Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy.                                            Matthew 8:3

Immediately after Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount, he came down from the mountainside and he was approached by a leper. Leprosy, of course, was a dreaded wasting disease prevalent in the middle east climate. Lepers were avoided, cast out, and left to die in miserable camps outside of cities and villages.

A man with leprosy approached Jesus and knelt before him asking for healing. The fact that the leper approached Jesus at all says first, that he trusted that Jesus could heal him, and secondly, that Jesus would not cast him away like the rest of society. Then Jesus did the provocative and dangerous action – he touched the leper. The leper was healed immediately.

When Jesus moved on to Capernaum, he encountered a centurion who sought Jesus on behalf of his paralyzed servant. The centurion, showing faith far beyond the religious leaders of the time, asked Jesus to heal his servant with “just say the word and my servant will be healed”.

The centurion’s servant was, of course, also healed. The contrast to me is striking. Jesus could have healed that leper the same way- just said the word. But Jesus chose to touch the leper, healing him not only physically, but spiritually and emotionally as well.

What must it have been like for the leper to be touched by another human being? He had been shunned and isolated by a fearful society who had banished him outside of the city walls. Jesus knew that this man needed a touch for healing in so many ways.  

In Jewish law, one who touched a leper became unclean. In the Kingdom Jesus came to usher in, those whom Jesus touches become clean.

Prayer: Lord, help us to reach out to those who need a healing touch, Amen

Gracious words are like a honeycomb,
    sweetness to the soul and health to the body.                                                                                      Proverbs 16:24

A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.                                                                    Proverbs 17:22

There is, of course, great wisdom in the book of Proverbs. Even though it was written perhaps 2500 years ago (or so), it contains wisdom that is timeless. In today’s blog, I am looking at the power of words. As the book says, words have the power to lift up a spirit or to crush a spirit. From the same mouth can come blessings or curses.

I note that the passage from Proverbs 16:24 indicates that words are like a honeycomb. Later in the book of Proverbs, it alludes to the fact that a “broken spirit dries up the bones”. While this language is meant to be figurative, I really think that there was an allusion to literal physical health. Depression feels like it goes all the way to the bone. We also know that the health of our very blood manufacturing process takes place in the bone marrow. That marrow in the bones is like…a honeycomb.

So, just maybe, those kind words can “get into our bones”- deep into our soul, and heal us. Maybe it is not such a stretch to say that words can be healing and health-giving. Proverbs tells us that words are health to the body, and that a joyful heart is good medicine.

I’m going with words can literally be healing to one another. The more we use those words of encouragement, the healthier we all are.

Prayer: Lord, you have literally given us the power to heal with our words. Help us to use them wisely, Amen

If you are angry, do not let it become sin. Get over your anger before the day is finished.                       Ephesians 4:26 (New Life Version)

I spoke yesterday about a client who is dealing with anger. Indeed, I see a number of clients who have concerns about their anger. Often, that concern is spawned by a loved one who has experienced that anger. My new client is here because his anger is getting in the way of a relationship.

Anger is an insidious emotion. We all have it and are capable of it- that is part of being human. Managing it well is another story. The first step is to be able to recognize and own our anger. We often mask it, or call it something else. For example, “I’m not angry, I’m just frustrated!”

As I mentioned in a previous blog, frustration is anger, plus a sense of no ability to resolve a situation. It is a sense of feeling powerless. Just being able to articulate that feeling gives one the power over their own emotions- we have recognized it and owned it. It does not resolve the situation, but we have more clarity and therefore a sense of control to some degree.

Another indicator of anger is sarcasm. Sarcasm is socially acceptable anger. Sarcasm is a way to express anger in a humorous way, and therefore to dissipate it more or less harmlessly. Look at comedians who are so successful in expressing inner hurts and anger in this way. They have found a way to monetize their anger!

So, more to come on this topic in the future.

Blessings!

Prayer: Lord, help us to see the times that we are angry and express it properly, Amen

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.             Galatians 5:22-23

I was speaking the other day with a client and we discussed anger control. The truth is, anger control starts long before the precipitating event of the anger, but that is another story. I will get into that in another blog entry.

As we discussed his anger triggers with his wife, we discussed the fact that he needs a brief “pause button”- he suggested 60 seconds, and I think that was good. He knows himself, and if he says 60 seconds, we can go with that. In those 60 seconds, I asked him to do the controlled breathing that I have discussed in this blog before. That controlled breathing consists of four seconds of air intake through the nose; a pause of holding that breath for about five or six seconds; and exhaling slowly through the mouth for about eight seconds.  

In doing this, one takes voluntary control of an involuntary body function (breathing). In other words, he regains control of his body. In so doing, he feels to be in more control of himself. In addition, during that five or so seconds of holding his breath, he is to say a brief prayer for spiritual connection.

Therefore, in those 60 seconds he talked about, he can do this breathing exercise several times. In that span, he has changed his physical state (more oxygen and less carbon dioxide), his emotional state (more peace), and his spiritual state (a quick God connection). He is back in control of his entire self.

So, taking control of breathing can give rise to a sense of more total control of self.

Prayer: Lord, you have made us in marvelous ways. Help us to take care of all parts of ourself, Amen

“You’re a good man, Charlie Brown”  

Charles Schulz                                                                                                                                                             Twenty-five years ago today, February 12, 2000, comic strip artist Charles Schulz died. He was, of course the creator of the beloved comic strip Peanuts. He was known for iconic characters such as Snoopy, Charlie Brown, Lucy, and a host of other charming visitors.

