Sunday, July 7, 2013<\/strong><\/p>\n2 Kings 5:1-14
\nPsalm 30
\nGalatians 6:7-16
\nLuke 10:1-11, 16-20<\/p>\n
Transformation emerges through a dynamic process of divine-human call and response.\u00a0 Our openness and efforts make a difference to the quality and extent of God\u2019s presence in our lives.\u00a0 As scripture says, Christ is always standing at the door, knocking and seeking our attention and partnership in the quest for planetary and personal wholeness.\u00a0 Whether and how we the open the door to God\u2019s graceful, intimate, and visionary energy can make all the difference in the world.\u00a0 This Sunday\u2019s lectionary readings reflect on God\u2019s call and our response, and how this affects the shape of grace and healing in our lives.<\/p>\n
Sometimes what we need to experience wholeness is right in front of us and we don\u2019t notice it or \u00a0we choose to ignore it.\u00a0 This was the case of the great commander Naaman\u2019s quest for healing.\u00a0 Sickness is the greater leveler.\u00a0 Our power, prestige, and wealth cannot insulate us from the indignities and inconveniences of illness, nor can they protect us from our inherent finitude and mortality.\u00a0 Naaman has power, but he also has a skin condition that has changed his life.\u00a0 His illness may not be life-threatening, but it is life-altering, serious enough for communication between Naaman and the King of Israel; important enough for the warrior to invest a fortune in his recovery; and critical enough for the powerful leader to pay attention to a lowly slave girl.<\/p>\n
When Naaman visits Elisha, the prophet treats him as he would a regular person.\u00a0 He does not come out to greet him, but simply sends him a remedy for his illness. \u00a0Perhaps, Elisha wants to remind Naaman that he, like everyone else, is made of dust; perhaps, the recognition of the human condition will open the general to the pathway to healing.\u00a0 \u00a0Naaman is initially upset; he expects a costly potion, a salubrious convalescence at a noted healing spot, or a thorough examination.\u00a0 All he receives is the prescription to dip himself seven times in the Jordan River.\u00a0 \u201cSurely such a simple treatment can\u2019t restore me to health,\u201d Naaman fumes. \u201cA serious illness requires a serious or at least costly remedy and surely not to dip myself in a common stream, used by the common people and their animals.\u201d<\/p>\n
Naaman\u2019s anger is quenched by the wise counsel of his servants, \u201cIf the prophet had asked you to do something difficult, you would have done it.\u00a0 But the answer may be right in front of you and free of charge, why won\u2019t you try it?\u201d \u00a0Once again the lowly \u2013 a slave girl and servants \u2013 are the source of wisdom to the high and mighty. \u00a0Naaman follows the prophet\u2019s prescription and his servants\u2019 counsel, and is restored to health.<\/p>\n
Sometimes the solution to our problems is right in front of us, personally and as a community.\u00a0 Sometimes what we need to get well is a simple change in diet, a natural medication, an energy treatment, an alternation in lifestyle, or a visit to our physician or other medical care giver.\u00a0 Stress has been identified as a factor in a variety of illnesses in our time; yet many of us, including pastors, are stress-addicted and even boast about the multiple demands on our lives.\u00a0 The same applies to diet; we eat fast food when we need soul food; we constantly eat processed food when we need to eat more simple, home-prepared foods.\u00a0 Reaching out to a counselor, spiritual director, or holistic care giver can provide important relief and restoration, capable of transforming our physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being.<\/p>\n
Sometimes, the solution to political problems is elementary, as Sherlock Holmes would say, but we fail to follow the most basic principles of social well-being: full employment, adequate housing, excellent education, support of families through health care, child care services, and safe communities, self-determination, and honest and community-oriented business and governmental practices.\u00a0 At first glance, these may appear too labor-intensive, socially disruptive, and costly; but the cost of unemployment, disease, hopelessness, and over-stressed families is much greater.\u00a0 I am not suggesting a particular social policy, but noting that the basics of a healthy society and community are obvious and, like Naaman\u2019s healing, right in front of us, if we let of patterns of greed, individualism, and scorn of the vulnerable in our society.<\/p>\n
