Sunday
09/27/15 Freeville/Homer Ave UMC’s
Sermon Title: “call for the elders of the church, and
the elders
should pray over them”
Old Testament
Lesson: Psalm 124
New Testament
Scripture: James 5:13-20
Gospel Lesson:
Mark 9:38-50
Brothers and sisters, friends, welcome once again on this
the Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost. Eighteen Sundays after that day that the
Holy Spirit moved like a mighty wind, like a mighty fire in and through the
disciples of Jesus Christ. On this day the Christian Church was born, and the
disciples and the early Christians went forth preaching the gospel, and
changing the world. Today we continue that mission of preaching the gospel of
Jesus Christ, and making a world of love, of peace, and of justice.
With this said, this morning I want to talk about healing.
For many of us at some point in our lives we have needed healing. This healing
could have been a small healing, from a cut perhaps. Maybe we needed a bandage,
so that this cut could heal. Maybe we needed surgery at some point, maybe we got
into a car accident, or maybe we suffered from cancer? Maybe we have suffered from
emotional hurts, whether they be from the loss of a loved one, or from our own
sufferings.
All of us, need or have needed healing at some point. At
different points we all have hurt, and have all needed healing. Generally, we
never wish to be hurt, and therefore, we might not desire healing right now.
Yet, when we are hurting, healing becomes something that we very much desire.
What is the source of healing though, I wonder? I mean if
we get a cut, where does the healing come from? We might know the biology
behind a cut or a body part healing, but what of the spiritual aspect of
healing? For if God is the source of life, light, and love, which I believe
that God is, then healing is of God. Love is of God, light is of God, and
healing is of God. Life includes healing, and God can heal anyone, at any time.
Do we truly believe that though? Do we truly believe that healing and life
comes from God? Or do we believe that healing and life comes from somewhere
else?
In our reading from Psalm 124 from this morning, it says in
124:8, “Our help is in the name of the LORD, the maker of heaven and earth”
(Psalm 124:8, CEB). Do we believe that our help, our health, our future, and all
that we have is truly “in the name of the LORD” (Psalm 124:8b, CEB)?
All of this, leads me to the scripture that I am largely
preaching on this morning. This scripture is from our reading from the Book of
James 5:13-20. In this reading, James tells us about what we should do about our
sufferings and our illnesses, in the context of the church.
In James 5:13, it says, “If any of you are suffering, they
should pray. If any of you are happy, they should sing” (James 5:13, CEB). The
next verse then says, “If any of you are sick, they should call for the elders
of the church, and the elders should pray over them, anointing them with oil in
the name of the Lord” (James 5:14, CEB).
Brothers and sisters, we are or have hurt. We all are or
have suffered. The Book of James tells us to pray, to anoint with oil, and to
pray over those who suffer. As your pastor, I believe in the power of God, I
believe the saving grace of Jesus Christ, and I believe in the Bible. I also
believe in prayer, and as a result, after our congregational response this morning,
I am going to invite all those who want it, to come forward for prayer and anointing.
So that we may call upon the God of the Universe for healing and restoration,
as God can do all things.
The Book of James then says in 5:15, “Prayer that comes
from faith will heal the sick, for the Lord will restore them to health. And if
they have sinned, they will be forgiven” (James 5:15, CEB). Brothers and
sisters, if we believe that God can do all things, which I do, then we need to
pray. Sometimes we also need to be anointed, and “call for the elders of the
church, and the elders should pray over them” (James 5:14b, CEB).
As Christians we should be a praying people, and when one
suffers, we all suffer. When one rejoices, we all rejoice. This is the power of
the living God working in us and through us. As God’s children we are all
connected, and are called by Jesus Christ to love and care for each other.
Beyond this, the Book of James reading from this morning
then says, “For this reason confess your sins to each other and pray for each
other so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is power in what it
can achieve” (James 5:16, CEB). Let me say that again, “The prayer of the
righteous is power in what it can achieve” (James 5:16, CEB).
The Book of James then goes on to give an example of this.
It says in 5:17-18, “Elijah was a person just like us. When he earnestly prayed
that it wouldn’t rain, no rain feel for three and half years. He prayed again,
God sent rain, and the earth produced its fruit” (James 5:17-18, CEB).
The Book of James reading then ends this morning, by saying
“My brothers and sisters, if any of you wander from the truth and someone turns
back the wanderer, recognize that whoever brings the sinner back from the wrong
path will save them from death and bring about the forgiveness of many sins”
(James 5:19-20, CEB).
You might have noticed that James said, “My brothers and
sisters,” as I often address you this way, as Christians have addressed each
other this way, all the way back to the early Christian Church (James 5:19a,
CEB).
Trusting God then, and believing that God can do all
things, brings us peace. When we trust God, and when we believe in God’s power,
we allow God to take our stress and our concerns from us. We “lay our burdens
down.”