He was also known for the famous TV special, A Charlie Brown Christmas. That show, simple yet charming, had the boldness to devote a lengthy segment to the reading of the birth of Jesus as told in Luke chapter two. Schulz resisted some network efforts to cut that segment from the special. He noted that this beautiful story is the essence of why we celebrate Christmas. The segment stayed.

The comic strip Peanuts helped to bring some humor and human kindness into everyday life. As I was thinking about this, it reinforced the idea that no matter our profession, our position in society, or our own sense of influence (or lack of it), we all have a way to make our society just a little better, a little more humorous, a little kinder.

Prayer: Lord, we thank you for the little things in life that make us smile, Amen

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.  He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought.  And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’

 “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”                                                                  Luke 18:1-5

In the book of Luke chapter 18, Jesus told a parable about a “persistent widow” to illustrate God’s response to prayer. In the parable, he told of a judge who was apparently a pretty aloof and uncaring person. In the story, the poor widow hounded him continually to seek justice from an adversary. The judge, tired of her constant pleas, and in order to get rid of her, finally granted her request.

The judge in this story was simply interested in saving himself from a woman who bugged him day and night. He responded to her not because he was interested in right judgment, but because he wanted to be unburdened of her requests. Jesus had told this parable to illustrate to his disciples that they should “pray and not give up”.

The point of this parable is not a comparison between God and the judge. It is a contrast between God and the judge. Jesus was instructing that we should indeed continue to pray and not give up, but the idea is not to somehow change the mind of a reluctant giver. It is to illustrate that we are praying to a God who is willing and able to grant our requests. We are encouraged to continue to seek God in the process.

Does God answer all our requests the way we would like, and when we would like? No, he does not. Does he hear and want to give us what is best for us?

Yes, he does.

Prayer: Lord, we trust in your provision for us, Amen

Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day            Genesis 32.24

We are called to live in radical love with a broken world. We are called to love others who do not show that same love to us. We are called to speak truth to power at times when that may not be understood. So yes, we are called to wrestle.

What is the alternative? To avoid the suffering of others? To simply live in our own safe spaces? Indeed, many people in the world do not have such safe spaces. We are called to be living out a love for people in ways that we have been uniquely equipped by the Creator.

So, my friends, what is the wrestling that you need to do?

Prayer: Lord, how would you be calling us to wrestle with you today? Amen

Have two goals: wisdom—that is, knowing and doing right—and common sense. Don’t let them slip away,                                 Proverbs 3:21 (Living Bible)

There is this debate about how counselors should respond to their clients with regard to giving “advice”. I have a simple distinction about “advice vs. opinion”. First, I believe that there should be real clarity about what each term is. Often, clients will ask me “what should I do?” I will then ask, do you want my opinion? I will give an opinion, if I have one, but I make it clear that I am not implying or saying that they should actually do what I am saying. I am simply giving them a point of view- an alternative way of thinking. If they ask my opinion, I will give it, with that caveat.

Advice looks like “You really ought to do this”. I very seldom give that sort of directive. More often, it may more look like “That is something that would not be good to do” – that is, intervening in a behavior that could potentially be destructive to them.  a distinction without a difference, but I try to be clear with my clients that they have agency- they maecisions about their own life. I am their advocate, accountability person, soft landing, encourager, confronter at times, and faithful listener.

I am not their decision maker.

Prayer: Lord, you are the great counselor on whom we rely, Amen

A twinkle in the eye means joy in the heart, and good news makes you feel fit as a fiddle.                             Proverbs 15:50 (The Message)

I have mentioned in past blogs about watching old, familiar TV shows from the past. Shows I grew up with like The Andy Griffith Show for example. I have seen all or almost all of those old black and white shows a number of times and yet, I watch. Why?

Well, I have thought about that, and I realize that it is certainly not for remembering the plot, or even for the laughs it gives. It is familiar, it is predictable, and it is comfort. Perhaps there is some nostalgia for a simpler time in life, and perhaps because it is so wholesome and inoffensive in an offensive social media world.

I watch because it gives me a feeling.

I am guessing you may do the same with other old shows, or maybe old movies. There is no harm in this, I think, because it serves a valid mental health purpose- it gives a time of respite and comfort, in a wholesome way. So, my friends, if you have your own comfort shows, enjoy them. May you have peace…

Prayer: Lord, thank you for little oases along the way in a stressful world, Amen

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.                                                                              Matthew 6:19-21

There is a saying used often in Alcoholics Anonymous that goes “You can’t keep it unless you give it away”. That paradoxical quote is full of wisdom. The idea is that for those in recovery (and all of us, really), we can’t really maintain the values of things unless we give them away. Another old truth applies here as well- “You can’t take it with you”. Yes, we can bequeath our wealth and possessions to others when we die, but that is not “keeping it”. The way to derive true value from our wealth, our wisdom and our work is to make sure that others benefit from it.

For those in recovery, they say, and I agree, the best way to maintain sober living is to invest in the success of another addict (perhaps as a sponsor). The joy and responsibility involved in that process helps to ensure a successful program for both sponsor and sponsee.  

I recently met with a man in recovery who shared with me that he believed that part of the reason for some of his past relapses had been because he had avoided sponsoring another addict. He had, be believed, unwittingly sabotaged himself by failing to invest well in other addicts.

We all must make decisions about how we “give it away” to others. Many may give money to cherished causes; many volunteer time to worthy projects; others mentor people, teach young people etc.

Whatever way we decide to “give it away”, we can’t go wrong. That is the way we can get great joy and value from what we have.

Prayer: Lord, remind us of how we are to share what you have given to us, Amen