{For more on healing and wholeness, see Bruce Epperly, Healing Marks: Healing and Spirituality in Mark\u2019s Gospel (Energion)<\/em>; Healing Worship: Purpose and Practice (Pilgrim Press); <\/em>and God\u2019s Touch: Faith, Wholeness, and the Healing Miracles of Jesus (Westminster\/John Knox)]<\/em><\/p>\nThe question for us, personally, congregationally, and politically, is what simple remedies for our current malaise lie right in front of us, forgotten, ignored, or avoided?<\/p>\n
The words of Psalm 30 describe the author\u2019s experience of healing and transformation, possibly of a physical illness.\u00a0 He rejoices in his newly-found well-being, grateful for God\u2019s healing and sustaining presence.\u00a0 Sometimes we are \u201cbetter than good\u201d following recovery from an illness, or we discover a new understanding of ourselves and our values as the result of surviving a serious illness.\u00a0 Our morning becomes dancing!<\/p>\n
In the Galatians passage, the apostle Paul addresses the issue of cause and effect from a spiritual perspective.\u00a0 You reap what you sow,\u00a0 Paul asserts.\u00a0 Your values shape the course of your life \u2013 including your economic well-being, spiritual growth, family relationships, and living out of God\u2019s vision for your life.\u00a0 Paul is not describing an unbending karma.\u00a0 In fact, Galatians celebrates our ability to choose our relationship to God and each other.\u00a0 Simply put, our values and actions have consequences \u2013 they draw us closer or further away from God.<\/p>\n
The central question for pastor, congregants, and the congregation as a whole is:\u00a0 Are our choices and behaviors opening us and others to Christ or are they standing in the way of God\u2019s generously given abundance?<\/p>\n
Many congregations desire vitality and growth.\u00a0 They may even describe themselves as friendly and generous, but their friendship excludes strangers and defined socially-deviant and marginalized people; moreover, their generosity is sporadic and neglectful of the most critical ethical and relational issues, right on their doorstep.\u00a0 Other congregations succumb to the ways of the world \u2013 in\/out, winner\/loser, privileged\/marginalized, us\/them \u2013 and decline in numbers, energy, and positive influence, when a vast, unaddressed mission field surrounds them.<\/p>\n
Paul also addresses legalism.\u00a0 His cross-centered faith dominates his thinking.\u00a0 Christ alone can bring wholeness and joy to our lives.\u00a0 This is not determinism or predestination or a surrender of our personal and corporate agency, but Paul\u2019s recognition that if we seek to align ourselves with Christ\u2019s values, we will be spiritually healthy, regardless of our health condition, and congregationally vital, despite our numerical size or growth patterns.\u00a0 Openness to Christ enables us \u2013 like God described in Lamentations \u2013 to be \u201cnew every morning,\u201d living out God\u2019s new creation in exciting, surprising, and life-transforming ways.<\/p>\n
The Luke passage also deals with values and ways we should live out our vocation.\u00a0 Jesus counsels persistence and non-attachment.\u00a0 Your work is not about your success or achievement but faithfulness to God and the well-being of those whom you serve.\u00a0 If people treat you as spiritual rock stars, be faithful, and let the power of God flow, enriching and deepening their lives and possibly even transforming their bodies and social standing.\u00a0 If people turn their back on you, scorning your message, continue on your journey, letting go of any sense of failure or desire for revenge.\u00a0 We are responsible for the fidelity of our message and our spiritual well-being; the rest is up to the gentle providence of God and the decisions of those to whom we minister.<\/p>\n
The disciples return to Jesus, excited about their mission.\u00a0 Jesus pronounces a victory over the forces of alienation, sickness, and oppression.\u00a0 He also reminds them that what is most important is their relationship with God, regardless of their apparent success or failure.\u00a0 If we are faithful to God\u2019s vision for our lives, ministries, congregations, and the world, God\u2019s power flows through us, regardless of our congregational statistics.<\/p>\n
