April 15, 2025 • 23 mins
Luke 13:10-17; 18:1-8
Recovery can be very long. It can take years or decades in some cases. Often, the most vulnerable among us suffer the longest. In the story of the bent over woman, we see a woman finally recovered after 18 years. In the story of the persistent widow, she keeps screaming at injustice until she sees an end. Recovery requires persistence and constant and inclusive attention.
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Episode Transcript
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Matt Nelson (00:04):
Welcome to the Sermon podcast from First United Methodist
Church in downtown Bentonville.
If you have questions related to whatyou hear today or just want to find
out more about the ministries at FirstUnited Methodist Church, please visit us
online at FUMCbentonville.org or checkus out on Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok.
This week's podcast begins witha clip from a short video that
(00:27):
was aired during Sunday service.
Roy and Shelly Lee (00:31):
The concept of long-term recovery escapes most
people you think people come in,they get the tree off your house.
You call the insurance company,you get the roof fixed.
And for some people that's how that works.
But for a lot of people that's not that.
It's, the answer's not that easy.
Uh, they live in an older home when themortgage was paid off, they canceled their
insurance and they have no insurance.
(00:51):
They have some FEMA settlement.
And so what we're doing right now withlong-term recovery is helping a long-term
recovery group stand up in this areafrom business civic church leaders to
help people to give them an opportunityto come in, tell their story, and
get some help with their unmet needs.
And we not only rebuild a houseor work on their house and stuff,
(01:15):
we, uh, also spiritual and uh.
Spiritual recovery.
We do a lot of that, you know, talkto the spiritual and emotional care.
Emotional care is prettyimportant because, um, a loss
like this can be devastating.
Yes.
And it can seem like help iscoming to everyone but you.
And we try to be out there to help peopleremember that they haven't been forgotten.
Rev. James Kjorlaug (01:36):
Really, a lot of the struggle is finding where can we
start, where can we, where, where canwe start having some sort of impact?
Because the, the impact from thetornado itself was so massive.
It's kind of like looking at a, at a,just a crazy difficult task and trying
to figure out where's the starting point,what's the first thread that I pull
(01:57):
that's gonna bring the next five down?
But yeah, that was, that was probablysome of the biggest challenges, trying
to figure out what, what step was next?
Uh, how could we still maintain as,as many people in our church were
going through their own challengeswith their homes and, and their,
um, living spaces and situations.
How could we keep a sense of hope andstill also shine the light of Christ in
(02:21):
the midst of the messiness around us?
It, it's been a long journey andit's still gonna be a long journey.
So even this morning I hadconversation after conversation,
walking through the process of whatrestoring this window is gonna be.
And that is, it gets reallynerdy, but I'll just give
you the timeframe right now.
But it's, they haven't, even, thebracing installed is the first step.
(02:43):
They still have to pull out thewindows, repair the windows.
And then that bracing is designed sothat it can bring the woodwork back
into plane because it's, it's bowed intothe room by about eight or six inches.
And so it's all gotta be adjusted.
And that's the originalwoodwork to the sanctuary.
Um, it's, it's notsomething we wanna lose.
(03:04):
It's not something we wanna replace.
We want to, we want to preserve it as bestas we can for, for future generations.
So that process is gonnabe a good six months.
Uh, from start to finish and they'rejust now the, the bracings in place.
So when they pull the glass, that startsthe clock of around six months worth of
work to make all that, all that happen.
Barry and Cindy Moehring: We're nowhere done. (03:24):
undefined
Nowhere near, uh, done with recovery.
I can give you an example.
I'm gonna be, uh, with some folks onthe west side of Decatur on Thursday
afternoon going and looking at about25 different properties that still
require assistance, recovery assistance.
Um, we're still interacting with FEMA ona almost a daily basis in this region.
(03:46):
Combined, we have over a hundredmillion dollars in, in now outstanding,
uh, federal obligations that we'reseeking in reimbursements from fema.
So that's an ongoing daily issue.
If you drive in Rogers, uh, whichwas the most affected urban area,
there are still lots of tarps.
There are still lots of trees down,there are still lots of damaged houses.
So recovery continues.
(04:07):
Um, and one of the things that'sinteresting is for about 99% of
the county it is over with, butthat 1% that's still out there is
still hurting, uh, tremendously.
So, so recovery's not done yet, andI'm not sure when it'll be done.
Um, you know, we have in Rogers,the city of Rogers, there are
still condemned properties.
(04:28):
They're still, uh, demoing properties.
Um, and so there's still a lotof recovery efforts underway.
