Psalm 96: 1-6; Luke 7: 1-10 by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
May 29, 2016
sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
tell of his salvation from day to day.
Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples.
For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
he is to be revered above all gods.
For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.
Honor and majesty are before him;
strength and beauty are in his sanctuary. - Psalm 96: 1-6
After Jesus had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. A centurion there had a slave whom he valued highly, and who was ill and close to death. When he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to him, asking him to come and heal his slave. When they came to Jesus, they appealed to him earnestly, saying, ‘He is worthy of having you do this for him, for he loves our people, and it is he who built our synagogue for us.’ And Jesus went with them, but when he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to say to him, ‘Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; therefore I did not presume to come to you. But only speak the word, and let my servant be healed. For I also am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, “Go”, and he goes, and to another, “Come”, and he comes, and to my slave, “Do this”, and the slave does it.’ When Jesus heard this he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, he said, ‘I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.’ When those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health. - Luke 7: 1-10
He had a hope to bridge the distance. The Centurion looked upon a marginalized individual whom he valued highly. Then he lifted a prayer request to the community for Jesus to bring healing. His request was not simply for the individual to get well.
It was more profound than that. The Greek word for “healing” in this story actually means “to save all the way across” or “to bring someone through danger to safety.” The Centurion had hope and faith in Jesus’ ability to bridge the distance in his servant’s life from a place of otherness to God’s wholeness.
Otherness is a dangerous place. It marks an individual or a group of people by their difference from the majority. Otherness creates miles of distance because of racial, gender, or socio-economic differences. Otherness is using any marked difference as a weakness to exert power over another. Otherness is a stigma that hinders a true sense of connection and belonging. Otherness is an obstacle to experiencing wholeness and unity in community.
I am struck how the Centurion does not reach out to Jesus directly. Did you know the Centurion bears the mark of otherness too? He was a Gentile and the text reveals he felt distanced from the religious community. While the Centurion believed Jesus could heal by merely speaking a word, he perceived an obstacle to approaching Jesus.
The Centurion sent Jewish elders whom he knew to speak to Jesus on his behalf. The Centurion had worked alongside his Jewish neighbors to build a synagogue thereby also helping to build up the community. The small group of Jewish elders spoke with Jesus on the Centurion’s behalf. They lifted up the Centurion’s character and humility.
This is one of the few healing stories I recall where Jesus does not bring about restoration with a personal face to face interaction or physical touch. Healing and restoration are solely brought by the power of words.
The small group of elders and the second set of friends sent lifted up the Centurion and his request with words of dignity. Jesus commended the faith of the Centurion to the elders and the crowd with words of amazement. What is so miraculous about this healing story is that both the community and Jesus work together to save all the way across the differences that need mending for the Centurion and his servant. And then both the Centurion and servant are brought from the place of otherness to God’s wholeness.
This week I have been struck by this word picture of healing all the way across differences. There is an information overload from social media, articles, video clips, and news highlighting the divisions in society and who is named as “other.” Luke’s words remind me there is a better way to seek efforts towards unity. There is a better way to seek out healing for the marginalized that saves all the way across otherness.
William Cole works with security and is a van driver for Better Way Program of Saint Martin’s Hospitality Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He drives through the town picking up hopeful employees to beautify the city with pay. William looks upon these potential new hires with a smile and great respect whereas many would mark them as marginalized and other. The hopeful employees you see are homeless and downtrodden.
William approached one woman who candidly shared her story. She said, “I had my kids and had a three bedroom house. I had everything going for me. But I had anxiety and I just started pulling my hair out. I knew I was going to lose everything and I did. I go around cleaning up for free anyway cause the world is a dirty place. So I like cleaning up. I miss cleaning my house." She was grateful to join efforts with the Better Way Program to begin her process of healing and transformation.
Saint Martin’s Hospitality Center began in 1985 when local clergy formed a coalition with congregations and the community The goal is to bring empowerment and healing to those who are marginalized by homelessness. The guests of the Hospitality Center receive food, shelter, and services to get them back on their feet.[1]
The Better Way Program came out of this coalition. The Mayor of Albuquerque notes, “There is a better way than standing on a street corner asking for money. There is a better way than handing $5 out your window. The better way is to give people the dignity of working to beautify their city.” [2]
Our faith reveals there is a better way to bring healing. It happens when the body of Christ joins hands with the community to offer words of dignity to the marginalized. Acknowledging worth and value in another person allows us to focus more on our shared humanity.
Robert Lupton is the author of “Toxic Charity.” He has spent the past forty years working in Atlanta to envision effective renewal ministry among the poor and marginalized. His insight is quite direct as he notes that many individuals who are marginalized feel distanced from the religious community. The distance is caused when pity is received instead of church volunteers seeking common ground with those they are helping.
Lupton says, “There is nothing that brings me more joy than seeing people transitioned out of poverty, or neighborhoods change from being described as “dangerous” and “blighted” to being called “thriving” and even “successful.” I have worked with churches, government agencies, entrepreneurs, and armies of volunteers and know from firsthand experience the many ways “good intentions” can translate into ineffective care or even harm.” [3]
Good intentions that are based on pitying the marginalized bring ineffective care and harm because they, “weaken those being served, foster dishonest relationships, erode the recipient’s work ethic, and deepen dependency.” Efforts to bring healing out of pity result in toxic charity. [4]
However Lupton shares ministry that truly renews seeks to “empower those being served, engenders healthy relationships, improves local quality of life, and relieves poverty.” Ministry that seeks to heal all the way across requires that we are intentional to heal with our words. [5]
Healing words requires that we learn to become more sensitive to better understand the lives of those we are missionally serving in the community. Lupton goes on to say God wants to create opportunities for us “to listen to the stories of our neighbors in need, to ask how their faith has sustained them in difficult times, and pray” for all who are receiving and giving helping hands of grace. When we are intentional in these things then the “pity factor diminishes, and is replaced by respect and emerging understanding.” [6]
Lupton’s insight tells us that Saint Martin’s Hospitality Center and The Better Way Program are doing something right. They offer an example for many – and us - to follow in serving others who need a hand up.
The better way to bring about healing is always connected to bestowing words of dignity to one another. Not just to those who are crippled by homelessness, poverty, mental illness or any other difference we might name. Each and every one of us deserves healing words of dignity because we are each a child of God. We are each greatly valued by God and called beloved.
Luke’s healing story calls us to consider the ways this body of Christ might work with the community to break down the walls of otherness. We are stronger in number as we all come together to bridge the distance from otherness to God’s wholeness. I pray God would continue to open us to the better way of healing. May it be so.
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Sources Referenced:
[1] St. Martin’s Hospitality Center website http://www.smhc-nm.org/who-we-are/history/
[2] Upworthy Video on Better Way Program https://www.facebook.com/Upworthy/videos/1268563466517842/
[3]Robert Lupton, “Toxic Charity: How Churches and Charities Hurt Those They Help and How to Reverse It” (New York: Harper One, 2011). p. 1-2.
[4] Toxic Charity, p. 16.
[5] Toxic Charity, p. 15.
[6] Toxic Charity, p. 151.
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