Balm
“Is there no balm in Gilead? / Is there no physician there? / Why, then, has the health of my poor people / not been attended to, restored?” — Jeremiah 8:22
Karen Armstrong is a former nun. But she is also a British scholar of comparative religion. Armstrong first rose to prominence in 1993 with her book A History of God, a work that made the New York Times best seller list. In her research on religion she places an emphasis on the Golden Rule: ‘Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.’
In 2008, $100,000 in funding was set up by a non-profit group to help develop and spread a document which has become known as the Charter for Compassion under Armstrong’s guidance. This charter is an expression of the universal truth found in the spirit of the Golden Rule. It is an effort to identify shared moral priorities across traditions. It is an effort to foster global understanding.
The Charter for Compassion was unveiled in 2009 and the signers of this document are quite diverse. They include Queen Noor of Jordan, the Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Deepak Chopra and Paul Simon (to name a few). You yourself, in fact, can find the Charter on line and add your name to it as a signer.
This is what the charter says (quote:) “The principle of compassion lies at the heart of all religious, ethical and spiritual traditions, calling us always to treat all others as we wish to be treated ourselves. Compassion impels us to work tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of our fellow creatures, to dethrone ourselves from the center of our world and put another there and to honor the inviolable sanctity of every single human being, treating everybody, without exception, with absolute justice, equity and respect.”
“It is also necessary in both public and private life to refrain consistently and empathically from inflicting pain. To act or speak violently out of spite, chauvinism, or self-interest, to impoverish, exploit or deny basic rights to anybody and to incite hatred by denigrating others— even our enemies— is a denial of our common humanity. We acknowledge that we have failed to live compassionately and that some have even increased the sum of human misery in the name of religion.”
“We therefore call upon all men and women: * to restore compassion to the center of morality and religion; * to return to the ancient principle that any interpretation of scripture that breeds violence, hatred or disdain is illegitimate; * to ensure that youth are given accurate and respectful information about other traditions, religions and cultures; * to encourage a positive appreciation of cultural and religious diversity; * to cultivate an informed empathy with the suffering of all human beings— even those regarded as enemies.”
“We urgently need to make compassion a clear, luminous and dynamic force in our polarized world. Rooted in a principled determination to transcend selfishness, compassion can break down political, dogmatic, ideological and religious boundaries. Born of our deep interdependence, compassion is essential to human relationships and to a fulfilled humanity. It is the path to enlightenment, and indispensable to the creation of a just economy and a peaceful global community.” [1] (Slight pause.)
I probably need to note there are some who would say this document is not Biblical, in that it does not reference the Bible and its contents directly. That’s actually true. But it is equally accurate to say the document contains nothing which fails to affirm— affirm— Biblical principles. (Slight pause.)
And these words are from the Scroll of the Prophet Jeremiah: “Is there no balm in Gilead? / Is there no physician there? / Why, then, has the health of my poor people / not been attended to, restored?” (Slight pause.)
Intercessory prayer is a difficult task for many people. Sometimes we simply do not know what to ask for and feel helpless in presenting to God a troubled friend or family member whose need baffles us. At other times we become fearful of asking for too much, lest our very prayers begin to make sharp demands on us to supply for the needs of those for whom we pray— like food to the hungry and companionship to the lonely. (If you, yourself, aren’t going to do something about it, why are you praying about it?) [Slight pause.]
In this text, the prophet mourns because the people have brought about their own isolation from Yahweh and the initiatives of Yahweh. And Yahweh, in fact, longs to save the people.
The lament of the prophet is clear (quote:) “Hark! Hear the cry of my people / who are in distress; / hear that cry far and wide / from a distant land: / ‘Is Yahweh not in Zion? / Is its ruler not in her, / not there anymore?’ For the hurt of my poor people I am hurt, / I mourn, and dismay has taken hold of me.”
This is an intercessory prayer, nothing more, nothing less. And what does prayer do, what is prayer about?
Prayer is a dialogue, a conversation with God which names the issue and seeks the will of God, nothing more, nothing less. The prophet names the issue, the situation— and pleads for mercy.
But it is also clear that Yahweh, God, is in anguish. So, it is not just Jeremiah’s joy that is gone but the joy of Yahweh as well.
Why? How? The people provoke Yahweh with (quote): “their graven images, / with their carved images / with their foreign gods.” In its own way this is also a lament.
And, indeed, it is when the prayer of the prophet becomes a true dialogue with God that this prayer becomes transformative for us. Prayer, as I said, is, by definition, dialogue with God. And, indeed, in that response God also names the issue, the situation. And the issue seems to be that the people are not listening to the Voice of God.
After all, if one does not listen to the Voice of God, how can there be any hope for dialogue? (Slight pause.) Needles to say, the eternal question remains: what does the Voice of God say? To where is the Voice of God calling us? (Slight pause.)
I am quite sure there are some who would construe this passage to mean God is a vengeful God, if only in the response offered by God. Some might even say that a vengeful, angry God is good. Some people like to dwell on the thought that God might be merciless.
I am not sure why that is. It is a sentiment which seems to insist the reactions God would have are human reactions— reactions of violence. This, therefore, simply turning God into another human. It also seems to be an attempt to domesticate God— this talk of a violent God— to domesticate God, to transform God, to insist God is petty and petulant. (Slight pause.) Now, if this is really a dialogue between the prophet and God where does it come down, what is the sentiment being expressed in the prayer?
(Slight pause.) The words of this passage clearly ask a specific question (quote): “Is there no balm in Gilead?” Now, you’ve probably noticed that the well known hymn, the anthem offered by the choir, There Is a Balm in Gilead, turns that question around. The hymn states the presence of a balm in the positive.
In short, the hymn insists the physician— in this case, God— is there for us. The compassion of God, a compassion which is an overriding theme in Scripture, is a theme central to Scripture and central to our relationship with God is there says the hymn. In fact, later, in the Ninth Chapter of Jeremiah, words are recorded in the Voice of God which make the commitment of God to a relationship of covenant clear.
And what is a relationship of covenant? A relationship of covenant is a commitment to mutual growth. Mutual growth is impossible without... dialogue. If one side refuses to dialogue with God, refuses to grow, refuses to learn, the covenant is abandoned. God is abandoned.
All of which is to say, compassion is a central aspect of covenant. Compassion needs to be a central aspect of our relationship with one another. Compassion is a central aspect of the relationship of God with us. And what is compassion? Compassion is the balm in Gilead. Amen.
09/18/2010
United Church of Christ, First Congregational, Norwich, NY
ENDPIECE: It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before the Benediction. This, then, is an précis of what the pastor said before the blessing: “Yahweh is provoked with (quote): ‘their graven images, / with their carved images / with their foreign gods.’ I think this is clear: you, me, we all have foreign gods of some kind lurking somewhere in our subconscious. For some, that foreign god is tribalism. Tribalism says anyone not like us needs to be a target for violence. But that is not the compassion God seeks, is it?”
[1] http://charterforcompassion.org
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