Johnna Kosnoff (04:39):
My name is Johnna Kosnoff.
I'm a certified lay minister hereat the church, and I also serve as.
The community development Coordinator.
The last few weeks we've been talkingabout mitigation, and you've heard sermons
on mitigation preparation response, andtoday we're gonna talk about recovery.
First, I'm gonna read some scripture toyou, but will you pray with me first,
(05:02):
I need to settle my soul down myself.
Lord, please open our hearts and ourminds by the power of your Holy Spirit.
That as these scriptures are read andyour word is proclaimed, we may hear
with joy what you say to us today.
Amen.
(05:24):
So our first scripture todayis from Luke 13, 10 through 17.
Jesus was teaching in one ofthe synagogues on the Sabbath.
A woman was there who had beendisabled by a spirit for 18 years.
She was bent over andcouldn't stand up straight.
When Jesus saw her, he calledher to him and said, woman, you
(05:46):
are set free from your sickness.
He placed his hand on her.
And she straightened upat once and praised God.
The synagogue leader incensed thatJesus had healed on the Sabbath,
responded there are six daysduring which work is permitted,
come and be healed on those days.
(06:06):
Not on the Sabbath day, but the Lordreplied, hypocrites, don't each of you on
the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey fromits stall and lead it out to get a drink?
Then isn't it necessary that thiswoman, a daughter of Abraham, bound
by Satan for 18 long years be set freefrom her bondage on the Sabbath day?
(06:31):
When he said these things, allhis opponents were put to shame.
But all those in the crowd rejoiced atall the extraordinary things he was doing.
Our second passage is from Luke 18.
Jesus was telling them aparable about their need to pray
continuously and not be discouraged.
(06:51):
He said in a certain city therewas a judge who neither feared God
nor respected people in that city.
There was a widow who kept comingto him asking, give me justice in
this case, against my adversaryFor a while, the judge refused,
but finally said to himself.
(07:13):
I don't fear God or respect people,but I will give this widow justice
because she keeps bothering me.
Otherwise, there will be no end toher coming here and embarrassing me.
The Lord said, listen towhat the unjust judge says.
Won't God provide justice to his chosenpeople who cry out to him day and night?
(07:38):
Will he be slow to help them?
I tell you, he will give them just asquickly, but when the human one comes,
will we find faithfulness on earth?
This is the word of Godfor the people of God.
Yes.
In our scriptures today, wesee two examples of healing.
(07:58):
We also see some opportunityfor recovery to begin.
It's kind of left out there, but we'regonna talk about that a little bit later.
The first one, the woman who wasbent over and suffering for 18 years.
You know, at this time, people oftenthought that when someone was ill
or disabled or maybe bent over, thatit was a result of sin, either by
(08:21):
themselves or by someone near them.
Now, Jesus, of course, laterdiscredits this way of thinking, but
at this time people thought this way.
So it makes me wonder, didanyone try to help this woman?
You know, did she have access to a doctor?
Was she able to afford a doctor?
You know, was she just left alone?
(08:43):
In this time, we often see thatit is the vulnerable and the
poor who suffered the longest.
Maybe she could have been healedbefore 18 years, but Jesus came
along and healed her when he saw her.
So for her though, it was the endof the world that she had known
before and now she can be fullyaccepted into society, look at people
(09:07):
eye to eye and see their facialexpressions and they could see hers.
What a change that must have been for her.
I'm sure it was a, a beautiful moment,but there was also some recovery
as she adjusted to her new life.
And then the widow's quest for justice.
We don't know exactly how long.
It says a while that the widows suffered,but we do know it must have been something
(09:32):
and we don't know what the injustice was.
We do know it must have been heavy onher heart and heavy on her mind because
she went regularly to that judge.
She didn't have an attorney go withher, though it seems so again, you know,
was she poor and unable to afford anattorney if she would've had an attorney?
(09:53):
Would she have received justice earlier?
These are questions we don't have ananswer to, but it's worth pondering
and wondering because we do see, again,maybe vulnerable and poor suffering a
little bit longer in their situations.
You know, we all suffered aloss when the tornadoes hit
Bentonville only 10 months ago.
(10:16):
Can you believe just.
10 and a half months ago, and weare all recovering in one way or
another from the losses we suffered.
And during that time,we've lost other things.
Some of us have experienced deathof loved ones, loss of jobs, loss of
(10:36):
health, loss of relationships, andeven loss of some of our community as.
