WOMAN WHO BLEEDS: A retelling of Luke 8:31-38 (NRSV) (LMP+/EW)
In the spirit of bold and courageous women, we bear witness to another woman’s story.
As we hear our biblical ancestor’s story, we hear the stories of so many women today.
Poverty, pain, affliction and suffering is not meant to be our portion.
Let us listen together…..
* Visual of woman walking/staggering by, dragging red cloth;
We hear of the woman who bleeds;
Who is bled dry by a body that defies her
By a community that dismisses her
By a culture that rejects her
By a society that invalidates and isolates her
by a system that fails her
We hear of the woman who begs for help, for health, for dignity, for justice.
We hear of a woman stigmatized for her bleeding, the wellspring of life, and made to feel that it taints every aspect of her life, her family, her full participation in society.
We hear of a world that capitalizes on her infirmity, draining her resources, denies her dignity, justifies her exclusion, because her disease makes them ill at ease … silencing, discarding, marginalizing
We hear of the woman with nothing to give, with nothing to lose.
Whose depletion feeds her courage,
Whose weakness fuels her strength,
Whose poverty propels her to action,
Whose faith leads to healing.
We hear of a woman, emboldened by desperation,
pushing past the rejection,
grasping the very fringes of restoration,
claiming healing and absolution;
receiving transformation and re-embodying the whole –
*she releases the cloth and stands straighter
RESPONSIVE READING:
We are that woman, rising to new life, pushing past paternalistic structures that oppress and deny justice:
We are that woman challenging misogyny, creating access to basic infrastructure and land ownership
We are that woman holding up the banner for “equal pay for equal work” pressing towards a labour system that truly reflects the economy of God
We are that woman protecting the vulnerable, advocating for Intimate Relationships that honour and uplifts
We are that woman helping the migrant, offering hospitality to Refugees, offering healing and wholeness;
We are that woman combatting Climate crisis, crafting sustainable solutions to end poverty and hunger, working together to reach net zero;
We are that woman mending visible and invisible scars, availing hearth and home, voicing concern, impacting decisions for lives in conflict or crisis;
We are that woman offering care and counsel, and assisting those impacted by violence-induced trauma;
We are that woman coming together in unity to end racial and systemic injustice, decolonizing mindsets and stereotypes that deny our humanity;
Help us O God, to be the women, the people who do the work of justice and journey together as humble sojourners/companions; lovers of kindness and carriers of Your mercy. - Amen
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THEME: Public Services / Social Protection Systems (LMP+)
SCRIPTURE: Isaiah 1.16-18
OPENING PRAYER
God, we come to you this morning, knowing we are better because of each other. We trust your presence in our lives, guiding and directing us to support one another within the systems that make up our society.
Make us agents of change, establishing structures that support the fullness of life for all people.
Where there is apathy, let us feel your inspiration.
Where there is brokenness, let us carry your healing balm.
Where there is fear, let us speak peace.
Where there is scarcity, let us share your abundance.
Where there is injustice, let us work for an equitable society.
God, you made us whole; empower us to use our whole selves to work for your people.
Open our eyes to the suffering, that we may seek new ways to live in love.
Open our mouths to speak with and for those who society has deemed voiceless.
Open our hands, to accompany those who feel they have been lost, left out, and left behind.
Open hearts that we may truly love justice for all your children.
Open our lives that we may engage in acts of justice, for your sake.
Move our feet away from indifference that we may walk humbly with you.
Amen.
CALL TO ACTION -
God of justice: We hear your call:
We desire to live in the economy of God – where poverty has NO place.
Help us to do more than hear your call, Lord, but to lean in to the teachings you offer.
Make our offering to you not just ceasing to do evil as a response to the world, but to
proactively learn to do good: by trying, and trying again, and growing into the fullness of life
that you promise,
Make us wise in our actions, in our use of resources, in our establishment and advancement
of social systems.
Fill us with your spirit, to dedicate our lives and our efforts to your glory, and to the benefit of all
the world.
PRAYER
Gracious God:
We thank you that you do not give up on us;
When we act in ways that are unhelpful,
When we accept systems that inflict harm,
When we dare not speak truth to power for fear of losing our comfortable spaces.
