Sermon on August 24, 2025
“Cultivating Connection”
By: The Ven. Margaret Grayden
Eighteen years is a long time to suffer–ask anyone who lives with a chronic disease or condition. Imagine what it was like for the woman we encounter in this morning’s Gospel reading. For eighteen years, she suffered from some sort of debilitating condition that caused her to be bent over. We don’t know anything more about her condition–or about her, for that matter. We don’t know what brought her to the synagogue that day. Perhaps it was her custom to worship there on the Sabbath. Perhaps her family had brought her with them. Did she come with the explicit hope of being healed of her disease? The text does not say. What we do know is that something extraordinary happened when she encountered Jesus in the synagogue. The text makes it clear that the woman received healing in two different senses. First and most obviously, her body was restored to a state of health (that is, she received what we might call a physical cure). But second–and of equal, if not more importance–she was restored to a state of wholeness, of connection to her community.
There are several striking things about this episode in the healing ministry of Jesus. First, unlike many of the other healing encounters in the Gospels, there is no explicit request for healing here. Jesus takes the initiative. He notices the woman’s need. Neither she, nor anyone else, brings it to His attention. Second, there is no invocation, no petition, no prayer for healing. Jesus simply states–as a matter of fact, not as a request to God–“Woman, you are set free from your ailment.” And she is. She stands up straight–for the first time in eighteen years–and praises God. Just like that. No wonder the crowd rejoiced “at all the wonderful things that he was doing.” If only it were always that simple.
Of course, not all healings are as dramatic as this one, and not all healings involve a physical cure. But what healing does always involve is restoration to a state of wholeness. It is entirely possible for someone to be healed–that is, to gain a sense of wholeness, of deep peace–of shalom–even when a cure for the underlying condition is not possible. In his exchange with the leader of the synagogue, who criticizes Jesus for doing the “work” of healing on the Sabbath, Jesus refers to the woman as a “daughter of Abraham.” This is not just a throwaway line. Rather, it is a profound statement of inclusion, connection, and belonging to a broader community.
It is important to remember that in First Century Palestine, illness of any sort was widely believed to the result of sin–either that of the person who was ill, or of a relative. Accordingly, it was assumed that if someone was suffering in body, mind, or spirit, it was because of sin. The suffering were typically shunned, excluded from the community. To be chronically ill at that time and in that place was to experience a form of social death. Healing thus involved more than the quest for a cure; it also required restoration of the social relationships that bound people to one another, and to their community.
I point this out because I believe that this is still the case today, here in Davis, California in the year 2025. What I mean by this is that the experience of being ill–whether the particular illness involves body, mind, and/or spirit–is often profoundly isolating and marginalizing. It can feel like a form of “social death”–a sense of being alone, forgotten, of being left behind by those who do not face these particular challenges. Anything that we can do to help people living with illness of any sort remember that they are cherished just as they are, in sickness and in health, is truly the work of healing. And it is work to which we are all called by our baptism.
There are many ways to be instruments of healing, to cultivate connections that can help restore people to a sense of wholeness in body, mind, and spirit by reminding them that they are perfect in God’s sight and part of the Beloved Community. Here are some ways you can be an instrument of healing:
— Reach out to someone you haven’t seen for a while and let them know that you are thinking of them and wish them well. Write a note of care and encouragement to remind them they have not been forgotten.
— Use your gifts of creativity to knit, crochet, or sew blankets or small fleece healing hearts for people who need a tangible expression of God’s love. You can do this by participating in our Prayer Shawl Ministry.
— Accompany our Eucharistic Visitors when they bring communion to those who cannot attend worship in person. We know that wherever two or three are gathered in Christ’s name, He is the midst of them. Make this a reality for homebound parishioners by helping bring church to them.
— Join the St. Martin’s Messengers ministry, which delivers copies of our weekly service bulletins and sermons to parishioners who cannot access our online worship services.
— Last, but by no means least, step out of your comfort zone and make a new connection with someone you don’t already know. The pandemic has accelerated the trend toward people “bowling alone,” to use the phrase coined by political scientist Robert Putnam.[1] Paradoxically, we are now more likely than ever to stay home, glued to our screens, even as we yearn for more meaningful connections “in real life.” We long to know and to be known. A significant body of medical research points to the negative consequences of this social isolation, especially as we age.[2]
Now more than ever, we must work to cultivate connection and combat isolation. If you would like to do this here at church, offer to host a social gathering through our Place at the Table program. You choose the date, time, location, size, and style of your gathering—folks have done everything from casual potlucks and barbeques to more formal sit-down dinners. Think about ways to broaden your interactions beyond home and church to your neighborhood, your community. There are so many possibilities—STEAC, Davis Community Meals and Housing, and Meals on Wheels, to name just a few. One of my great joys as a deacon is connecting people who want to help others to the church ministries and community organizations that need their particular gifts and skills. I’d love to listen with you for where and how the Holy Spirit is calling you to cultivate connection and help bring healing to a broken world.
Amen.
[1] See Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community (New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 2000).
[2] For a summary of current research, see Chen Lyu, MS, PhD et al, “Social Isolation Changes and Long-Term Outcomes Among Older Adults,” accessed online 8/23/25 at https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2821456.