You know, our world has become a littlemore divisive, and while each loss
means an end to the world that we knewbefore, it's also as we recover an
opportunity to create a new beginningwhen we lose something, grief is
(11:00):
usually our first natural response.
In the 1960s, there was a psychiatrist,Elizabeth Kubler Ross, who wrote Death and
Dying, and she kind of introduced us tothe five stages of grief, denial, anger,
bargaining, depression, and acceptance.
Now, this book may not have been atheological book, but it is definitely
(11:25):
a biblical book or supported by ourBible in the Book of Lamentations, the
Book of Job and the book of Psalms.
All carry elements born out oftragedies when Jerusalem was destroyed.
The Book of Lamentations.
As a result of that, when Job suffered, alot of personal loss of people as well as.
(11:50):
Physical issues and relationships.
He cried out to God.
And then we see David cryingout to God in the Psalms.
So I want you to know that denialand anger, and bargaining, and
depression and acceptance, theseare all natural ways of healing.
Ways that we recover.
(12:11):
They're how we make sense of our losses.
And there's no right or wrong wayto experience these emotions or a
definite timeline to heal from them.
But I wanna share some spiritual practicestoday that might help us move along
a little bit faster in our healing.
(12:31):
And John Wesley, our founder ofMethodism, practiced many of these and
I found a few in practicing the Way abook by John Mark Comer that are small
little group of women who are doingsome spiritual formation in the church.
Just read.
These, I hope, will help us recoverthrough our grief, and as we continue
(12:53):
them, after we recover from our grief,they will help us just draw closer
to God and live a more peaceful life.
Or as John Wesley said, a more holy life.
The first one is honoring the Sabbath.
And you all are here oronline doing that very thing.
You are present, you are praising God.
(13:14):
You are hearing scripture.
You are resting your bodies a little bit.
And when you leave this place, I hopeyou will take something from this
morning with you to kind of ponder andthink upon this week and spend some
time with God, maybe going deeper.
And while you're here, you arein community with one another.
(13:36):
Community helps us heal and restores.
I've heard God lives in communitywith the Trinity, right?
Father, son, holy Spirit.
And if we are created in God'simage, why wouldn't we wanna live in
community too and support one another?
It's important to be withothers who share our faith.
So that we can love oneanother, encourage one another.
(13:59):
So you might wanna thinkabout joining a Sunday school
class or start a small group.
But you also want tospend time and solitude.
So I mentioned taking somethingaway from worship with you.
Jesus went out alone to be with God.
And it's a good example for us too.
You can take a walk through thewoods or wherever and talk with God.
(14:19):
You can go to a room and closeyourself in and be with God.
You can just be still.
And pay attention to what you are hearing.
Jesus speaks directly to us whenhe says in Matthew 11, come to
me all you who are weary andburdened, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke up on you and learn from me.
For I am gentle and humble and heart,you will find rest for your souls.
(14:45):
For my yoke is easyand my burden is light.
So we can come to Jesus anywhere we arereally, but in solitude and with prayer.
When we pray to Jesus or to God, weare sharing our hearts and trying
to listen for what God might besaying to us and wanting us to know.
(15:05):
And even though we don'talways get the answers we want.
Prayer is still an integralpart of our healing.
There are many passages in our Biblethat talk about prayer saying Ask,
seek, knock, and we are invited tocast our cares upon Jesus and cry out.
Whatever's on our heart, we canask for guidance and wisdom, and
(15:29):
we often get it as we're strugglingand praying and asking and seeking.
But know that prayer doesn'tmean you're always going to be in
control or understand every aspectof your healing and your loss.
And Lamont says that thethree best prayers we can say
are one word, prayers help.
(15:49):
Thank you.
And wow.
Sometimes when we're in the midst of pain,we just can't muster the words to say.
So if we can just say help to God,our Holy Spirit will help us pray.
The Bible says it will intercedefor us and pray for us.
So just remember those one wordprayers when you don't have more to
(16:12):
say and lean into God's presence.
Psalm 34 reminds us that God isclose to the brokenhearted and saves
those who are crushed in spirit.
I am gonna mention fasting, althoughI'm guessing that a lot of you don't do
this, but it's something to consider.
John Comer describes it as away to pray with your body.
(16:33):
He says that as we yield our body toGod, we break the power of our flesh to
control us, and we open ourselves to thepower of the Holy Spirit in its place.
And sometimes it's in this yielding.
That we can experience thehealing and hope that we need.
(16:54):
John Wesley practiced it regularly andbelieved that it helped us cultivate
spiritual focus and dependence on God.
Scripture, of course, is thefoundation of our Christian faith.
