"The Balm in Gilead"

 

"You who are my comforter in sorrow, my heart is faint within me. Listen to the cry of my people from a land far away. 'Is the LORD not in Zion? Is her king no longer there? ...is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there?' "

 

            We continue to listen to the cry of Jeremiah. His words of warning have fallen on deaf ears, on unbelieving hearts, on souls thick with pride. But he continues, chapter after chapter. The prophecies of judgment build, until they finally begin to reach their mark, piercing the heart of the nation. The people, now awakening to their true spiritual state before the Lord, cry out in fear: "Is the Lord not in Zion? Is there no balm in Gilead?"

            The first step in the process of repentance is believing the truth of your condition. Hope actually begins in hopelessness. As long as you feel fine taking a sinful, rebellious path in life, there is no chance of returning to the Lord. But when you come to understand the truth about yourself, then you cry out in fear that God has left you. That is when you begin to see the light, when you begin to find God and his salvation. The layers of denial need to fall away before you can turn and be saved. The sense of personal invincibility needs to be eroded before you come in humility before God. Only then do you begin to think: "Maybe I have wandered far from God. Maybe my rebellion has placed me in grave danger." Complacency then yields to fear, the conviction of being lost. This may even lead to the thought that God may have given up on me.

            In Luke, Jesus told the story of the Lost Son. This young man had really been lost for some time, but he did not know it. He boldly asked his father for his inheritance, he confidently walked into the far country, expecting a life of riches and excitement. He gave himself with full assurance to a life of wild living, expecting it to reward him greatly. He was lost and did not know it. But one day he woke up and realized just how lost he was and how he needed to find a new life. He was at that point hopeless, for he decided to go home and say to his father, "I am no longer worthy to be called your son." It was at that point that he found life, that he found the love of his father, that he found God, and that he was invited to a party.

            So Jeremiah speaks yet more words of judgment to people now willing to listen. It is past time for warning. The nation is in the midst of defeat. They are now waking up, feeling hopeless and accepting the reality of their situation, which will lead them to repentance and salvation.

            The question that stands out most in this passage for us is this: "Is there no balm in Gilead?" Gilead was on the east side of the Jordan River, and was famous for its healing balms or oils taken from balsam trees. In Genesis 37 Joseph's brothers threw him in a cistern and were plotting what to do next when a caravan of Ishmaelites came by from Gilead. It says that "their camels were loaded with spices, balm and myrrh, and they were on their way to Egypt."

            "Is there no balm in Gilead?" In our time and culture the answer to that question has come most powerfully in the spirituals sung by slaves in America. These who knew deep oppression, violence and injustice somehow found this verse and turned its lament into proclamation.

            "There is a balm in Gilead, to make the wounded whole.

            There is a balm in Gilead, to heal the sin-sick soul."

            God did not leave Jerusalem. God did not forsake his people. But more than that, the healing power of God, the saving presence of God, remains in Gilead, and in the Gileads of our lives. God's saving power was found in the slave quarters of Southern plantations. God's saving power has been found in the battlefields and prison camps of war. God's saving power has been found on the pig farms of far countries wherever sinners wake up and seek his face. The lost son of Jesus story had a sin-sick soul. He had it when he asked for his share of the estates. His wild living was just the sickness grasping for healing. He did not need healing so much from his wild living as he needed healing from his broken relationship with his father and brother. He was far from God.

Is there balm in Gilead to heal a sin sick soul? Yes, and even more than that. The son was not just sick, he was dead in sin. He found healing and new life in his Father's embrace. The Father's love that seeks and heals the lost and the sin–sick is located in Jesus. The balm of Gilead is found at the cross.

         We have a friend who serves in a chaplaincy ministry in a county jail in Washington. The ministry has experienced some miraculous healings of inmates, some clear words of prophecy spoken, and many answers to prayer. One day Amy was reading in the Gospels where Jesus talks about the "greater things" that that the disciples will see. She wondered just what those greater things might be.

          As she prayed, she heard a response from the Lord. "The greater things are what happen in human hearts – the lasting things. All the gifts pass away. One day there will be no need for healing, no need for deliverance, and no need for prophecy. All the gifts that help you defeat the enemy will pass away. But the greater thing is when one is brought into intimacy with me, when the veil is removed, when one comes into my presence.

         "There was none born among women greater than John the Baptist, but did you notice he did no miracles? Yet he was a 'door opener.' He opened the door for others, that they might come in and commune with me. He prepared the way for my presence – for his hearers to know me, to receive me, to love me and be loved by me. He gladly let his disciples follow me instead of him. The greater thing is what happens when one goes through the door and to me. The moment of our communion is the greater thing, for it is eternal and it is the kingdom."

            Yes, there is a balm in Gilead. Here is one who heals and saves and is present with us. It is Jesus, the Savior. Today we celebrate the Lord's Supper, and we respond to his invitation to draw close in communion, to receive his love and forgiveness, to be renewed in his grace and mercy. Like the Lost Son in the Fathers embrace, we come to the table.

            We also invite you to come forward for prayer for healing. You may be asking for physical healing from the Lord. You may come asking the Lord to heal a different type of wound. Perhaps there is a relationship that needs to be reconciled. Maybe you feel anxiety and need God's peace to heal your heart. Maybe you are feeling today the hopelessness of a sin-sick soul, and you would like to turn back to God and know once again his love and power in your life. Whatever your need may be, you are welcome to come forward while the bread and cup are passed so that we might pray for you.

            Amen.