July 3 Sermon Notes

July 3 Gal. 6, Ps. 30 II Kings 5 Lk. 10

Paul gives us a great function of human life this morning, to bear one another’s burdens.We are not only under the powers of the “present age” but live and die under the aegis of God’s spirit? To imagine that God, through God’s body, bears our burdens. What counts is a new creation -carefully balanced here to help each other out but also to take responsibility for one’s life mix of independence, dependence, and interdependence (EU vote).  The person or family in crisis often grows more isolated, and the community of faith is not the place of healing and restoration (like setting a bone) it is intended to be. In stark contrast is Paul's understanding of the responsibility we bear for one another. This responsibility extends to restoring one who has transgressed, but doing so in a spirit of gentleness, without judgment, without an air of condescension. It means "bearing one another's burdens,"  the responsibility for healing and restoration.WPr

We are called to be an alternative community of God's grace, mercy, healing, and restoration in an unforgiving and less than gentle  world, by the power of the Spirit, only by God remaking us a new creation in Christ.We can learn to  the burden bearing more graciously. We are privileged to hear one another’s dreams and desires,  to make room for each other  In listening,  in hospitality for a moment we catch a richer glimpse of God’s reality and find the energy of the Spirit, lest we grow weary.We can grow weary of carrying the world on our shoulders as well.(Working Preacher)

Prayer is a way for God to help us bear our burdens. Prayers for guidance and understanding help us to discern what is individual and communal responsibility, to assess and balance the individual and the communal. So hard for many of us to ask for help and not resent being asked for help..Ps 30’s does bargain with God- Prayer draws us into two intersecting dimensions. One dimension is  time lived in God's presence. We are drawn into the drama of the life of the believer with its doubts and joys, its anger and trust, its barely-suppressed fear of enemies. 2): the sacred space of eternity, in which God's favor continually heals believers and clothes them with joy. Mourning turns to dancing; sackcloth is traded for a garment of rejoicing. These are liturgical terms: we are led to perceive the "Temple," as both literal and spiritual edifice, holding together these two dimensions of faithful living.WPr.Less likely to burn out or give up.

Naaman and healing of the outsider-Healing extends beyond the chosen few. naaman resists the ritual request-Wash and baptism? Ritual acts out, often wordlessly, matters of deep importance The last person on earth Elisha would expect god to heal does receive healing..

We are not immune from pain, as if we  are healed, once and for all. That might suggest that God's redemption is a commodity that we could  manipulate liturgically. Rather, we seek God through the changeable rhythms of joyous praising and bitter wrestling. Faith is lived in a dance of mourning and rejoicing--a dance that is by turns brutal and lyrical, as the turbulent  Belief means alternately challenging and submitting to One whose power to save (working Preacher)

Even Jesus had to balance  our reception and rejection.Jesus if received heal and bless, if not kick the dust off your shoes.Sent in pairs.  Sometimes that is the best we can do. We  can keep the door open, but some relationships are not salvaged. As Jefferson said, ten thousand recollections can inhibit a relationship as well. Balanced relationship are products of healing and afford healing.