It helps transform usto be more Christ-like.
As we read scripture, wesee the character of God.
(17:18):
We begin to know God more deeply, and wegrow deeper in our love and appreciation.
The Bible emphasizes hope and trustin God, even in the midst of grief.
It's a source of strengthand comfort for us.
Deuteronomy says, bestrong and courageous.
(17:39):
Do not be afraid for the Lord.
Your God goes with you.
He will never leave you nor forsake you.
Scripture reminds us to find God in this.
The last practice I'm gonnamention is being generous.
John Wesley described it as Acts ofmercy, and he advocated for these
acts of compassion and service toothers for both their physical.
(18:05):
And spiritual needs.
He believed that genuine faithshould be expressed through our
actions, and I agree with that.
I also think it's a strong part of ourrecovery, but sometimes that person
we need to help the most is ourselves.
You know, if you're not sleeping wellor eating well, or taking care of
yourselves well, then it can be reallyhard to reach out and help other people.
(18:30):
It can be really hard to heal yourself.
If any of you are struggling withthose things, I encourage you to
take some time for yourself anddo what you need to to be healthy.
I also want to encourage.
So as I'm standing up here,Psalm 46 reminds us that God is
an ever present help in trouble.
But as I'm standing here, I alsowant you to know that sometimes we
(18:55):
need more than just God's presence.
We need a professional.
Counselor, um, some help here and ifyou are feeling like you're really
struggling through some things, Iwant to encourage you to get help
and do not be embarrassed about it.
You can find if you can find a goodcounselor to meet you where you are and
walk alongside you through your recovery.
(19:18):
That can be a wonderfulthing and be very helpful.
Be generous with others.
Help someone else find ways tohelp your neighbors, especially
the vulnerable and the poor.
It shifts the focus from your own painto the needs of others, and it helps
give you a new purpose and connection.
(19:40):
A few little ways you can do that isyou can join us in missional prayer
here, so you can pray for others.
We meet once a week.
We pray over our community, our church,our nation, our schools, and so that's
what's meant by missional prayer.
We also have a prayer team thatoffers confidential prayers.
You know, if you submit a prayer,it goes to our congregational prayer
(20:02):
team, and you can join that and prayfor one another in the congregation.
You can join our church recovery work.
Ozark Commission Project is going to betalking about ways to be involved today
to help others recover through that work.
Umcor was here with their chainsaws,right, cutting down trees right
(20:23):
away, helping remove debris.
You can train to be anemergency response volunteer.
With Umcor, you can train to bea long-term mission volunteer.
That can take you to differenttypes of mission work.
You can come to Sager Brown andpack disaster relief kits with
us when we go back next time.
You can also join our Global UnitedMethodist Agencies Work for Justice.
(20:47):
Our denomination offers webinars,newsletters and training on how to
have conversations about the importanceof justice, and it's all rooted in
scripture and our social principles.
And then once you receive that training,you can train some of us in the
church so that we can all be better athaving conversations about justice and
(21:09):
helping the vulnerable and the poor.
I. These practices can help uswork through our denial, anger,
our bargaining, and depression toget to that stage of acceptance.
But it doesn't mean that we neverexperience those harder stages again.
We will move back and forth betweenthem maybe for the rest of our lives,
(21:30):
depending on how deeply we lost.
It may be the end of the worldas we knew it 10 months ago.
But we will be fine.
We are recovering just likeJesus healed the woman who had
been bent over for 18 years.
Jesus wants to set us free fromour grief and help us recover.
(21:53):
And Jesus told that parable aboutthe woman who received justice.
He said in there that God wantsto provide justice for his people.
Sometimes he uses us to do it.
Psalm 1611 says, you makeknown to me the path of life.
In your presence.
There is fullness ofjoy at your right hand.
(22:15):
Our pleasures forevermore.
May we feel this fullness of joyas we continue in our recovery.
Amen.
Matt Nelson (22:25):
Thanks for listening to the Sermon podcast from First United
Methodist Church in downtown Bentonville.
If you would like to let us know you werehere, follow the link below to connect.
To participate in worship through giving,
you can give online at fumcbentonville.orgor on Venmo @FUMCbentonville.
FUMC Bentonville welcomes all.
(22:46):
Because we believe the communiontable is God's table, we invite
everyone into our church family.
We welcome and celebrate every race,gender, gender identity, sexual
orientation, marital status, age, physicaland mental ability, national origin,
economic station, and political ideology.
We come together in action and outreach,aspiring to follow Jesus' example of
(23:09):
radical hospitality, love, and grace as atransformative movement in our community.
