Dear friends,
This week, like all of you I have been horrified as I have learned more about the disasters that have been taking place in the southeast regions of our country; in Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and indeed in Florida in more recent days. And again, like many of you, I have friends and family being immediately impacted by these events. As is often the case when disaster on such a scale manifests itself in our lives, nothing can prepare you for it, even with all of the best science, knowledge, work, and preparation. Of course, there are feelings of relief as the storms begins to settle. Yet, there is then the inevitable reality of the aftermath and the beginning of making repairs and making sense of everything that has happened.
Amidst all that has passed in recent weeks, however, feelings of relief have often become a substantial warmth as stories of profound generosity and healing have manifested themselves. For me, this became particularly apparent within our own community at our vestry meeting on Tuesday. Kenzie Blackwell, our Outreach Committee Chair, informed our gathering of the great yet behind the scenes work, generosity, and service taking place within our parish to meet the needs of those whose lives have been literally turned around. Friends donating money, reaching out to friends and family, and networking to connect people with resources so desperately needed. Aside from the obvious, these acts of kindness reminded me of the necessary and genuine goodness possible even in the midst of fear and uncertainty. Furthermore, they reminded me of an important aspect of faith.
A friend of mine once said that there are two types of healing in the Bible: loud healing and quiet healing. Loud healing is where we see something obvious, healing comes quickly, and it amazes and inspires us. The miracles of Jesus might be an example of this. Although it is interesting that, often, following a healing miracle in particular, Jesus tells those around him to keep quiet about it, and simply live their lives in the new way that has been granted to them. This brings us to the second type of healing: quiet healing. In this case, healing may come slowly, over time, and not manifest in obvious or explicit ways; yet, it is still there, gradually become more tangible and more truly a reality, until one day it fully makes sense. This may be the case when even a grand gesture is kept quiet and communicated through further acts of giving and healing, or indeed when we pray for something and it doesn’t seem to come, though maybe it’s already there.
In weeks like those of recent, it is important and good, indeed vital, to not only look for those acts of loud and desperately needed healing, but also those which are of a quieter nature. Perhaps it might even be helpful for us to remember that those moments of quiet healing are equally present, and equally impactful. They bring comfort especially when our problems seem to be beyond our capacity for change, and they are working even when we are unaware of them. Perhaps that is yet another way of discerning God’s Spirit working among us.
With every prayer and blessing for the week ahead,
Ed.