"I Do Choose" - July 14
Todays Readings - AM Psalm 25; 1 Samuel 18:5-16,27b-30; Acts 11:19-30; Mark 1:29-45
Once a month I find myself in the waiting room of the Infusion Clinic at UAB’s Kirklin Clinic. It’s a busy place, with people from every walk of life and every state of healing. People come from across town or as far as other states. They come with friends or family, and some come alone.
It’s virtually impossible not to overhear stories as patients share with the stranger on their right or left. You can hear in their voices the need to feel heard, the need to connect with someone who understands what they’re feeling, their doubts, their fears. Occasionally there will be a wave of recognition warm someone’s face as they realize they recognize someone they see each month in that same place. Almost everyone bears a palpable state of vulnerability. Just a smile can convey “I know, I’m scared too.” Strangers offer words of encouragement and comfort and even pray for one another. Through the willingness to be vulnerable hearts are opened to one another and in those moments, Christ's presence is tangible.
In today’s reading from Mark, the leper approaches Jesus and says, “‘If you choose, you can make me clean.’ I imagine anyone in that waiting room would jump at the chance, to be that person who kneels at Jesus’s feet and receives the gift of healing. Mark tells us Jesus was moved to pity and chose to heal. Jesus’ simple three words, “I do choose.” change the course of this man’s life.
Healing can come in many different forms. It’s not always in the form of remission from a disease or whatever else we think we need. Our spirits can be healed by someone who simply listens to our story. Aching hearts can be healed by a hug or a smile from a stranger. Our fears can be lessened by being reminded that Christ walks each step with us.
If we choose, we can be the presence of Christ. We can listen so that others feel heard in a way that’s compassionate and caring. We can share a smile or a word of encouragement. We can pray with strangers, and we can hold that light of hope for others that Christ always holds for us. Christ’s powerful words, “I do choose,” can be our very own spirit-filled words.
In the shared glimpses of empathy, in the presence of those who silently cry and in the laughter that occasionally erupts, there are those rare moments when the bell rings, and we all rejoice together, silently saying, “Let us go forth into the world, rejoicing in the healing, compassionate, power of the Spirit. Alleluia, Alleluia.”
Faithfully,
Sally+