Healing the mind Week 5: Tuesday Reading Mark 5.1-4 They came to the other side of the lake, to the country of the Gerasenes. And when he had stepped out of the boat, immediately a man out of the tombs with an unclean spirit met him. He lived among the tombs; and no one could restrain him any more, even with a chain; for he had often been restrained with shackles and chains, but the chains he wrenched apart, and the shackles he broke in pieces; and no one had the strength to subdue him. Reflection We might well prefer to interpret the man “with an unclean spirit” as being mentally and emotionally ill, rather than possessed. Today’s reading describes someone “out of control” who has to be locked away from the community. He is a danger to himself and to others. Curiously, Jesus is the only one who treats the man as a human being. He speaks to him. Addresses him. And, as we will see later this week, asks his name. Seeing another as a human being is important, especially when considering the treatment of those deemed mentally and emotionally unwell. In the UK, the scandalous fact is that individuals from UKME backgrounds are five times more likely to be detained under the Mental Health Act than white people. Watch Notice how mental health is understood and treated in our world. ...and pray for deeper compassion towards those who suffer mentally and emotionally. Copyright © The Archbishops’ Council 2024.
Week 5: Healing We turn to the theme of healing which features strongly in Black Spiritual traditions. Healing is complex and multi-faceted – affecting mind and body, the physical and the spiritual, the individual and the community. This week we will focus on an important sequence of events from Mark’s Gospel to help us explore this deep truth. Prayer for the Week O Holy One, you are the one who makes us whole again. We present to you our bodies, our minds, our spirits, our cultures and our communities. Heal us and send us out to tell others all that you have done for us. Amen. Healing the spirit Week 5: Monday Reading Mark 4.35-5.2 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side.’ And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. A great gale arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’ He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?' And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?’ They came to the other side of the lake, to the country of the Gerasenes. And when he had stepped out of the boat, immediately a man out of the tombs with an unclean spirit met him. Reflection We will be focussing for most of this week on the story of Jesus’ encounters in the country of the Gerasenes. It’s a story that has many layers of meaning. On the face of it, though, it is an account of Jesus’ healing a man “with an unclean spirit”. The Bible consistently points to the reality of a spiritual world beyond human understanding that affects the material. In today’s passage the disciples witness Jesus’ power over the physical world: “even the wind and the sea obey him.” Jesus’ next miracle – the exorcism of the man’s demons – will show he is also Lord of the spiritual realm. As we have seen, Black Spirituality emphasises the oneness of all things – the physical and the spiritual, the individual and the community. Jesus is able to heal the man’s spirit – but the healing he offers goes far deeper and wider. Watch What comes to mind when you think of the spiritual realm? Where do these images come from? ...and pray for deeper attention to God's divine power, holiness, healing and love. Copyright © The Archbishops’ Council 2024.
Jesus in the gardenWeek 4: Weekend Reading Matthew 26.36-46 Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, ‘Sit here while I go over there and pray.’ He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and agitated. Then he said to them, ‘I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and stay awake with me.’ And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want.’ Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, ‘So, could you not stay awake with me one hour? Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.’ Again he went away for the second time and prayed, ‘My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.’ Again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. So leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words. Then he came to the disciples and said to them, ‘Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand.’ Reflection Like those of the prophets who have come before him, Jesus’ journey involves deep and quiet pain as much as it involves feats of power and miracles. We return today to the scene of Jesus in the quiet of the Garden of Gethsemane. He needs support, but his friends are asleep. He is in deep distress, his soul being “deeply grieved, even to death”. This time of quiet is not quiet at all. It is the place of agony for Jesus, and we see his most vulnerable humanity on display. Black Spirituality speaks powerfully of the aloneness and grief that attends the suffering soul. Places that have seen unspeakable suffering – former slave plantations, genocide camps – emit a deep quiet, because words cannot express the terrible histories they hold. But even in such places, though quiet, God is never absent. Watch Reflect on how whole communities dwell in paid in our world. ...and pray for deeper empathy and compassion within our churches. Copyright © The Archbishops’ Council 2024.
Jeremiah in a cistern Week 4: Friday Reading Jeremiah 38.1-13 Now Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jucal son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malchiah heard the words that Jeremiah was saying to all the people, Thus says the Lord, Those who stay in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence; but those who go out to the Chaldeans shall live; they shall have their lives as a prize of war, and live. Thus says the Lord, This city shall surely be handed over to the army of the king of Babylon and be taken. Then the officials said to the king, ‘This man ought to be put to death, because he is discouraging the soldiers who are left in this city, and all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man is not seeking the welfare of this people, but their harm.’ King Zedekiah said, ‘Here he is; he is in your hands; for the king is powerless against you.’ So they took Jeremiah and threw him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king’s son, which was in the court of the guard, letting Jeremiah down by ropes. Now there was no water in the cistern, but only mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud. Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, a eunuch in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern. The king happened to be sitting at the Benjamin Gate, So Ebed-melech left the king’s house and spoke to the king, ‘My lord king, these men have acted wickedly in all they did to the prophet Jeremiah by throwing him into the cistern to die there of hunger, for there is no bread left in the city.’ Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, ‘Take three men with you from here, and pull the prophet Jeremiah up from the cistern before he dies.’ So Ebed-melech took the men with him and went to the house of the king, to a wardrobe of the storehouse, and took from there old rags and worn-out clothes, which he let down to Jeremiah in the cistern by ropes. Then Ebed-melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, ‘Just put the rags and clothes between your armpits and the ropes.’ Jeremiah did so. Then they drew Jeremiah up by the ropes and pulled him out of the cistern. And Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard. Reflection Jeremiah is the great prophet who experiences the exile into Babylon, and the complexity of life under colonial occupation. He has a word from God that is difficult, and he is faithful in proclaiming it. Those who dislike what he says puts him in a cistern, a place of no escape, to starve and die. Jeremiah – “the weeping prophet” – is made to be quiet through the plotting of his own people. When the truth you speak is not heard, and attempts are made to silence you, it is heart-breaking. This has been the experience of Black people in racist and xenophobic societies. The silencing often leads to an inner rage. It is not only the mouth that is silenced, but one’s identity, creativity and beauty. Jeremiah’s ordeal offers an image of hope: he continued to speak God’s truth, and time proved his words to be true. Watch Recall moments when you felt profoundly unheard whilst speaking your truth. ...and pray for courage to speak the truth in a world too often fashioned by lies. Copyright © The Archbishops’ Council 2024.