We thank you for showing us the opportunity to amend our ways, and to turn our lives to you.
We ask forgiveness for those whom we have injured or offended; knowingly and unknowingly.
We bless your name for the privilege of learning: with friends, family, neighbours.
We praise you for the chance to discuss ideas, perspectives, opportunities to improve.
As you remind us of what we can do:
(other reading of scripture – other versions from office)
Help us to listen, reflect, speak up, and take action.
Be with us as we journey to care for all your people.
Grant us persistence in this work.
When we are tired; may we find rest;
When we are frustrated, may we find encouragement;
When we are overwhelmed, may we find grace.
When we are faithful, may we know your love – and
We commit ourselves to you, and to each other, this day and forever more: for we will be your
people (in spite of ourselves);
As we join our voices with all who seek you love – as we say:
Our Father…
LEARN:
We do not learn at first; we learn by doing, by trying, by adapting, by being open to being wrong.
Learning needs vulnerability
Learning needs practice.
Learning needs companionship, assistance,
Learning is a process – with teachers and educators, mentors and co-learners.
So when we learn how to do something new: even something small – like ride a bike.
It takes time, and practice –someone holding the back of the seat to hold us up… then training wheels…
then those wobbly starts, and those unfortunate falls.
But we learn: we pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, wipe away those tears, and try again.
And when we do: our friends are with us, cheering us on. Encouraging, supporting, lifting us up.
Whether we’ve been on a bike for 5 minutes, or have been a professional cyclist for 5 decades.
We learn. And it feels good.
And if we put the bike down for a while – life gets busy, whatever – we remind ourselves when we return –
we re-learn (faster this time) how to ride that bike.
Now: I want us to apply that feel-good, easily understood analogy to the passage today from Isaiah.
Learn to do good:
The prophet is giving us the word of God – God talking to the people, who have not really been doing good.
They’ve been focusing only on themselves, on their personal gain, their individual and isolated realities.
Who cares about the other – I just think about me.
We know this – people, churches, business, countries. Mmm.
But: God says:
Learn to do good.
And people of God hear this- and we start on that pathway to learning.
But: we do it with our minds and hearts open.
We can’t learn on our own how to do good for the world.
Justice is not sorted by individuals just “sorting it out for themselves”… it doesn’t come with a one-size-fits-all manual,
a step-by-step wiki-how.
Doing justice requires us to learn justice.
It is coming together
Hearing the difficult messages.
Acknowledging the awkward truths, the painful realities,
It is facing our failures.
And learning is knowing that this is NOT the end of the story.
It is accepting that we are not in charge,
That we are not always right
That we are not
…but that we are not giving up.
LearnING is an ongoing process.
God is always speaking.
God is always giving us the chance to do better.
So we learn to do good: with mentors, and teachers, and experts.
We learn to seek out those who are oppressed – so pressed down by life that they struggle to have that abundant life
that Jesus promises us. We learn to remove those pressures, and share in the promise of salvation.
We learn to defend the orphans: folks whose age and stage means they need some extra help – a family, a
community – yet for whatever reason they have no one: until we learn to BE those people.
We learn to plead for the widows: the women who have lost not only their husband and caregiver, but all their
families, until they are desolate: until we learn to befriend them and welcome them back to the communities.
We learn to love: love the individuals that are easy to love; the folks that maybe we don’t want to love
(and they maybe don’t want to love us) – the folks that have never known love in this life.
We learn to love: by setting up systems and structures that show that they are worthy: they are wanted.
We love them by demanding a society where no one is left behind, no one feels unloved, no one believes themselves
unlovable.
For when society has learned how to come together:
To love justice - - to act kindly - - to walk humbly with our God:
Then shall our hands be cleansed, and our souls refreshed, our hearts renewed.
Then: we will have learned how to get back on that proverbial bike – and journey with enthusiasm to a world where
justice prevails.
It’s possible, beloved. This is the good news - another world is possible: that God is always giving us ways to learn
how to do better - how to do GOOD.
So by the power of almighty God, Let’s learn how to make it a reality – and teach others how to live it.
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