Please join us for worship on Sundaymornings at nine and 11:00 AM, both
in person, and on Facebook Live.
All are welcome and we'dlove to have you with us.
Grace and peace.
Welcome to the Sermon podcast from First United Methodist
Church in downtown Bentonville.
If you have questions related to whatyou hear today or just want to find
out more about the ministries at FirstUnited Methodist Church, please visit us
online at FUMCbentonville.org or checkus out on Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok.
This week's podcast begins witha clip from a short video that
(00:27):
was aired during Sunday service.
Roy and Shelly Lee (00:31):
The concept of long-term recovery escapes most
people you think people come in,they get the tree off your house.
You call the insurance company,you get the roof fixed.
And for some people that's how that works.
But for a lot of people that's not that.
It's, the answer's not that easy.
Uh, they live in an older home when themortgage was paid off, they canceled their
insurance and they have no insurance.
(00:51):
They have some FEMA settlement.
And so what we're doing right now withlong-term recovery is helping a long-term
recovery group stand up in this areafrom business civic church leaders to
help people to give them an opportunityto come in, tell their story, and
get some help with their unmet needs.
And we not only rebuild a houseor work on their house and stuff,
(01:15):
we, uh, also spiritual and uh.
Spiritual recovery.
We do a lot of that, you know, talkto the spiritual and emotional care.
Emotional care is prettyimportant because, um, a loss
like this can be devastating.
Yes.
And it can seem like help iscoming to everyone but you.
And we try to be out there to help peopleremember that they haven't been forgotten.
Rev. James Kjorlaug (01:36):
Really, a lot of the struggle is finding where can we
start, where can we, where, where canwe start having some sort of impact?
Because the, the impact from thetornado itself was so massive.
It's kind of like looking at a, at a,just a crazy difficult task and trying
to figure out where's the starting point,what's the first thread that I pull
(01:57):
that's gonna bring the next five down?
But yeah, that was, that was probablysome of the biggest challenges, trying
to figure out what, what step was next?
Uh, how could we still maintain as,as many people in our church were
going through their own challengeswith their homes and, and their,
um, living spaces and situations.
How could we keep a sense of hope andstill also shine the light of Christ in
(02:21):
the midst of the messiness around us?
It, it's been a long journey andit's still gonna be a long journey.
So even this morning I hadconversation after conversation,
walking through the process of whatrestoring this window is gonna be.
And that is, it gets reallynerdy, but I'll just give
you the timeframe right now.
But it's, they haven't, even, thebracing installed is the first step.
(02:43):
They still have to pull out thewindows, repair the windows.
And then that bracing is designed sothat it can bring the woodwork back
into plane because it's, it's bowed intothe room by about eight or six inches.
And so it's all gotta be adjusted.
And that's the originalwoodwork to the sanctuary.
Um, it's, it's notsomething we wanna lose.
(03:04):
It's not something we wanna replace.
We want to, we want to preserve it as bestas we can for, for future generations.
So that process is gonnabe a good six months.
Uh, from start to finish and they'rejust now the, the bracings in place.
So when they pull the glass, that startsthe clock of around six months worth of
work to make all that, all that happen.
Barry and Cindy Moehring: We're nowhere done. (03:24):
undefined
Nowhere near, uh, done with recovery.
I can give you an example.
I'm gonna be, uh, with some folks onthe west side of Decatur on Thursday
afternoon going and looking at about25 different properties that still
require assistance, recovery assistance.
Um, we're still interacting with FEMA ona almost a daily basis in this region.
(03:46):
Combined, we have over a hundredmillion dollars in, in now outstanding,
uh, federal obligations that we'reseeking in reimbursements from fema.
So that's an ongoing daily issue.
If you drive in Rogers, uh, whichwas the most affected urban area,
there are still lots of tarps.
There are still lots of trees down,there are still lots of damaged houses.
So recovery continues.
(04:07):
Um, and one of the things that'sinteresting is for about 99% of
the county it is over with, butthat 1% that's still out there is
still hurting, uh, tremendously.
So, so recovery's not done yet, andI'm not sure when it'll be done.
Um, you know, we have in Rogers,the city of Rogers, there are
still condemned properties.
(04:28):
They're still, uh, demoing properties.
Um, and so there's still a lotof recovery efforts underway.
Johnna Kosnoff (04:39):
My name is Johnna Kosnoff.
I'm a certified lay minister hereat the church, and I also serve as.
The community development Coordinator.
