A Time for Healing

May 3, 2022

This spring, Reservoir Church’s sermon series is called “How to Heal the World.” 

It’s kind of a cheeky, overstated title, but it came out of a series of conversations and reflections I had this winter about how sick and tattered our world is, how that’s impacting us, and the opportunity for something redemptive in that for followers of Jesus.

Our world has become sick with so many things – sick with violence, sick with racism, sick with sickness, and fear, and mistrust, and division and more. And all that’s not just far off, it’s not just abstraction. It touches our lives and relationships as well. And I’ve been wondering: what does it mean to worship and follow a loving, hopeful God who is always seeking to mend, to repair, to make things whole? And how can we find our own good, our own healing, our own salvation through participating in the healing work of God in our times? 

There’s a Jewish phrase for this work. It’s tikkun olam, “repair of the world.” This rabbinc wisdom is cited with gratitude and reverence by Muslims in the Quran as well. “Whoever destroys a single life is considered by Scripture to have destroyed the whole world, and whoever saves a single life is considered by Scripture to have saved the whole world.” 

Our world needs nothing less than this. And with the help of God and friends, this healing, mending, repair, and salvation is in our grasp.

So we collect here some calls to mending and healing from these spring messages:

Gratitude Letters*

From “Small Steps Toward Big Salvation” (4/24/22)

Write a letter of thanks to a friend, colleague, family member, or stranger. Be as specific and appreciative as possible. Before giving them the letter, ask if you can read it aloud to them. 

Praying for Your Six

From “Small Steps Toward Big Salvation” (4/24/22)

Pray regularly for the blessing and well-being of six local people whose name you know but who may not share your faith in God. 

Drop Your Stones

From “What to Do with People You Can’t Stand” (5/1/22) 

Cultivate attitudes of non-judgemental respect toward your enemies and others you can’t stand. Allow yourself to be angry, but ask God’s help in never holding others in contempt. Ask not just what you hate about an enemy but what in them it is possible to love. 

Make Better Apologies

From “The Good News Opportunity of Reparations” (5/8/22)

Whenever you say, sorry, make sure you first tell the truth about what happened. Then offer to make things right in some way or ask the person you’re apologizing to if there is anything you can do to make things right. Tell the truth. Apologize. Offer amends. That’s how to say sorry.

A Vision for Church

From “The Role of the Church in Healing the World” (5/15/22)

Get and stay as engaged as possible in a community of people looking to respond together to the teaching and vision of Jesus. Usually, but not always, this community is called “church.” Let that community help you remember how much we all matter to God and one another and how much God matters to us. And regularly offer you time, treasure, and talents together in the service of the world’s blessing, mending, repair, and healing.

Cultivate Humility

From “Humility” (5/22/22)

Cultivate humility in your life: commitments to unlearning, not just learning, commitments to curiosity and companionship and questions when you’re tempted to superiority, judgment, or fear.

*Inspired by our North Indian friends and partners from Asha.