Yet
I have found, that sometimes God heals our bodies and our hearts, and sometimes
God gives us spiritual peace. Yet God is always faithful. God does not always show
up when we demand God shows up. Instead, God show up in His time, not ours.
This morning though, could be God’s time for you, and it could be God’s time
for me. Every day for us, could be this reality. This is why we must always be
in prayer, both individually and together.
As I said then, after our congregational response this
morning, I will be offering prayer, anointing with oil, and God’s love. While I
call upon God, I myself can heal no one. I myself have no power. Yet we will
continue to call upon our great God, that we might be healed.
In our Gospel of Mark reading from this morning, Jesus encourages
us to have great faith, and to avoid sin (Mark 9:42-48, CEB). Jesus speaks
metaphorically, going as far to say that “if your hand causes you to fall into
sin chop it off” (Mark 9:43a, CEB). Jesus uses a couple of other examples as
well, to show us the significance of turning from sin, and trusting God.
The Gospel reading then ends with Jesus making the
comparison about people being salt and light. Jesus says, “Salt is good; but if
salt loses its saltiness, how will it become salty again? Maintain salt among
yourselves and keep peace with each other” (Mark 9:50, CEB). Keeping focused on
God then, keeps us connected, keeps us “salty” (Mark 9:50b, CEB). We should
strive for this in our prayer lives to.
So we all are or have suffered. We all are or have been
sick, or have been in pain. I would ask this morning then, that we all take
time to pray to God, and to pray for others, today or this week. To pray for
our own health if we need it. To believe that God can heal, and to trust God.
With
this said, I would like to close this sermon with a great story on healing called
“A Tumor Healed.” The source of this story is from Time magazine,
April 10, 1995. Volume 145, No 15. Here is how it goes:
“Elisabeth
Jernigan is the beloved daughter of Betsy and Lennie Jernigan of North
Carolina, USA. When she was just months old Elisabeth’s parents noticed her
right eyelid weaken, then droop and the pupil become fixed. Her grandfather, a
Harvard University trained surgeon was worried, and advised her parents to take
Elisabeth to an ophthalmologist. The ophthalmologist sent them to a
pediatrician and the pediatrician to a neurologist. Elisabeth was diagnosed
with a brain tumour. Exploratory surgery removed part of the tumour from the
nerve that controls the right eye, but it was too dangerous to try and take it
all. Then the pathology report came back with the worst news of all. Elisabeth
had an extremely rare malignant meningioma which had killed everyone who had
ever had it. The prognosis was for continued growth of the tumour, paralysis
and certain death.”
“Elisabeth’s
parents, Betsy and Leonard started praying, their friends prayed, their church
prayed. They prayed that Elisabeth might be healed, but also for the ability to
accept her death if healing was not God’s will. Elisabeth’s surgeon grandfather
didn’t have the faith to pray for healing, but he did pray for wisdom in
selecting doctors, and the ability to get through the inevitable suffering.”
“Elisabeth’s
condition deteriorated as expected. Fluid began accumulating on her brain, with
the doctors repeatedly relieving it with a large needle. Elisabeth grew lethargic
and nauseated. It was agreed that there be further surgery, to insert shunts
that would drain the fluid.”
“Prior
to the surgery the family gathered around Elisabeth while the priest from her
grandparents church anointed Elisabeth with oil and prayed for her
healing. It was now the night before the scheduled surgery. A doctor
arrived in Elisabeth’s room and removed so much thick, infected fluid from her
brain that he asked that the operation be postponed for a couple of days. But
12 hours later when he returned he was baffled to find there was virtually no
more fluid.”
“When
the surgery went ahead the doctor’s decided to make a last ditch effort to
remove the rest of the tumour. They would remove the section of nerve the
cancer had invaded. This would leave Elisabeth blind in her right eye but would
give her a slim hope of survival. But when they went into Elisabeth’s
brain they couldn’t find the lesion. They removed the nerve section as planned,
but when the pathology tests on it came back they reported there were no cancer
cells. Regular cat scans since then have revealed no evidence of a tumour.”
“Doctors
describe what happened as “spontaneous resolution.” Elisabeth’s family call it
a Miracle. In June 1995 Elisabeth turned 13. Elisabeth’s father Lennie, says
“In the years ahead if you happen to see a young girl walking down the street
with her right eye permanently closed, please don’t think that some tragedy has
befallen her and extend your sympathy. Instead have cheerful thoughts, knowing
that the Holy Spirit dwells in her, and our God is powerful, benevolent and
magnificent.”
Healing, brothers and sisters. We have a God that heals,
and a Savior that saves. The type of healing that God gives us, will be of His choosing,
and on His schedule. Yet we are called to pray to the God of the Universe for
those who suffer. We are called to have great compassion, and to reach out to
God like an innocent child.
May
we pray to God for own healings, and may we pray to God for others. May we
trust God, and if we need healing, may we come together in prayer and love. If
you need healing at the service’s end this morning, then let us call upon the
Lord of Life together. For God is healing. God is light, love, and life. Amen.
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