"United in One Body"    Deb Schmidt, Seminary Intern

James 5:13-20

I spent this past summer working as a chaplain in a hospital in a nearby city.  This was my seminary internship in clinical pastoral education.   Five other seminary students and I spent our days and some long nights providing pastoral care to patients and their families.  When making a call on a patient, we often had no idea why that person was in the hospital or what his or her need might be.  But one thing we did know for certain:  that each patient was there because of something that they were unable to handle at home themselves.  Our patients received around-the-clock expert care from skilled doctors, nurses and other staff.  As a student chaplain, I was assigned to the surgical, telemetry and neo-natal intensive care units.  My patients were my first priority.  Within the first day of their stay, I was to visit every new patient.  Many times patients or their families requested a chaplain for prayer and support for a particular situation.  It was a privilege to be with them and to pray with them as they faced challenges and sadness and grief.  I realized what an interdependent, supportive and caring community the hospital was for my patients.

Like the hospital, the church is a particular kind of community where you and I are called to help, care for and support each other in the name of Christ.  In our reading, James reminds us to call on God and on each other whenever anything separates us from the community.  James seems to be saying that his people have become overwhelmed by their sickness and suffering. Maybe they have forgotten to call on God and each other in the midst of what is happening.  In essence, James urges us to lift up our problems, our joys, our sickness, to lift up anything that is on our hearts – to lift them up – to God and to each other.  And whomever we call on – an individual, our small group that we connect with here at the church, or the whole community – we will be covered in prayer… in the name of the Lord.  So what might that look like in practice for us today?

On the one hand, we are naturally built to reach out for help.  Consider how willingly a baby signals her need for food or comfort.   And children certainly communicate to us when there is something they need.  We have an instinct to stay connected with each other as adults.  Just think about how fascinated we are with devices like cell phones that allow us to call anyone on our contacts list.  Some of them can access the internet or find out exactly where we want to go with a GPS system. A laptop with wireless capability allows us to connect with our families and our work responsibilities from anywhere in the world.  

But, on the other hand, even though we may truly desire to connect with our community, there may be times when we’re hurting or in so much pain that we withdraw from those around us; those who could help us the most.  We may become separated from the community because of our own illness or because someone we love is ill or suffering.  This separation might happen because we’re so used to being successful in all the other areas of our lives that we think we should be able to handle “whatever this latest thing is” all on our own.  Or perhaps we’ve moved outside the loving circle of our community because something is terribly wrong in our lives.  Afraid to have others know our suffering, our weakness or our pain,… we may end up shutting others out.

One example might be seen in the case of one family member who is homebound because of illness or disability and another family member, often the spouse, who is the fulltime caregiver.  We may have experienced this in our own families or families we know.  Even when there are other family members to help carry some of the load, often the fulltime caregiver has a special need for spiritual care and to relate to someone else going through a similar experience.  When my parents were in their early 50’s, my mother was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease.  Even though it meant taking early retirement, my dad was very willing to become her caregiver.  My brother and I and our young children helped out, but dad was devoted to giving her a quality of life that she wouldn’t have had any other way.  As she became less and less able to do things for herself, they had the loving support of family and friends, and visits and prayers from their church family.  But one of the most comforting and helpful things for my dad was a friendship that developed when he reached out and shared his struggle with another man whose wife also had Lou Gehrig’s disease.  I’m grateful for the many ways God provided for them during this difficult time in their lives.

Yet another way that we become isolated from the community is by our thinking that we have to be self-sufficient.  We just assume that we should be able to do everything and be everything that anyone asks of us, don’t we?  Author Janet Quinn diagnosed this in herself in a short essay in her book I Am a Woman Finding My Voice.  She writes, “I often close [others] out in my efforts to be self-sufficient, in my fear of appearing needy or dependent, or to avoid leaving myself open to the pain of being let down.”[1]  Janet was forced to accept the love and support of her community when she broke her ankle.  For four weeks, this self-sufficient woman reluctantly accepted rides to the doctor and to church, help with her puppy and assistance with household chores.  As she grew to accept the help of others, she also grew in her understanding of herself.  She writes, “In my heart of hearts, I need.  I need to be part of a larger whole.  I need human touch and voice and connection.  I need other people to share the journey with, in all its pain and wonder and mystery.”[2]  We don’t have to carry our burdens alone.  God has given us each other to be with and for each other.

And finally, even though we are created to be in community and to pray for each other, sometimes whatever troubles us is too painful or too shameful and that makes it too hard to share.  But if we can become willing to call on each other – to reach out for help – amazing things can happen.  Consider the story of Janet who had gotten herself into a lot of trouble and was facing an unjust lawsuit.  Summoning her courage, she shared her pain with her fellowship group.  Although embarrassed and reluctant, she wrote to them: “Pray for me! I’m going under!”  Telling this story in Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World, author Joanna Weaver relates that even though Janet was unable to change her circumstances, “in the middle of it all, God was calling her...” As a result of calling on her group to pray for her, Janet began to pray for others, getting up an hour early every morning to go “prayer walking.” She walked around her neighborhood, “praying for people and situations as they came to mind.”  Her prayers for others began to change her.  She was even surprised to catch herself singing!  Janet seems to have learned the lessons that James taught his church about prayer and singing and reaching out.  Even though her original circumstances didn’t change, Janet was transformed.[3]

As your seminary intern, I’ve had many opportunities to witness how this church lives out James’ paradigm of the Christian community.  It was gratifying just this past week to witness the care and concern expressed for each other in prayer as they gathered for practice.  During our weekly meetings, the staff prays for this congregation and for specific concerns that we know about, and cards are sent.  The Deacons cover this community with their prayers as they care for those who are not able to be in worship.  And just this month the Session practiced the spiritual discipline of accountability together.  I would encourage you to become aware of the many ways this community is strengthened by prayer and service to one another in the name of Christ.

The beautiful prayer[4] that was sung by the choir this morning gives us the inspiration and the words to carry on this ministry of prayer and intercession.   Our prayers with and for each other help to bind together the community of Christ which is his body, in unity with God the Creator, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  When we pray, whether it is with the words of our mouths or the meditations of our hearts, our prayers express both the deepest despair of our suffering and, at the same time, our complete trust in God.  For we know that God hears our prayers even before we utter them, and that the Holy Spirit prays for us when we do not know how to pray. 

Therefore, friends, let us pray and sing and call on each other for prayer in the name of Christ.  Amen.