We’ve gathered this morning for our first Summer Shalom service on a communion Sunday, and also the anniversary of the dropping of the first atomic bomb in Japan.  The biblical land we call “holy” is enflamed in yet another war.  And it’s in this context that we gather to worship, to work and to pray for shalom, for healing, for wholeness and for peace in this desperately broken world.

The Good News is that there is a balm in Gilead! The words of that old spiritual offer a word of hope.  Do you ever feel discouraged, and think that your work's in vain? Then the Holy Spirit breathes and revives your soul again! It’s an African American spiritual but it refers to the Biblical land of Gilead, which is a highland region, rising above the Jordan River. The name literally means "rugged country," or "broken ground."   Isn’t that appropriate?  But it was a region of the Holy Land famous for the aromatic resin exuded from the fruit or stems of certain small trees, and it was reputed to have medicinal properties. This "balm of Gilead" was exported to places as far away as Egypt and Phoenicia. Gilead was known far and wide as the source of this healing ministry.

We also live in rugged country. We live in broken times, and as I think about what makes this church strong and unique one word instantly comes to mind. I believe we have a healing balm, and it's described in the word shalom. We close every service with a beautiful celebration of shalom, but what is it? Shalom is peace, but it's more than that. Shalom is wholeness. Shalom is a healing balm of unity that overcomes divisions, the loneliness and the brokenness that are so much a part of our world today. I believe we in this church have a very special ministry of shalom, a healing balm of wholeness and peace. What does that mean? For one thing it means that we have our work cut out for us. It means that our church is not called to be a rest home or a retirement center, it's called to be a rehabilitation center, a place where we learn to exercise our faith in order for our hearts to grow strong, empowering us to reach out in an export ministry to others. Our church is already well known in the community as a place where people can come to experience shalom, but we need to do more. We need to export this healing balm of shalom.

It's natural that a ministry of shalom begins in the church, with the people who are here now. Jesus began his ministry in the church, and those who were gathered heard him gladly, because he spoke to their own brokenness and the broken condition of the world, but he didn't leave it at that. He offered them hope, and he offered them a challenge. It's not enough to hear a sermon, and it's not enough to go to church. In this morning's scripture we hear the story of how Jesus leaves the church, and how he moves his healing ministry into the home.  “As soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.”   Simon’s mother in law was in bed with a fever.  “Jesus took her by the hand, lifted her up, and the fever left her!”

That's what a ministry of healing is all about. It's about allowing Jesus to touch us - where we live! And it's about touching others, in the power, the spirit and the name of Jesus. That's what a ministry of shalom is all about. Brokenness is part of the human condition, there's no question about that. The question is, in what way do you allow Christ to touch you, and in what way are you being empowered to reach out and to touch and offer healing to others?

People were amazed at the healing power of Christ's ministry, but they didn't understand its source. If we, like the disciples of old, are to follow Jesus in a ministry of shalom, we need to understand the source of his power. Early one morning Jesus disappeared. People were looking for him everywhere, but he was gone. The disciples finally found him, in prayer.

Prayer is the source of Christ's healing power. Prayer was a priority in Christ's life, and it needs to be a priority in our lives as well. Behind any public ministry there is always a private practice of prayer. Prayer is the highest activity of the mind and spirit. Prayer is the opening of our souls to the source of a sustained life in the spirit. Jesus went off to pray in solitude. Opening himself up and being nourished from the very source of shalom, he was able to share this gift with others.

Notice the natural progression of Jesus' ministry. It began in the church, and then went to the home, and then it was carried out into the world. It's tempting to stay in the church where it's comfortable, and it's tempting to stay in the home where there are opportunities for intimacy and security. But Jesus calls us to do more. That's how our scripture this morning closes. Jesus has moved from the church to the home, and now he goes out, taking his message of shalom and his ministry of healing to an ever-widening community of people. "Let us go to the next town, that I may preach there also," he says, "For that is why I have come."

It's not enough for us to celebrate a private shalom, an intimate communion between ourselves with the God we love.  We must share this communion with others. There is so much brokenness in the world, and there are so many people who desperately need the healing touch of shalom that this church has to offer. The people heard Jesus gladly, because he shared the Good News of God's loving communion with them. But he also challenged them to go out and share that Good News with others. The challenge is still before us. How is Christ empowering you to share the gift of shalom? Who are you going to reach out and touch? Your touch just might be the most healing gift that person has ever received. Let us pray!