Health - A State of Being

In honor of St. Luke the Physician, whose feast day is October 18th, we will be having a Healing Service for our Sunday Worship this Sunday, October 20th.  The service includes the opportunity for the congregation members to come forward for laying on of hands and prayers.  It is an ancient tradition found in the Book of James (5:14) to gather the community together with the special intention of seeking health.
What is health?  In our modern context, it is usually considered something we possess, such has having good health.  It is also something we pursue as we expend lots of effort (and money) to "get healthy." It is something we measure and quantify through scales and blood tests, charts and ranges, but in someways, all those numbers distance us from the what true health is?
I offer to you a different way of thinking about health - as a state of being of not only yourself but all of creation.  To be "healthy" is to be one with the Creator, the one who made this incredible system in which we live.  That system gets thrown off balance when we, the created, are left to our own devices because we don't really understand how the balance was made. 
The Good News is that we don't have to understand all of it in order to be an active, beneficial participant in creation. We have the testimony of Jesus Christ, who came to earth to preach, teach and HEAL.  God's healing presence is bringing creation back into its right order and balance, to a place where there is no sorrow or pain - only life everlasting (Revelation 21:4).
How does thinking about health as a state of being change our approach to health? First of all, I hope it will cease a need to "chase" after good health.  Being healthy starts inside each of us, not on a scale or in test results.  We can start by breathing! A deep breath calms our hearts and quiets our minds (as well as been shown to decrease blood pressure).  It also reconnects us to God's Spirit, the Breath of God that moved over creation at the very beginning.  Breathing literally helps us be who we are meant to be!
From there, we have the opportunity to look at the balance of our life - how and what we eat, our sleep patterns, and our awake patterns (physical activity, work, play, etc.).  Is something out of balance there?  By not eating what God intended (processed food, lots of salt and sugar), we are throwing our bodies, God's incarnate temple, out of balance.  And what we eat effects everything we do!  Not sleeping well?  No energy to work or play?  Could be you are not getting the right nutrients to feed your system.  
Stress is actually a necessary part of our lives, or we would do nothing. Yet we all know that too much stress or unhelpful stress is damaging to our bodies, minds, souls and spirit.  Consider the stressors in your life.  What is motivational and what is damaging?  Where can God's presence affect positive change (i.e. health) in a situation?  It could be there is nothing you can do, which means you need to "lay that burden down." Worrying about something you can change is unhealthy stress.  Avoiding something you can change is equally unhealthy.  These are the situations that can be helped by taking to a priest, if the problem is spiritual, or a therapist, if the problem is psychological. I am ALWAYS available to talk! I am never that busy (or if I am, I WILL call you back as soon as I can). 
As we prepare to gather for our community worship on Sunday, I invite you to take 5 minutes to think about your state of well-being.  Where is your health out of balance?  Where can you ask for God's healing presence to come into your life and make you whole?  Then come forward on Sunday for prayers and we will lift our desires to God - who already knows what we need, but likes to know we know it as well!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Give God the Glory

Reflections on Chapters 12-14 of the Book of the Acts of the Apostles Years ago, I had a grandparent chargingly ask me if it was OK for her to be proud of her granddaughter, because she had been taught, “Pride goeth before the fall.”   I assured her that being proud of her grandchild was not a sin when the feeling was offered in thanksgiving of the accomplishment and not boosting up one’s own ego. “Look at what I have done,” has been the down fall of many people because they neglect or forget those that helped them achieve their goals. The Book of Acts shares story after story of the importance of acknowledging that all power and might comes from God, to whom we should offer our thanks and praise.   When our egos take over and we congratulate only ourselves for what we have done, we become idolatrous. Chapter 12 records an terrible story of King Herod’s response to the apostles.   He outright kills James and then arrests Peter, who is guarded by over 30 men. Yet, despite
Read more

A Christmas Poem

‘Twas a week before Christmas and all through the land The Church reminded us that the Savior’s birth was at hand. The season is not about the perfection of glitter But about a loving God who would not leave us bitter. And so God sent us the Son wrapped up like a present In the garb of our mortality, the human flesh of a peasant. The cookies may not be made, the decorations may not be hung, The cards may not be sent, the lights may not be strung. Yet let us all make the true preparations for the coming of our Savior And open our hearts and lives to the Lord’s loving favor. No more precious gift has ever been received. It is up to us to remind the world what we truly believe. Not in jolly old elves, talking snowmen or reindeer in flight But in God, who loves us with all of God's might. So stop for a moment and take a deep breath, As we await the Christ, the true conqueror of death. Let go of the need to fulfill a secular call to perfection
Read more

A Sloppy Track

Reflections on Acts of the Apostles Chapters 15-17 This past Saturday was the 144 th running of the Kentucky Derby.   As with all outdoor events, it is at the mercy of Mother Nature, and sometimes she doesn’t seem to care that the humans prefer sunny, dry weather.   However, a certain horse named Justified was the odds-on favorite to win if it was a sloppy track.   And indeed it was.   Rain poured down for most of the day and it didn’t stop by the time the big race was scheduled to start.   The track was a sloppy as I have ever seen a horse race track be.   Justified loved it – and won. It seems counter-intuitive to me that such adverse conditions could led to victory.   What I would consider ideal conditions (sunny, warm but not hot, dry) was the complete opposite of what made Justified thrive.   The reality is that “ideal” conditions are rare – there is always something that is a bit sloppy or not exactly to our liking.   What is important is how we choose to act in those
Read more