The last few weeks we've been talkingabout mitigation, and you've heard sermons
on mitigation preparation response, andtoday we're gonna talk about recovery.
First, I'm gonna read some scripture toyou, but will you pray with me first,
(05:02):
I need to settle my soul down myself.
Lord, please open our hearts and ourminds by the power of your Holy Spirit.
That as these scriptures are read andyour word is proclaimed, we may hear
with joy what you say to us today.
Amen.
(05:24):
So our first scripture todayis from Luke 13, 10 through 17.
Jesus was teaching in one ofthe synagogues on the Sabbath.
A woman was there who had beendisabled by a spirit for 18 years.
She was bent over andcouldn't stand up straight.
When Jesus saw her, he calledher to him and said, woman, you
(05:46):
are set free from your sickness.
He placed his hand on her.
And she straightened upat once and praised God.
The synagogue leader incensed thatJesus had healed on the Sabbath,
responded there are six daysduring which work is permitted,
come and be healed on those days.
(06:06):
Not on the Sabbath day, but the Lordreplied, hypocrites, don't each of you on
the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey fromits stall and lead it out to get a drink?
Then isn't it necessary that thiswoman, a daughter of Abraham, bound
by Satan for 18 long years be set freefrom her bondage on the Sabbath day?
(06:31):
When he said these things, allhis opponents were put to shame.
But all those in the crowd rejoiced atall the extraordinary things he was doing.
Our second passage is from Luke 18.
Jesus was telling them aparable about their need to pray
continuously and not be discouraged.
(06:51):
He said in a certain city therewas a judge who neither feared God
nor respected people in that city.
There was a widow who kept comingto him asking, give me justice in
this case, against my adversaryFor a while, the judge refused,
but finally said to himself.
(07:13):
I don't fear God or respect people,but I will give this widow justice
because she keeps bothering me.
Otherwise, there will be no end toher coming here and embarrassing me.
The Lord said, listen towhat the unjust judge says.
Won't God provide justice to his chosenpeople who cry out to him day and night?
(07:38):
Will he be slow to help them?
I tell you, he will give them just asquickly, but when the human one comes,
will we find faithfulness on earth?
This is the word of Godfor the people of God.
Yes.
In our scriptures today, wesee two examples of healing.
(07:58):
We also see some opportunityfor recovery to begin.
It's kind of left out there, but we'regonna talk about that a little bit later.
The first one, the woman who wasbent over and suffering for 18 years.
You know, at this time, people oftenthought that when someone was ill
or disabled or maybe bent over, thatit was a result of sin, either by
(08:21):
themselves or by someone near them.
Now, Jesus, of course, laterdiscredits this way of thinking, but
at this time people thought this way.
So it makes me wonder, didanyone try to help this woman?
You know, did she have access to a doctor?
Was she able to afford a doctor?
You know, was she just left alone?
(08:43):
In this time, we often see thatit is the vulnerable and the
poor who suffered the longest.
Maybe she could have been healedbefore 18 years, but Jesus came
along and healed her when he saw her.
So for her though, it was the endof the world that she had known
before and now she can be fullyaccepted into society, look at people
(09:07):
eye to eye and see their facialexpressions and they could see hers.
What a change that must have been for her.
I'm sure it was a, a beautiful moment,but there was also some recovery
as she adjusted to her new life.
And then the widow's quest for justice.
We don't know exactly how long.
It says a while that the widows suffered,but we do know it must have been something
(09:32):
and we don't know what the injustice was.
We do know it must have been heavy onher heart and heavy on her mind because
she went regularly to that judge.
She didn't have an attorney go withher, though it seems so again, you know,
was she poor and unable to afford anattorney if she would've had an attorney?
(09:53):
Would she have received justice earlier?
These are questions we don't have ananswer to, but it's worth pondering
and wondering because we do see, again,maybe vulnerable and poor suffering a
little bit longer in their situations.
You know, we all suffered aloss when the tornadoes hit
Bentonville only 10 months ago.
(10:16):
Can you believe just.
10 and a half months ago, and weare all recovering in one way or
another from the losses we suffered.
And during that time,we've lost other things.
Some of us have experienced deathof loved ones, loss of jobs, loss of
(10:36):
health, loss of relationships, andeven loss of some of our community as.
You know, our world has become a littlemore divisive, and while each loss
means an end to the world that we knewbefore, it's also as we recover an
opportunity to create a new beginningwhen we lose something, grief is
(11:00):
usually our first natural response.
