GOD IS IN THE WOUND by Kurt Young

Our guest preacher this week, really isn’t a guest. Leslie Eppler has been a part of The Village almost from the beginning. But she had to do it from a distance for a time. Leslie was busy in seminary in Lancaster, PA, but she’s done now and today, at the Village, she got to show us what’s she’s got as a preacher & teacher. Which it turns out is a lot.

She spoke today at the outset about how ministry is not something you do just in church or for a church. She’s a social worker, working with folks with mental health issues. She reminded us all how we all are ministers. Whether our vocation is working construction, cooking, homemaker, home care provider, politician, etc. Whatever our day jobs are, we are ministers.

Also, just because we are Christians, doesn’t mean we are perfect or that our weeks will be perfect. Just because you have a bumper sticker that says “Honk if you love Jesus” or even if you’re a minister (Cheri), doesn’t mean the cops aren’t going to pull you over. Ask my dear wife, that’s not gonna stop you from getting pulled over if you speed, etc.

Just because we accept Jesus, doesn’t mean we’re not going to get depressed either. If pay attention in church, even at the Village, you hear about how we’re supposed to have joy. Our songs talk about “let the glory of the Lord rise among us” and “I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, down in my heart . . .”. While we’re in church, we feel like we should be happy, perfect people. But, leave church, and the depression of life sets in.

But God didn’t say God was going to stay up in heaven. In John 1: 1-14, that we read in worship today, God became one of us through Jesus. God became flesh. As the Message translation we use says it, with a little spin by Leslie, God moved into neighborhood.

Leslie told us the story today of Anabel & Chuck. They were professors at her seminary. An amazing couple who found each other later in life, having had past relationships. They were in the first year of their marriage to each other when they got the phone call. As a parent, I can attest, this the call we all dread. Chuck’s youngest son Mark had been killed in a car crash. There was no drugs or alcohol involved, no speeding, just a freak thing. Mark was a passenger and thrown out a window, and died.

These amazing people of faith, people who train minister to bring the word, now found themselves doubting the word. They began to question: WHY? HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN? HOW COULD GOD LET THIS HAPPEN? And they grieved.

Anabel felt numbness, but thought “Where is God?. She could not feel God’s presence, let alone God’s love. She went through the motions of her life. But, she could not find that fierce presence of God in her life, she felt before. She was just going through the motions of life and beginning to doubt whether there could be a God.

She shared this with a friend of hers, Walter Wink. Walter Wink is a famous theologian (and thinker and writer about God and faith). He told her that sometimes God is in the wound. She realized that she had to look into her wound, and she would find God with her. God is in our brokeness, our weakness. We are broken at birth. God is in there in the brokeness and pain of being born.

As I said, Leslie had a rough week as a social worker. She has what she called a “scary, painful, dangerous” week. She works with rough and dangerous folks, so she expects that. But this week was really scary. So, to deal with it, she had to go see “our” Baby Faith and Venetta and see that miracle we’ve all gotten to see with two of our newest members. The joy and affirmation of new life, of birth. God is there. God is with us in that wonderful moments of a new life.

But, how can God be there in the bad moments? How can God be there in the death of Mark? How can God be there in a 9-11? How can God be there in fear? In Anger? In Depression?

God is not an emotion. God is there even when God is not felt by us. GOD IS THERE. That is one of the toughest things about accepting the Christian faith. We all want to have a booming voice of God. We all want to feel a warming presence of love. But it’s not always there.

Leslie’s bad week, well one of those dangerous folks, you know the folks who scare the rest of us, those with criminal records, gang members, etc. Well, one of them threatened her. Work, well they didn’t take that seriously. Worse, in the midst of all that, she had to work alone and a double shift. And when she got home, no comforting life partner. Just her dog to give her comfort. But in the midst of that, she asked God to help her. She did feel that comforting presence.

God doesn’t promise to take away the bad things. People have this crazy idea that if they become Christians that the bad stuff goes away. God never promised that. The bills are still going to be there. The unemployment is still going to be there. The threats and fear are still going to be there. The depression is still going to be there. But God is there. And God promises that God will be bigger than all those things. God didn’t say once that this life would be perfect.

What God has always said is “I’m bigger than all that”. Not that I will take the bad stuff away, but that I will be there, no matter what. I’ll be by your side. I’ll lead you through this, just listen.

One out of four of us will suffer from depression periodically. One of out of seventeen of us will have to grapple with a long term, even lifetime mental illness issue like being bipolar. Leslie shared she is one of those seventeen. One out of five families will suffer with a loved one who is grappling with one of these issues. It’s hard to watch for those who don’t have the issues. But it’s also hard on those who do. They loved one with issues doesn’t want it to be hard. They don’t want to be a burden.

So, what can you do if you are one of the folks grappling with this on one side or the other? First, seek the help you need. There is lots of help out there. You need to find it. Not just metal health help, but help with your burdens. God gives us resources, we just need to open our eyes and ears and hearts to find it. Second, remember that God is bigger than everything. God is bigger than financial worries, neighbor issues, issues with your spouse, mental health issues, etc. Third, remember, Joy lives with Sorrow. God is there in both and God will be with you in both.

Leslie had us watch a wonderful scene from the movie “Beloved”. It is the movie of Tony Morrison’s Pulitzer Prize winning book on the lasting effects of slavery. In the scene we watched, we get to see Baby Suggs’ sermon. She is a former slave, physically and mentally broken, preaching to a group of folks. She tells them to let the children come and laugh. She has the men come and dance. She then tells everyone to use this to weep for those who have died. Those who have been hurt. But above all laugh and dance and live.

God is bigger than even all that. Even the oppression and hurt of a whole race, systematically hurt and killed for centuries. God is in your wounds. God will be there, just look. You just need to come and feel God’s healing grace, as the song that followed Leslie’s message said. Church is a place where you can come and be real. It is a place where you should be able to come and grieve and also to celebrate and laugh.

If you’re not a part of a community of faith like that; If you’re not attending church where that is true; consider joining us at the Village. This is truly a place where Joy lives with Sorrow. A place where we want you to come grieve when you need to, to be depressed when you need to, and to be filled with joy. Come be part of a family that is real with each other.