This
sermon was presented at Resurrection on August 16, the 11th Sunday
after Pentecost, by Pastor Jim Kniseley.
Today is a Healing Service and worshippers are invited to receive Holy
Communion and also an anointing with oil and the laying-on of hands for
healing.
Dear Friends in Christ,
Today in the life of our
congregation, we have a Service of Healing.
Most of us know something about why we offer this opportunity, and many
have actually come forward to experience this gift of God. Let’s focus on why this is a very important
and vital part of our ministry here at Resurrection.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a most
faithful Lutheran pastor and theologian, wrote:
“Love toward sick members should have a special place in the Christian
congregation. Christ comes near to us in
the sick.” (1)
What does he mean? Here are four ideas that come to mind:
1.
We are seldom more vulnerable than when we
are seriously ill
2.
God’s love and power can become real to us
when we are seriously ill
3.
The Church that is present to provide the
means of grace to sick people is responding to the call of Jesus to minister to
those in need
4.
We need to remember that sickness and healing
are not individual concerns, but the responsibility of the whole body of Christ
A really big part of our
healing ministry here at Resurrection is our Prayer Ministry. Prayers are very important for our faith as a
Christian Community, and some of you have told me, “Pastor, I really felt the
prayers of the members praying.”
How do we pray for folks
here at Resurrection? You can put a name
in the prayer book, located on the credenza in the narthex. We include those folks in worship services. We list names of folks seeking prayer in the
weekly bulletins and monthly newsletters.
Every Monday morning our secretary e-mails names of folks to be prayed
for to our Prayer Partners. These folks
(about 15) are diligent in their daily prayers.
We also open this Sanctuary for prayers on the first and third Tuesday
evenings. Every Wednesday at the noon-time
service we gather here at the altar rail for prayers for those present and
those we wish to name.
And, we have this Healing
Service 4 times per year. There are 3
very important elements of our Healing Service that I want to lift up. The first is Holy Communion. Receiving the sacrament really focuses our
attention on Jesus, the Great Physician.
We receive a most important part of our healing: we receive forgiveness
of our sins.
The second element in our
Healing Service is the Oil. In Biblical
times, olive oil was considered to be the best medicine of the age. We remember how the Good Samaritan anointed
with oil the wounds of the sick man who had been beaten. We also remember how the apostles “anointed
with oil many who were sick and healed them (Mark 6:13)”. We also remember the instruction from James
5:14, “Is any among you sick? Let him
call the elders of the church, and let us pray over him, anointing him with oil
in the name of the Lord…”
The third element in the
Healing Service is this laying-on of hands.
The laying-on of hands was practiced by Jesus as he transmitted God’s
healing power to those who were sick or disabled. Today, it is a tangible expression of Christ’s
operating in and through us as we minister in his name.
What kind of healing do we
receive? What should we expect to happen
either in a Healing Service or when we prayed for at other times? This is a key question, I believe. What keeps some folks from even coming
forward in a Healing Service is the negative association with some television
faith healers. We really don’t want that
sensationalism to be a part of our worship experience. Here are some truths about healing that I
believe:
·
We do expect a healing to take place
·
Healing is not always what we want or expect
·
In every instance, we believe a healing does
take place
·
There is no such thing as unanswered prayer
That God can take away
disease and sickness, I have no doubt.
That is one form of healing. That
God will give us strength to endure our sickness and an enduring faith, that is
another form of healing. That God will
provide medical care through doctors and nurses; I believe that is an answer to
prayer, and a healing. That God will
release us from our suffering through death and entrance into heaven, that too
is an answer to prayer and a gift of healing.
Dr. Granger Westberg, the
founder of Wholistic Medicine, Inc., in Chicago (2) was
lecturing at a gathering of physicians, nurses and pastors in Tucson, Arizona,
some years ago. He asked a question:
“What is the healthiest hour of the week?”
How would you answer the question?
Dr. Westberg surprised many people by answering, “The hour of worship on
Sunday morning.”
Why is this true? One major medical study shows the major
factor in staying healthy is gratitude.
Worship at its best offers us the opportunity to express feelings of
gratitude through praising God for his acts of grace and mercy.
Dr. Westberg said something
in that lecture about a congregation that I hope could be said about our
congregation here at Resurrection: He
was speaking about Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church in Tucson, “This vital
congregation epitomizes for me a health-giving community of faith. I encourage medical students to look upon
community churches as the real health agencies in every town. It is great to be able to point to Our
Saviours’ just across the street from the hospital, as a model par excellence.”
This day, please accept your
invitation to participate in prayers for healing.
Amen.
(1) Bonhoeffer quoted by F. Burton Nelson, “What
Churches Can Do,” Christianity Today, September 10, 1990, p. 36.
(2) Alone/Together,
Ron Lavin, CSS Publishing Co., Inc., 1984