God is Crying Out
Jeremiah 8:18-9:1
Pastor Deb in Bangor

As I read the words from Jeremiah and Ist Timothy this week, I was amazed.
Amazed because of how well they fit our situation.  Amazed because I did not
searching for these passages, but they are from the assigned lectionary, the
three year cycle of readings that I chose to usually preach from.  Amazed at
how God works.

We struggle this week to get back to normal- we celebrate birthdays and
anniversaries, go to work and school.  We even find ourselves smiling or
laughing at times.

Yet things are not normal.  Some of us wait for loved ones to be called up
into the reserves. Fears abound- fears of flying, fears of war, fears of
losing jobs and income, fears about where we go next.  We cry out at times,
silently, or with tears, or with anger or sometimes with hate.  We attempt
to find some way to make it seem normal again.

There are also voices crying in  the reading from Jeremiah. We hear the
voices of the people crying out "Is the Lord not in Zion? Is her King not in
her?"  Voices crying out in lament for deliverance in our Responsive Psalm.

We are often told we need to do something when we
feel like lamenting- keep a stiff upper lip, get back to normal. When we
grieve or hurt we often hear that we must pull ourselves up, put that grief
away, don't let the tears show, don't let the pain come up at unexpected
times.  If it does- pull yourself together and put on a brave face. Or if we
see someone else grieving,  we  often have the urge to fix it-  to make them
happy, or stop the source of their grief.

Yet  for these past two weeks, we found that going forward, getting on, has
been difficult.  All around us, we are surrounded- of reminders of the
tragedy and horror of the terrorist attacks, of others who are grieving and
struggling to go on, of people fearful of what it next?  Will my loved one
be called to war?  Will I lose my source of income because my retirement is
tied up in the stock market that is spiraling downward?  Will I be safe?
Along with these cries are the cries of those hurting because of situations
unrelated to the terrorist attacks.  The people in France who are mourning
the lost of  their loved ones from a manufacturing plant accident.  Those in
Macodenia who have been living under the fear of civil war.  Those in our
own country, our own communities, whose loved ones have died totally
unrelated to the attack,  or who are suffering from diseases; or have been
given the news that the battle is over and it is only a matter of time.
Cries of those who have lost their jobs due to plant clo

We hear all these in the words from Jeremiah.  The cries of a people who
have lived a life that is now disappearing-  in this case directly related
to the invasions by Assyria and Babylon.  But  we hear also the cries of
people throughout thousand of years- cries from personal to the community to
the global.  Where is God in this?  Why hasn't God done something?  We hear
the lament, the grief of the prophet himself, as he looks around and sees
his people suffering.

God is also crying out.  God has also lost all joy and God's heart is sick.
The prophet- or is it God? - asks the rhetorical question- Is there not a
balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? The answer to this question was
obvious to Jeremiah's audience, and would have been yes.  Gilead was a
center that produced healing balm and as a result, had many physicians
practicing there.  It was a health center of its day.   It would be like
asking is there no physical at Eastern Maine Hospital, no bandages there?
The obvious answer would be yes.

There is a balm in Gilead - a balm that when applied will heal. - and that
balm is God.  God has not abandoned the people.  God can  and will heal the
people of this nation, of the world.  God can and will heal the hearts and
spirits that are broken- broken by terrorist attacks, by the fear of the
future that they bring.  Hearts and spirits that have been wounded or broken
You know the stubbornness of some people when they get sick or injured.  No
matter how much the leg hurts, or the ankle that they twisted swells up,
they just won't go to the doctor.  I did this once with a neck muscle that I
pulled.  I decided I could tough it out- keep on working my job in the
Registry of Deeds,  lifting 15 pound books on and off shelves all day,
hiking my briefcase up and down stairs and on subways.  I didn't need to see
a doctor- just take a couple Motrin to dull the pain, and I'd be fine.
Until i reached for one book and nearly collapsed in agony.  Instead of a
simple muscle pull, that could have been healed with s

We cannot fix the effects of the terrorist attacks on our own. We can not
fix our grief, our pain, our hurt on our own. We will not pull ourselves up
by our bootstraps or get back to normal and put this all behind us.  This
applies not only to the attacks, but to all our lives.  This was true before
September 11th, and will be true long after September 11th becomes merely a
history lesson to future generations.   It was an illusion that we are safe
by our own power, that we can make things right through only human might and
intelligence.  It was, still is an illusion that we can control what
happens.

There is a Balm in Gilead, and Lord is still in Zion. God has answered our
cries.  Our health has been restored through the saving act of Christ, who
has saved all- not just those of us gathered in churches or called
Christian.  All have been freed through Christ's death and resurrection,
into true freedom.  True freedom for the victims of the attacks, and for the
rescue workers who still work on in New York.  True freedom  for the world
leaders who now try to figure out what to do next and even for those who
planned and carried out the attacks. Not the false freedom to do want we
want or even the false freedom from pain.  True freedom to be fully alive to
God and to each other.  True freedom to live as created-in the image of God-
if only we would turn form the false belief in our own capabilities, our own
strength and power to fix what ever is wrong.

What we are called to do now and whenever we are broken or hurt,  is to ask
God for that healing.  Ask through prayers of intercession and petitions and
even thanksgiving. Accept God's love, mercy and justice. We will find that
there is still a balm in Gilead that brings real hope.    We don't have to
deny or stuff our pain, for we will have hope that our pain will be healed
by God in time. We will have hope in the saving power of God through Christ.
And as we go forth, and encounter others in need of healing, whether it be
from the attacks of September 11th,  from the pain that living in a world
that has wandered from God's intentions can bring, or even from
self-inflicted wounds, we can offer something.  We can offer that balm that
we have already been given and have accepted,.  We can offer Christ.  We can
offer Christ through words of comfort, empathy and hope.  We can offer
Christ through tears and hugs, casseroles and rides, through cries out
against all acts of injustice.

   The events and feelings from September 11th will eventually fade- but God
will not.  That is our hope and our strength in all times.