15 Pentecost/Year B
Sept 5, 2021
Isaiah 35:4-7a; Psalm 146; Mark 7:24-37
National Recovery Month 2021
Recovery is for Everyone: Every person, every family, every community.
Our gospel reading today, begins with telling us that Jesus went away to the region of Tyre, and entered a home there, in hopes that no-one would recognize him, and in hopes that he might get some much- needed rest. But that was not to happen for him, just yet. Someone recognized him right away.
I will never forget the time (my husband) Loyd and I thought we were getting away from it all for some quiet time at a resort, at the far end of the strip in Las Vegas, actually in Henderson, far from any other businesses or other hotels ….and over 70 miles away from our home in Pahrump….We were somewhat surprised when we ran into someone we knew from Pahrump….and the encounter moved quickly into the usual conversation around church, and one women’s current journey of grief and personal matters…We thought for sure, we wouldn’t meet anyone we knew that far away from our hometown…
Jesus’ encounter was slightly different, though…he encountered a woman, he DIDN’T know…but she knew enough about him…to approach him, in hopes that he WOULD see her…and hear her plea for her daughter to be healed….
We hear the shocking exchange that happens between Jesus and the Gentile woman of Syrophoenician origin…someone, who at this stage of his life and ministry, did not seem to be the focus of his primary concern…
But, the encounter with her now - became his primary concern. He noticed her and listened to her words, her plea…he could not turn his back on this child of God, this woman of God…His eyes were opened to a need that perhaps he hadn’t noticed before…But, because, he took the time to listen to her voice, a voice that many in society had regularly dismissed before – this woman, and her daughter were healed…And who knows, how many other lives were affected positively, by those witness to this healing encounter between Jesus and this woman…
In the second part of today’s gospel reading, Jesus moves on in a different direction after his encounter with the woman, and we hear another story about a healing for someone else who most likely had been living his life, as an outcast, and outside of the usual circle of inclusion in society…This time, it sounds like a few people brought this deaf and mute man to Jesus for healing…They too pleaded and begged Jesus, to just see him, and touch him, with his healing hands. And Jesus, once again, could not turn his back on another child of God, or to the other voices of God’s beloved, pleading on behalf of the deaf and mute man, to be healed, and to be welcomed into a circle of care and life-affirming community.
I don’t think anyone sitting here today, has to think too hard to see where these same stories and voices of desperation, and desire for healing and hope are still crying out today to be heard and responded to with a loving and compassionate response…and with a response that affirms that we respect the dignity of every human being….
The pandemic, the earthquakes, the fires, the floods, the places of violence and war, our political divisions…have all broken our hearts open and hopefully brought to our attention on some level, the needs of the most vulnerable among us…the poor, the hungry, the prisoners, the disabled, the elderly, the women, and the children…
And, today…I would also add to that list…the people on a journey of recovery from the impact of substance misuse, mental health related struggles and other forms of trauma.
Their needs are often disregarded because society often looks away…saying “not me, not my kid, not my sibling, not my spouse”…or we often look away, because we dont want to admit that it is a problem for ourselves because of the fear of being judged by others, or we are quick to judge others by their outside appearances and behaviors…or we simply don’t take the time to listen to someone else’s cry for help…and let it change us, and move us to take the next step to seek to understand through the voice of the one crying out for healing, and to seeks ways, together, to be a loving support for someone on the journey of recovery….
September is National Recovery month…a good time for us to learn more about the journey of recovery for the people in our community…
Because as the theme for this year’s national awareness campaign highlights…Recovery is for Everyone: Every person, Every family, every community.
I hear Jesus saying that very same thing to us….Healing and recovery is for everyone…every person, every family, every community…
Now, we must ask ourselves, as those who seek to follow Jesus in the way of love that builds up a community where we believe that healing and recovery is truly for everyone…
*Will we TURN to Jesus: Pause, listen, and choose to follow Jesus to lead us and guide us in supporting each other in the work of healing and recovery?
*Will we take time to LEARN: To reflect on scriptures, especially on Jesus’ life and teachings, and take time to learn about our fellow human being’s struggles and hopes for themselves and their loved ones?
*Will we take time to PRAY: To dwell intentionally with God each day – to be reminded …that our hope is always found in God….
*Will we take time to WORSHIP: To gather in community weekly to thank, praise, and dwell with God….to give thanks for the gift and the support of community, in all that we do….
*Will we take time to BLESS: To share our faith and unselfishly give and serve to build up the beloved community of God, a community of love that promotes healing and recovery…
* Will we answer the call to GO: Cross boundaries, listen deeply and live like Jesus…responding to others’ cries of desperation and hopes for healing…
*Will we take time to REST: To receive the gift of God’s grace, peace and restoration…a gift to ensure that everyone has the strength and the support to take that 1st step towards healing and recovery…
Taking on these *7 practices to follow Jesus in the way of love…is just one path that can help us and others on a journey of healing and recovery…No matter what…it all begins with taking the 1st step…to “Be Opened” To be opened to the power of God’s love, at work in the world through each one of us, today…a love that proclaims that healing and recovery is for Everyone: Every person, every family, every community.
*The Episcopal Church: Walking the Way of Love
Rev Julie Platson
St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church
Sitka, AK
Some local recovery resources - Sitka
AA local Sitka phone number - (907) 747-8866