah took his mantle and rolled it up, and struck the water; the water was parted to the one side and to the other, until the two of them crossed on dry ground. 9 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, "Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken from you." Elisha said, "Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit." 10 He responded, "You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not." 11 As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven. 12 Elisha kept watching and crying out, "Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!" But when he could no longer see him, he grasped his own clothes and tore them in two pieces. (2 Kings 2.1-12 NRSV)

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, 3 and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. 4 And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. 5 Then Peter said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." 6 He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. 7 Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, "This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!" 8 Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus. 9 As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead. (Mark 9.2-9 NRSV)

“GLOWING”

Glowing objects get our attention. That is because things don’t normally glow. It is unusual, a rare occurrence, and when it does happen we notice. There are things in nature that we expect to glow—the sun, the moon, fire. But there are all sorts of things we don’t expect to glow. Some of this glowing can be dangerous. My father did not like objects that glowed in the dark. The reason was that he knew about an incident involving a group of women who became known as the “Radium Girls”, the women who worked for the United States Radium Corporation at the factory in Orange, New Jersey, from 1917 to 1926. They painted a radioactive mixture on watch dials so they could be read at night. To get the fine points they needed on the paintbrushes, they licked the tips. In doing so, they ingested the radioactive material. Many became ill, some died. Dad knew that there could be danger behind a glowing light, even one glowing softly in a corner.
On the other hand, glowing things can be spectacular and powerful. A few years ago, I was near La Crosse when I noticed something in the sky. It was a bright white light in the winter night sky. At first I thought it was an airplane or helicopter, but it wasn’t moving. It wasn’t the moon; it was about 25 times bigger and it was in the north. Clouds around it hid it and yet couldn’t hide it. It was a glimpse of a spectacular world beyond daily life and routine. It was amazing to behold. Glowing things can also be comforting, just ask any two-year-old about his or her nightlight.
The Gospel reading is of the event called the Transfiguration. Jesus took Peter, James, and John up a mountain. There, his appearance changed. His clothes became dazzling white. They could not help but notice this. Elijah and Moses also appeared and Peter said that they would make dwellings for them. But they were not needed. They were not going to stay on the mountain, but before they left, a cloud overshadowed them and a voice declared that Jesus was the beloved Son and they should listen to him. Then it was all over and they went down from the mountain.
The reading from the Old Testament is of the time that Elijah was taken up into heaven. Before that, Elijah and his disciple Elisha were traveling together. It was already known that the Lord was going to take Elijah away. The company of prophets reminded Elisha about it, but he didn’t want to hear that. There was a second leg of the journey and still Elisha did not leave Elijah. And a third leg and after a miraculous crossing of the Jordan River, the time drew near. Elijah asked Elisha what he could do for him. What he asked for was twice as much presence of the Holy Spirit to be on him as was on Elijah, the great prophet. A chariot of fire separated them and a whirlwind took him into heaven. This glorious scene has changed Elisha.
As we have heard these past few weeks from the Gospel readings, the picture of who Jesus is has been emerging gradually. He is the one sent with the message that the kingdom of heaven is coming near. He is the one who teaches as one with authority to cast out evil. He is the one who heals, restoring others to service. Now, we see part of his glory and hear that he is the Son. All this tells us he is no ordinary man. We should listen to him, we are told. Likewise, the prophet Elisha is someone the people of Israel should heed. He is not an ordinary man but has been given twice the presence of the Holy Spirit that was with his master.
Through the years artists have depicted the special men and women of God with light. Many of the saints, especially Jesus, have been portrayed with light coming from them, especially from their faces or heads. This is to show their special nature or holiness. It is right to honor them, to tell us something about them. But the emphasis in the texts is not on their appearance, as spectacular as that is. It is in the word that they give us from God. It is not in how they look, it is in what they do, what they say, and what we should do. The prophets have the Holy Spirit on them to do so. Jesus is not only the Son of God, he is the Son of God we should listen to. The appearance of these figures is not just to be displayed; it is to guide us in how we live. We should not merely look, we should hear. We should believe.

