Encounters with Jesus

Psalm 40 - To the leader. Of David. A Psalm.
I waited patiently for the Lord;
   he inclined to me and heard my cry.
He drew me up from the desolate pit,
   out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
   making my steps secure.
He put a new song in my mouth,
   a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
   and put their trust in the Lord.

Let's change it up a little bit this week and start with a video clip. This is the the last song played at U2's 360 tour, a tour that took them around the world. It's a song called "40" inspired by Psalm 40. I love how they end the song - drifting away, one at a time. I can feel the longing of

Healing #1

46 Then he came again to Cana in Galilee where he had changed the water into wine. Now there was a royal official whose son lay ill in Capernaum. 47 When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and begged him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. 48 Then Jesus said to him, "Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe." 49 The official said to him, "Sir, come down before my little boy dies." 50 Jesus said to him, "Go; your son will live." The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started on his way. 51 As he was going down, his slaves met him and told him that his child was alive. 52 So he asked them the hour when he began to recover, and they said to him, "Yesterday at one in the afternoon the fever left him." 53 The father realized that this was the hour when Jesus had said to him, "Your son will live." So he himself believed, along with his whole household. 54 Now this was the second sign that Jesus did after coming from Judea to Galilee.

Healing #2

After this there was a festival of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.  Now in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate there is a pool, called in Hebrew Beth-zatha, which has five porticoes. In these lay many invalids—blind, lame, and paralysed. One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been there a long time, he said to him, ‘Do you want to be made well?’ The sick man answered him, ‘Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; and while I am making my way, someone else steps down ahead of me.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Stand up, take your mat and walk.’ At once the man was made well, and he took up his mat and began to walk.

A member of my congregation died 34 hours ago after years of fighting cancer. Another member is in a rehab facility making miraculous progress after suffering a severe stroke. Both families share the same question, "How long?"
A man has a dying son. Another man has been ill for 38 years. Both stories share the same question, "How long?"

People are hurting. People are sick. People suffer - they suffer long. And although in the West we don't see miraculous healing that appear to be the ones represented in these texts, so many live with the question of "How long?"

I could dig into the texts to find clarity about having faith or not having faith. I could review my understanding of systemic disease and the role that poverty plays in the health of our society. I could focus on the seven signs in the gospel of John. But I'd rather create an encounter with Jesus because that's what these two men had. An encounter. 

A father asked his question to a miracle worker. A man answers a question from a miracle worker. And they are forever changed after this encounter. As worship leaders we have the opportunity to create an encounter with the light of the world, the one who shines in the darkness, the one who knows everything about us - each week. Each Sunday, we craft worship services with hopes of creating encounters with Jesus. I wonder what kind of encounter we would have if we collectively joined our voices with the question on so many people's hearts, "How long?"

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In our Sunday service, we want to create an encounter. We will use candle lighting rituals. We will use healing oils crafted from women from Thistle Farms, who have encountered healing themselves. We will sing. We will touch one another with the warmth of healing hands. We will pray. Perhaps Jesus will ask if we need signs in order to believe. Maybe the answer is yes. Perhaps Jesus will ask if we want to be well. Maybe the answer is not yet. Only the encounter will tell. 

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