In the 1960s, there was a psychiatrist,Elizabeth Kubler Ross, who wrote Death and
Dying, and she kind of introduced us tothe five stages of grief, denial, anger,
bargaining, depression, and acceptance.
Now, this book may not have been atheological book, but it is definitely
(11:25):
a biblical book or supported by ourBible in the Book of Lamentations, the
Book of Job and the book of Psalms.
All carry elements born out oftragedies when Jerusalem was destroyed.
The Book of Lamentations.
As a result of that, when Job suffered, alot of personal loss of people as well as.
(11:50):
Physical issues and relationships.
He cried out to God.
And then we see David cryingout to God in the Psalms.
So I want you to know that denialand anger, and bargaining, and
depression and acceptance, theseare all natural ways of healing.
Ways that we recover.
(12:11):
They're how we make sense of our losses.
And there's no right or wrong wayto experience these emotions or a
definite timeline to heal from them.
But I wanna share some spiritual practicestoday that might help us move along
a little bit faster in our healing.
(12:31):
And John Wesley, our founder ofMethodism, practiced many of these and
I found a few in practicing the Way abook by John Mark Comer that are small
little group of women who are doingsome spiritual formation in the church.
Just read.
These, I hope, will help us recoverthrough our grief, and as we continue
(12:53):
them, after we recover from our grief,they will help us just draw closer
to God and live a more peaceful life.
Or as John Wesley said, a more holy life.
The first one is honoring the Sabbath.
And you all are here oronline doing that very thing.
You are present, you are praising God.
(13:14):
You are hearing scripture.
You are resting your bodies a little bit.
And when you leave this place, I hopeyou will take something from this
morning with you to kind of ponder andthink upon this week and spend some
time with God, maybe going deeper.
And while you're here, you arein community with one another.
(13:36):
Community helps us heal and restores.
I've heard God lives in communitywith the Trinity, right?
Father, son, holy Spirit.
And if we are created in God'simage, why wouldn't we wanna live in
community too and support one another?
It's important to be withothers who share our faith.
So that we can love oneanother, encourage one another.
(13:59):
So you might wanna thinkabout joining a Sunday school
class or start a small group.
But you also want tospend time and solitude.
So I mentioned taking somethingaway from worship with you.
Jesus went out alone to be with God.
And it's a good example for us too.
You can take a walk through thewoods or wherever and talk with God.
(14:19):
You can go to a room and closeyourself in and be with God.
You can just be still.
And pay attention to what you are hearing.
Jesus speaks directly to us whenhe says in Matthew 11, come to
me all you who are weary andburdened, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke up on you and learn from me.
For I am gentle and humble and heart,you will find rest for your souls.
(14:45):
For my yoke is easyand my burden is light.
So we can come to Jesus anywhere we arereally, but in solitude and with prayer.
When we pray to Jesus or to God, weare sharing our hearts and trying
to listen for what God might besaying to us and wanting us to know.
(15:05):
And even though we don'talways get the answers we want.
Prayer is still an integralpart of our healing.
There are many passages in our Biblethat talk about prayer saying Ask,
seek, knock, and we are invited tocast our cares upon Jesus and cry out.
Whatever's on our heart, we canask for guidance and wisdom, and
(15:29):
we often get it as we're strugglingand praying and asking and seeking.
But know that prayer doesn'tmean you're always going to be in
control or understand every aspectof your healing and your loss.
And Lamont says that thethree best prayers we can say
are one word, prayers help.
(15:49):
Thank you.
And wow.
Sometimes when we're in the midst of pain,we just can't muster the words to say.
So if we can just say help to God,our Holy Spirit will help us pray.
The Bible says it will intercedefor us and pray for us.
So just remember those one wordprayers when you don't have more to
(16:12):
say and lean into God's presence.
Psalm 34 reminds us that God isclose to the brokenhearted and saves
those who are crushed in spirit.
I am gonna mention fasting, althoughI'm guessing that a lot of you don't do
this, but it's something to consider.
John Comer describes it as away to pray with your body.
(16:33):
He says that as we yield our body toGod, we break the power of our flesh to
control us, and we open ourselves to thepower of the Holy Spirit in its place.
And sometimes it's in this yielding.
That we can experience thehealing and hope that we need.
(16:54):
John Wesley practiced it regularly andbelieved that it helped us cultivate
spiritual focus and dependence on God.
Scripture, of course, is thefoundation of our Christian faith.
It helps transform usto be more Christ-like.
As we read scripture, wesee the character of God.
(17:18):
We begin to know God more deeply, and wegrow deeper in our love and appreciation.
The Bible emphasizes hope and trustin God, even in the midst of grief.