The answers are right in front of us and we need to train our senses for moments of divine transformation.\u00a0 Healing is as near as the humble Jordan, or a changed lifestyle, diet, or response to stress, or a recognition that whether we live or die, we are in God\u2019s care.\u00a0 New creation is as\u00a0 near as an embrace of God\u2019s value system and recognition that alignment with God changes everything.\u00a0 The secrets of success in ministry and congregational vitality are already in your neighborhood and as near as opening to God\u2019s moment by moment vision, imperfectly yet persistently, and becoming, fallibly though we are, people of hospitality, fidelity, and generosity.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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Bruce Epperly, Ph.D., serves as Pastor at South Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, Centerville, MA. Prior to coming to Cape Cod in 2013, he served on the faculties and often in administrative and chaplaincy roles at Georgetown University, Claremont School of Theology, Wesley Theological Seminary, and Lancaster Theological Seminary. Bruce is currently a professor in spirituality, ministry, and theology in the doctoral program at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington D.C. He has served as pastor or interim pastor of congregations in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. He is the author or co-author of over 35 books in the areas of theology, spirituality, ministerial excellence and spiritual formation, scripture, and healing and wholeness, including Process Theology: Embracing Adventure with God; Finding God in Suffering: A Journey with Job; From Here to Eternity: Preparing for the Next Adventure; and A Center in the Cyclone: Clergy Self-care in the 21st Century.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/livingaholyadventure\/author\/bruceepperly\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Adventurous Lectionary for July 7: Transformation is Right in Front of You","description":"The central question for pastor, congregants, and the congregation as a whole is: Are our choices and behaviors opening us and others to Christ or are they standing in the way of God\u2019s generously given abundance?","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Adventurous Lectionary for July 7: Transformation is Right in Front of You","og_description":"The central question for pastor, congregants, and the congregation as a whole is: Are our choices and behaviors opening us and others to Christ or are they standing in the way of God\u2019s generously given abundance?","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/livingaholyadventure\/2013\/07\/the-adventurous-lectionary-for-july-7-transformation-is-right-in-front-of-you\/","og_site_name":"Living A Holy Adventure","article_published_time":"2013-07-01T23:04:48+00:00","author":"Bruce Epperly","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Bruce Epperly","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/livingaholyadventure\/2013\/07\/the-adventurous-lectionary-for-july-7-transformation-is-right-in-front-of-you\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/livingaholyadventure\/2013\/07\/the-adventurous-lectionary-for-july-7-transformation-is-right-in-front-of-you\/","name":"The Adventurous Lectionary for July 7: Transformation is Right in Front of You","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/livingaholyadventure\/#website"},"datePublished":"2013-07-01T23:04:48+00:00","dateModified":"2013-07-01T23:04:48+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/livingaholyadventure\/#\/schema\/person\/db6c6a565569156e6330e832a7bdf0d8"},"description":"The central question for pastor, congregants, and the congregation as a whole is: Are our choices and behaviors opening us and others to Christ or are they standing in the way of God\u2019s generously given abundance?","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/livingaholyadventure\/2013\/07\/the-adventurous-lectionary-for-july-7-transformation-is-right-in-front-of-you\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/livingaholyadventure\/2013\/07\/the-adventurous-lectionary-for-july-7-transformation-is-right-in-front-of-you\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/livingaholyadventure\/2013\/07\/the-adventurous-lectionary-for-july-7-transformation-is-right-in-front-of-you\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/livingaholyadventure\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Adventurous Lectionary for July 7: Transformation is Right in Front of You"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/livingaholyadventure\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/livingaholyadventure\/","name":"Living A Holy Adventure","description":"Bruce Epperly","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/livingaholyadventure\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/livingaholyadventure\/#\/schema\/person\/db6c6a565569156e6330e832a7bdf0d8","name":"Bruce Epperly","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/livingaholyadventure\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/be4d20881f0229e5e1e702fe5f7f676b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/be4d20881f0229e5e1e702fe5f7f676b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Bruce Epperly"},"description":"Rev. 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