Balance

Isaiah 58:9-14
9Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am. If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil, 10if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday. 11The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail. 12Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in.
Luke 13:10-17
10Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. 11And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. 12When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Woman, you are set free from your ailment.” 13When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. 14But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, “There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day.” 15But the Lord answered him and said, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? 16And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?” 17When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing.



Balance
August 23, 2010
Eliot Church of Newton

Earlier in the summer, I did something to hurt my lower back. I am not sure what—I simply laid down for a Sunday nap, and when I woke up I could hardly move. There was excruciating pain like I have never experienced. Hobbling around the house just made me wince, and so, I made an appointment to see my doctor, first thing on Monday morning. The consult with my doctor revealed that I probably had a smooshed disc (huh?). She gave me some pain pills, and a sheet of exercises to do, and to call her if the pain didn’t subside.

The exercises actually helped, and I realized they were yoga poses. So when a former colleague of Liz’ opened a new yoga studio right here in Newton, a couple of weeks ago, I decided to sign up.

Now. Let me say this. I am not exactly built for yoga.
Suffice it to say that I am clearly the beginner in the class.
And, my teacher really likes to work on balance. You know—standing on one leg, stretching the other out “into the wall” and bending it towards you waist so you can grab your toes and stand perfectly still for what feels like hours, without falling.

The first class I cracked myself up, falling every time she said lift one leg….soon, not only was I the beginner, but quickly paving the way to becoming the class clown. I thought I might get better with more classes, but it seems that sense of balance, is well,…unbalanced. I spoke to my teacher after class…and she said that she likes to work on balance, perhaps to a fault. As a metaphor for life…it’s important to pay attention to. I have some work to do, it seems.

This concept of balance something hidden in our texts today.

It is the Sabbath. Jesus is teaching in the synagogue, and as he is speaking, out of the corner of his eye, he sees a woman. Bent over. The word translates not just “bent” or “bent over,” but a better translation would be “bent together” or “bent within." This is a woman who "is bent in on herself" (Jana Childers, http://www.csec.org/csec/sermon/childers_4816.htm). She has done nothing to cause her illness, and can do nothing to help herself, except, for perhaps, put herself in the path of Jesus(Jan Richardson, Painted Prayerbook, 8.20.2010).

Jesus is moved by this woman, and so calls her over, and heals her by laying hands on her. He lays hands on her. Immediately the synagogue leader is irritated with Jesus, chastises the crowd, saying there are six days to be cured—show up on those days. Not the Sabbath. The Sabbath has rules. It has balance.

Don’t you want to say, “whaaaaaaaat???”
This guy is so clueless!
But really, can you blame him?
Here is Jesus, a total renegade,
A guest teacher in HIS synagogue, and Jesus is NOT
FOLLOWING. THE. RULES.
I don’t think the synagogue leader was a bad person, he just was tightly bound to the letter of the rule of Sabbath.
Which gave permission for some actions, and not for others.

It would be like a guest preacher, walking into Eliot, and instead of following the order of worship, she just chucks the bulletin, and asks you,
What is it that you are needing today?
What can I give you? How about if we decide to have a Quaker meeting?

It would upset our equilibrium, don’t you think?

It’s interesting, too, that in the text, the synagogue leader doesn’t chastise Jesus the rule-breaker, he chastises the gathered community, over and over “You people know better. There are six days to be healed. Come on those days. Not on the Sabbath.”
It is clear his balance is toppled. He can’t fuss at Jesus, but he will fuss at those he leads.

But, for Jesus, there is always the moment—for whatever it brings. He is so balanced, within, and without, that he can read the world and match it with what he knows is true.
Balance.
In the zone.
Harmony.
Balance, in winemaking means the degree which all the attributes of a wine are in harmony, with none either too prominent or deficient.
Everything working together.

Balance.
You see, Jesus got that the Sabbath was essential,
a time out for God, for rest and reflection…
But that when someone walks in your vision and is completely out of balance,
Twisted inward,
In pain, in acceptance of that pain,
Then “Jesus has to challenge those present to consider what sabbath really means: that in its fullness, the laws regarding sabbath are designed not just for rest but for release from all that keeps us in bondage” (Richardson).
Rest, and freedom…for all.

So, I have been considering balance—not just physically so I can stand on one foot, but spiritually. Here is an example.

What do you do when you walk down the street, and encounter someone who is asking for money? Perhaps someone who is homeless, or injured, or whatever?
My personal rule is that I don’t give money. I don’t want to support someone’s crack habit, or addiction to alcohol—or get ripped off.

Frequently, here, at Eliot, a man comes,
Looking for a gift card to Stop and Shop, or Whole Foods,
which we keep in the office.
At a Newton Clergy Association meeting, we realized that this same person was hitting all of us up. Regularly. So, we have worked on a plan to manage people like him, so that they don’t suck up all our resources, so that when a true emergency arises, we will have the means to help. It’s not a bad plan. It has balance.


Yesterday, early in the morning, I happened to be in Davis Square in Somerville, to grab my early morning venti iced coffee, unsweetened, and light ice.

I walked by a man, obviously homeless, who asked me for help. I said no. He asked me to buy him a coffee, cuz his cup was empty. I said no. I didn’t trust him, I knew he was playing me, and I was irritated because he was challenging my rule. No money given on the street. Not healthy.

But you know, I was out of balance. I wasn’t seeing the whole picture.
There are rules. And then there is compassion, that defies all rules. Wholeness, freedom.
I stood in line for my coffee with my $5 dollar bill. I should get him a coffee. That would be my best choice, to control how my offering would be used.

But who am I to judge how someone spends a few dollars?
Certainly $3 for an iced coffee is worthy of judgement.

My equilibrium was challenged…and I knew I had to break my own rule in this instance, to listen to what I felt on the inside, meeting the need on the outside. I was working on standing on one leg in my heart.

I took my $2 in change, and went back outside, and handed it over,
Knowing that he might pocket whatever I gave him not for coffee, not for food, but for drugs or alcohol.
I handed him the change.
Because, it really it’s just a couple of bucks.

He is a human being with a story, with a life, perhaps bent in and hurting.

But I couldn’t heal him.
But I can offer a bit of relief, and compassion.
(caveat here: this doesn’t mean I will always hand over the money when someone asks….)

You see, balance is about breaking the rules when compassion and love demand something different.
Jesus calls us…
To seeing the world,
To seeing others,
Differently.
Jesus calls us…
To see ourselves differently.

We have so, so much power, with what little we have.

It is integral that we learn,
How to balance,
How to have the equilibrium with in,
To stand on one foot if we need to,
To break really well informed rules and standards and morals,
For the sake of helping another being
In the name of compassion and love and wholeness.
Balance.

Where do you need balance today?

Amen.