We have the word to help us. It shines like the lighthouse on the rocky shore to warn us of danger. The words of the prophets have done that throughout history. It is also like the light of the rescuer bringing us to safety. Sometimes, before we hear that word, we need to see who it is who is bringing it to us. Marilyn Morgan Helleberg writes about how seeing Jesus led to an inner change in the most difficult year of her life. In the midst of overwhelming pain she spent a few days at a spiritual retreat center. One of the advisers, suggested that she close her eyes and imagine how it would feel to have Jesus pick her up and hold you close. She tried but could not do it. But in the dining room were pictures of Jesus, in many different expressions. She saw a simple pencil drawing of Jesus with his face half-buried in the soft wool of a little lamb that he snuggled between his cheek and shoulder. It spoke to her of her need for someone to care for her and of Jesus as the one who could do that. She heard him whisper assurances of his love for her. That was the beginning of her healing.

We see the glory of God in Jesus. His appearance shows us that. It is a sign to us that Jesus is greater than anything we have known or can imagine. We have seen him as healer, but this is more. This tells us about who he is, the Son of God. This is more that what he does. The reaction to that vision is to cling to him in faith. Fay Angus tells this story of the time her daughter, age eight, was at the PTA’s annual school Christmas party. Fay had prepared the star-shaped piñata. Her daughter was too shy to participate, despite encouragement, and Fay thought that she would get some candy for her when it was knocked down. What her daughter got after it was all over was the star. She clutched it to her heart and left the candy and trinkets for the others. Faith looks beyond the gifts we receive to see the giver. When we see Jesus we see the glory of God.

On the mountain top, Jesus became bright, brighter than anything on earth could make him. This reminds us that he is unique, heavenly, special. And as if that was not enough, the voice came from the cloud telling us who Jesus is. Part of this we already know; he is a healer, teacher, guide. Glowing things get our attention. The light directs our eyes toward Jesus. We are directed to see him again. We are directed to listen. He is more than we thought he was. He is the Son, the Savior, the Risen One. His light among us is not to frighten; it is not a danger. It is a guide and comfort, so that we will find in him what both we need and will find the greatest good, the glory of God. It is so that we will look beyond the light. Then we will see who he is and believe.

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The 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man and in high favor with his master, because by him the LORD had given victory to Aram. The man, though a mighty warrior, suffered from leprosy. 2 Now the Arameans on one of their raids had taken a young girl captive from the land of Israel, and she served Naaman's wife. 3 She said to her mistress, "If only my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy." 4 So Naaman went in and told his lord just what the girl from the land of Israel had said. 5 And the king of Aram said, "Go then, and I will send along a letter to the king of Israel." He went, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten sets of garments. 6 He brought the letter to the king of Israel, which read, "When this letter reaches you, know that I have sent to you my servant Naaman, that you may cure him of his leprosy." 7 When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, "Am I God, to give death or life, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Just look and see how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me." 8 But when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent a message to the king, "Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come to me, that he may learn that there is a prophet in Israel." 9 So Naaman came with his horses and chariots, and halted at the entrance of Elisha's house. 10 Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, "Go, wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored and you shall be clean." 11 But Naaman became angry and went away, saying, "I thought that for me he would surely come out, and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and would wave his hand over the spot, and cure the leprosy! 12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them, and be clean?" He turned and went away in a rage. 13 But his servants approached and said to him, "Father, if the prophet had commanded you to do something difficult, would you not have done it? How much more, when all he said to you was,'Wash, and be clean'?" 14 So he went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; his flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy, and he was clean. (2 Kings 4.1-14 NRSV)

A leper came to him begging him, and kneeling he said to him, "If you choose, you can make me clean." 41 Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, "I do choose. Be made clean!" 42 Immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. 43 After sternly warning him he sent him away at once, 44 saying to him, "See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them." 45 But he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the word, so that Jesus could no longer go into a town openly, but stayed out in the country; and people came to him from every quarter. (Mark 1.40-45 NRSV)


“THE SHORTEST DISTANCE BETWEEN TWO POINTS”

