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Sermon Dec. 4, 2005 |
“Turn the Beat
Around”
Sermon Preached
by the Rev. Lynn Czarniecki
St. Stephen’s
Church,
Texts: Isa.
40:1-11 and Mk. 1:1-8
About twelve years ago there was a fifteen year old girl named Lesa who had AIDS. She found herself in a circumstance that required her to write a poem for me and my colleagues who were caring for her in the hospital. This is Lesa’s poem. It is entitled My Unbearable Pain.
My Unbearable Pain is terrible
It is like safety pins
Being stuck in your neck
It’s like a piece of broken glass
that you stepped on with your bare feet.
My Unbearable Pain feel really bad
It itches, hurts, and burns so
bad it’s hard to ignore.
It hurts so bad you cry and cry and cry
My Unbearable Pain make you feel
like you’re going to Die….
So, I close this poem with a
line from my best friend’s favorite song.
Turn the Beat Around
Lesa wrote this poem because she was suffering considerable pain following a surgical procedure and we, her caregivers, were pretty much ignoring what she had to say. In truth we minimalized her pain and even found her complaining a little humorous. We did not take her seriously. Like so many problems in this life, we turned away and did not see. So, she became a prophet of sorts and let us know, in the only way she could, that we had to “turn the beat around.”
In today’s Hebrew scripture and in the gospel we encounter the words of two of God’s prophets: Isaiah and John the Baptist. Both prophets faced similar problems in their time: oppression of the poor, greed and exploitation by the powerful and rich, callousness, numbness and the substitution of rituals for compassion and caring. Both prophets were chosen by God to help their people “turn the beat around.”
Lesa’s words were finally heard by her caregivers. Our hearts and minds were changed in response to her poem because, as hard as it was to do, we listened and acknowledged that there was a problem. Not only did we learn to treat her pain, but we became aware of the pain and suffering of the other children in our program. We began to take care of their suffering also. But it did not stop there. We gave lectures and conferences to others who cared for children with AIDS, first in this country and finally all around the world. Lesa’s courage and willingness to take a risk (oh yes, it was risky to challenge the doctors and nurses who cared for her) made life better for thousands of children. In her own way she was a prophet.
The prophets of the bible each tried
to get the people to repent; to turn the direction of their lives back towards
the ways of God. Abraham Heschel writes that the
purpose of the prophets was to “conquer callousness and change the inner man as
well as to revolutionize history.” He goes on to say that “prophecy is a moment
of unshrouding, an opening of the eyes, a lifting of the curtain.” In the prophet’s words God opens
a door and reveals God’s self to us. God never gave up and never stopped loving
his people, and through Isaiah, God promised the people comfort and the care of
a shepherd. Ultimately God chose John to proclaim the greatest promise of all:
the coming of the messiah who would baptize them with the Holy Spirit. During
Christ’s ministry here on earth, we were shown how we might turn our lives
around and experience the
We face many challenges in our own lives. Can we be prophets? Can we turn the beat around? Can we listen and hear and acknowledge what needs changing in our own lives and the life of our community and our nation? What road will we take? Recently I heard a mother speak about the death of her little son. She said: “I realized that I had a choice to make about what road I would take after my son died. The first road was the easy road: the road of anger, bitterness, self-pity and asking, why me? The second road was the hard one: the one of gratitude and thanksgiving for the time we had with him; for the joy he brought us; for the help we received from so many people. I chose the second road, the hard one. And I grew and became a stronger person from having done that.”
Like Lesa, like the biblical prophets, like this Mom, we can choose the road we will take. We can choose to be prophets in our own time by hearing God’s word, seeing the needs of God’s people and taking action. We can do something simple like buy presents for our Angel Tree families and maybe, for just a few minutes while we do that, we can ask ourselves why is there a need for Angel Trees in the first place and why are there more families in need each year?
Being a prophet will involve inner turmoil, pain, and even risk. To be a prophet is to choose the hard road. Yet, like Lesa and this grieving mother, there is much to be gained. We need not be afraid. Throughout history God has shown us that God will remain with us when we travel the hard road; when we try to turn things around. Along the way we will be strengthened and protected by the Holy Spirit.
As we once again await the celebration of God’s entry into our world, let us take heart from a little girl who was in pain, and a grieving mother’s courage, and let us, with God’s help, find ways to “turn the beat around.”