It's a source of strengthand comfort for us.
Deuteronomy says, bestrong and courageous.
(17:39):
Do not be afraid for the Lord.
Your God goes with you.
He will never leave you nor forsake you.
Scripture reminds us to find God in this.
The last practice I'm gonnamention is being generous.
John Wesley described it as Acts ofmercy, and he advocated for these
acts of compassion and service toothers for both their physical.
(18:05):
And spiritual needs.
He believed that genuine faithshould be expressed through our
actions, and I agree with that.
I also think it's a strong part of ourrecovery, but sometimes that person
we need to help the most is ourselves.
You know, if you're not sleeping wellor eating well, or taking care of
yourselves well, then it can be reallyhard to reach out and help other people.
(18:30):
It can be really hard to heal yourself.
If any of you are struggling withthose things, I encourage you to
take some time for yourself anddo what you need to to be healthy.
I also want to encourage.
So as I'm standing up here,Psalm 46 reminds us that God is
an ever present help in trouble.
But as I'm standing here, I alsowant you to know that sometimes we
(18:55):
need more than just God's presence.
We need a professional.
Counselor, um, some help here and ifyou are feeling like you're really
struggling through some things, Iwant to encourage you to get help
and do not be embarrassed about it.
You can find if you can find a goodcounselor to meet you where you are and
walk alongside you through your recovery.
(19:18):
That can be a wonderfulthing and be very helpful.
Be generous with others.
Help someone else find ways tohelp your neighbors, especially
the vulnerable and the poor.
It shifts the focus from your own painto the needs of others, and it helps
give you a new purpose and connection.
(19:40):
A few little ways you can do that isyou can join us in missional prayer
here, so you can pray for others.
We meet once a week.
We pray over our community, our church,our nation, our schools, and so that's
what's meant by missional prayer.
We also have a prayer team thatoffers confidential prayers.
You know, if you submit a prayer,it goes to our congregational prayer
(20:02):
team, and you can join that and prayfor one another in the congregation.
You can join our church recovery work.
Ozark Commission Project is going to betalking about ways to be involved today
to help others recover through that work.
Umcor was here with their chainsaws,right, cutting down trees right
(20:23):
away, helping remove debris.
You can train to be anemergency response volunteer.
With Umcor, you can train to bea long-term mission volunteer.
That can take you to differenttypes of mission work.
You can come to Sager Brown andpack disaster relief kits with
us when we go back next time.
You can also join our Global UnitedMethodist Agencies Work for Justice.
(20:47):
Our denomination offers webinars,newsletters and training on how to
have conversations about the importanceof justice, and it's all rooted in
scripture and our social principles.
And then once you receive that training,you can train some of us in the
church so that we can all be better athaving conversations about justice and
(21:09):
helping the vulnerable and the poor.
I. These practices can help uswork through our denial, anger,
our bargaining, and depression toget to that stage of acceptance.
But it doesn't mean that we neverexperience those harder stages again.
We will move back and forth betweenthem maybe for the rest of our lives,
(21:30):
depending on how deeply we lost.
It may be the end of the worldas we knew it 10 months ago.
But we will be fine.
We are recovering just likeJesus healed the woman who had
been bent over for 18 years.
Jesus wants to set us free fromour grief and help us recover.
(21:53):
And Jesus told that parable aboutthe woman who received justice.
He said in there that God wantsto provide justice for his people.
Sometimes he uses us to do it.
Psalm 1611 says, you makeknown to me the path of life.
In your presence.
There is fullness ofjoy at your right hand.
(22:15):
Our pleasures forevermore.
May we feel this fullness of joyas we continue in our recovery.
Amen.
Matt Nelson (22:25):
Thanks for listening to the Sermon podcast from First United
Methodist Church in downtown Bentonville.
If you would like to let us know you werehere, follow the link below to connect.
To participate in worship through giving,
you can give online at fumcbentonville.orgor on Venmo @FUMCbentonville.
FUMC Bentonville welcomes all.
(22:46):
Because we believe the communiontable is God's table, we invite
everyone into our church family.
We welcome and celebrate every race,gender, gender identity, sexual
orientation, marital status, age, physicaland mental ability, national origin,
economic station, and political ideology.
We come together in action and outreach,aspiring to follow Jesus' example of
(23:09):
radical hospitality, love, and grace as atransformative movement in our community.
Please join us for worship on Sundaymornings at nine and 11:00 AM, both
in person, and on Facebook Live.
All are welcome and we'dlove to have you with us.
Grace and peace.
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