As we know from geometry, a line is the shortest distance between two points. Most of us take the direct route to something we want, while others and we ourselves, at certain times, may take a longer route with some twists and turns. The readings this morning have to do with healing. The first is the story of Naaman commander of the Aramean army. He suffers from leprosy. On one of their raids the Arameans took a young girl captive from the Israelites and she knows what he should do, go to the prophet Elisha in Samaria. Elisha will cure him of the leprosy. It seems straightforward, until the king sends a letter of recommendation which insults the king of Samaria. The king mistakenly assumes that it is up to him and he is unable to cure him, but the prophet hears about the scene in the palace and directs the king to send Namaan his way. When he does, he sends word that he is to wash in the Jordan and be made clean. It is as simple as that. Except that Naaman feels that is not elaborate enough for a person of his stature and refuses to do it. His pride gets in the way. At several points it looks like he is not going to get that healing, except for those who intervened to keep him looking for it. Eventually he does go to the Jordan and washes and is made clean. Everyone except Elisha is making it more complicated. Some are helping, some hindering.
The Gospel reading is also about a man with leprosy. This man came to Jesus and asked him to cure him. He went right to the one who was able to do it. The two, Naaman and the leper from the Gospel, are very different. They both suffer from a disease which marked them as unclean, which separated them from people. They both seek a cure. Naaman, though, has to be talked into it; the leper from the Gospel seeks out Jesus directly. Naaman and the king of Aram thought that gifts were required to gain the favor of the king and prophet who heals. The leper from the Gospel simply asks. Jesus does not need to be talked into it, but is very willing. There is no mention of Naaman after the healing, but the leper from the Gospel is filled with joy and proclaims what Jesus had done. In fact, when others heard about it, they also sought Jesus out for healing. Jesus is able to heal. The picture of Jesus this gives us is of a person who is willing to heal.
These different men who looked for a cure for their disease remind us of our reactions to illness. Some, like Naaman, make it more difficult by the barriers they throw up. For them, it is not a straight line to healing. Others seek out what they need more directly. Sometimes our healing is through people like the prophet in Samaria or the doctors in Rochester. God often works through people and we need not to forget that. But even when we go to the doctor, we know that the healing that occurs still comes from God. Even that straight line of healing can have a couple stops along the way.
Other times, or, for other people, it is not a straight line to the healing. Things can get in the way. Maybe the healing that needs to take place first is that of attitude. Some people can make their own way difficult. Maybe there is a healing that needs to take place before the healing. There are things that can stop us from getting what we need. It can be fear, or unwillingness to try something new, or clinging to the past, the idea that we ought to be healthy and not sick, that somehow these things do not happen to us. There are many ways we can be led off the path that leads to wholeness. Those are things that need healing also, maybe before anything else can take place. God can do that too.
It is wise to pay attention to all of life, not just the places and times when we are not well. Maybe the time before illness deserves attention, too. John Sherrill tells this story from a trip on a narrow-gauge railroad, which he examined in great detail and with delight. He asked the engineer about a train accident from years ago and asked why that sort of thing didn’t happen all the time. The answer is in the safety valve, which releases the pressure before it can get too high. Exploding boilers are usually the result of tampering to get extra power. John thought about how that is like our lives. We can drive ourselves too hard and then suffer the consequences. Perhaps we need to consider safety valves for our own lives, things like time with friends and family and walks.
How we approach life can matter much for our health, both in preventing illness and in how we find healing when it happens.

We find grace in healing whether it comes through ordinary or extraordinary means. It is from God’s goodness that we find medical care, or time, or that special touch which changes our situations. Scott Walker is a pastor in Texas who saw the long scar on his wrist and recalled how he came to have it. Thirty-six years previously he was working on the assembly line at a school bus factory. He cut through a steel beam with a blow torch, and his wrist grazed the sharp, hot steel beam. He was cut to the bone. Over the years the scar has gone from prominent and jagged and painful to smooth and faded. He attributes this to time’s healing power. But he notes that deaths of family members have hurt him more than that accident. But even then there is healing power from God, as he notes: “A grief we feared would consume us; a disappointment so intense that it maimed us; a shameful mistake that seared our self-image—all of these things can be healed by time and the loving grace of God.”

When we need healing, we might be like the leper in the Gospel, seeking out those things and persons who can help us. Or we might be like Naaman, who almost let his pride prevent him from getting what he wanted. Both found it in God. We might find it quickly, or over a long time, but healing is from God. That is what we see in the stories of these two men and in the stories of many more, that God cares for our lives and is willing to make them right when they are not. God cares for our bodies and souls, the whole person, the before and the after of our maladies. God is a healer that we can come to.