A Balm in Gilead

Year C Jeremiah 8:18 – 9:1 A Balm in Gilead September 18, 2004 It’s been three years and a week now since our nation has experienced one of the most catastrophic events that we know. An event that stopped all of us in our tracks, and made us rethink our entire understanding of the world as we know it. And in those three years, we have gone through our grief process, and in many ways we have come on the other side of it. Not entirely over the effects of the event, yet ready to engage life Comfortable to go about out normal life, without thinking about it. And yet, the headlines of the day give us a gentle reminder that the ever present threat of terrorism still haunts our world and our comfortableness. We have given control of Iraq to the country, yet over 1000 soldiers have been killed and the death toll rises, and there is seems to be no end to the violence. Reports of terrorism have spread to countries all over the globe. Many nations are mourning the rise of these senseless attacks. Three years later, and we have returned to normalcy, but have not heard any voices of hope that things are getting better, that the world is changing, and we are growing closer together, with a better understanding of one another. It is a time when we can relate to the words of the prophet Jeremiah, as he asks is there no balm in gilead – no physician there. Why then has the health of my poor people not been restored.. He says that he crys because he sees that his people are crying. Even today, there are many reasons for us to cry with no comfort. Jeremiah was known as the weeping prophet. Because he had he ability to articulate the pain of the nation. Judah had been conquered by Babylon and residents had been ordered to leave their country and go into exile. Considering himself a prophet - a word for his people – Jeremiah went with them, crying all of the way. Articulatig their plight, yet giving meaning to their suffering, by reminding them that when things were going well for the nation, they had chosen to turn their backs on God. They had been a nation established on their faith in God, yet as time went on, they no longer thought of God, and put their hope in their own ability and the number of friends that would come to their rescue. Normally, the end of the summer was a great time of celebration, it was a time when the fruit trees yielded a harvest and there would be plenty to eat before the fall came and the time of spiritual reflection and renewal began with Rosh Hashanah. Along with the political troubles, there had also been a time of natural disaster. Droughts has prevented the vegatation from growing fruit ,and the people faced starvation. Oh that my head were a spring my eyes a fountain of tears, I would cry enough tears to give to my people, Says Jeremiah. Today, many are hopeless for the opposite reason, not droughts, but an onslaught of hurricanes and rain. Jeremiah also wrote the next book of lamentations, which further articulates the pain of his people. When we think of lamenting, we think of talk about never ending problems. We think of depression of things that will never get better. When we cry, we cry because we are sad and uncomforted. And yet Jeremiah cries for healing. He cries to give them a sense of hope. He cries to remind them of the faith that they had left behind. He cries to get them in touch with the impact of what they had done wrong, so that they could get through it to a new future a new hope. Today we have problems with that, because it is no longer fashionable to talk about sin, to talk about God’s judgement. It is no longer fashionable to talk about he consequences of our actions. And yet all of that is still there. Is there no balm in Gilead? There was proported a balsam tree that grew in Gilead, from which people extracted a very fragrant oil. The oil was supposed to have healing qualities for wounds. But what made the oil so famous was not its power, but its rarity. Only royalty used this oil, because the tree was grown only in special cases. Even today, the oil is heavily guarded and is only grown I Turkey. Generations have heard of its power, but very few have actually seen its fruit. This is the metaphor of healing that Jeremiah uses for his people, the mythological cure for any problem; a special balm worthy of kings, to heal the wounds of the everyday person. In Jeremiah’s tears, he it was as if he knew that images that would heal not the bodies of his people, or change the situations from which they were suffering, yet would soothe the soul of those in trouble. In his tears Jeremiah reminds us of another man of sorrows – Jesus. Jesus too wept over the city of Jerusalem. Jesus too was very sad for the sins of the people. Jesus too chose to identify with his people and to suffer the same fate at they did- He chose to die on a cross for the sake of our sins. He chose to transform the ultimate consequence of sin – death. Jeremiah even compares himself to a lamb being led to the slaughter – language similar to the act of Christ. Is there no balm in gilead, no physician here? Jesus is our balm in gilead. Jesus is the balm to heal the wounded, jesus is the phycisan with the magical powers to heal any ill. But how do we get from merely taking that as a soothing metaphor to make us feel better, to the reality of life where are real tears, for real pain. Is Jesus the answer for a hurting world. In a world where we are at odds with others who don’t believe in the power of Christ, does Jesus really make a difference? It’s all in the power of our tears. Jeremiah looked at this world, and all he could do was cry. He knew that his tears for his people and for their situation would make a difference. When we cry, Jesus cries too. We don’t worship a god who is far off, who we have to inform of our problems. Jesus is with us, present in our lives. Expereincing every thing that we go through. Jesus is God with us. With us not above us. Teaching us directly in our lives, not judging whether we are right or wrong. What difference does it make in our lives to know that we don’t have to be guided to life, but that we have the assurance that we are being led to the ways of peace. When we cry, Jesus is standing next to us not judging, but crying with us. There is a story of a young chaplain. Who was on call. He got the call that a young couple had just had a baby that had been stillborn……….. Tears are more eloquent than any action that could be taken. Tears show others that we care for them and for their situation, tears call us to respond to the pain of others, tears call us to call for things to change. Jesus wept for Jerusalem and Jesus weeps for the tradgedies of our world today. Jesus is the spirit of God incarnate in a way that we can identify with. God loves the world, god loves the people in the world. God wants to see all people no matter who they are, where they are in the world, no matter what the circumstances in their life, God wants to see them at peace in living in love – to be saved. But salvation is a process. A process that we are a part of, yet do not have all of the answers to. In a world that demands answers, the best that we can give is our tears . In jeremiah time’ I am sure that the people needed to understand what was going on, they wanted an explanation, they wanted things to get better immediately. Many years later, the world hasn’t changed. When we are suffering we want explanations, we want answers, we want to know what went wrong, we want the assurance that the problem will be fixed. We still ask, is there no balm in gilead, is there no physician there. God does not answer with yes, God answers with his only son, Jesus. The presence of Christ shows the world that God really truly cares about each of us, our lives and most importantly our suffering. No matter how great or how small. The words of the song, balm in gilead gives wisdom to the worlds endless question of why. When I feel discouraged, the holy spirit revives my soul, when we look for knowledge Jesus will never refuse to help us, and no matter who we are, we can tell the world of the love of Jesus, and that he died to save us all. This is a song of faith, faith in Jesus love for the world. As the people of faith, if we continue to sing that song, to believe what it says, to cry with the the suffering of the world. We don’t need the answers to what the future will bring. But we can have faith that if we cry the worlds tears and articulate the pain of our people, God will always respond and bring comfort to our pain, and answers to our questions.