Leap of Faith - June 21
Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 89:1-18; PM Psalm 89:19-52; 1 Samuel 5:1-12; Acts 5:12-26; Luke 21:29-36
My parents recorded on a blank VHS the 15th Anniversary of Saturday Night Live when I was a kid. I wasn’t allowed to stay up that late, and we didn’t have cable for hours of useless entertainment, so I watched the VHS over and over falling in love with Eddie Murphy, Dan Aykroyd, Dana Carvey, and Steve Martin. On weekends, we would walk about a mile up to Union Avenue to an old VHS movie rental place called Video Magic. My sister and I would systematically journey through the new releases until we had each found a movie for the weekend. On special occasions, we could also pick out a box of candy as a treat.
Probably as a result of my love of Saturday Night Live, I often picked out movies when one of the SNL classic actors or actresses would release a new movie. That’s how I stumbled upon a Steve Martin dud, Leap of Faith. It might not have been a great movie, but it was effective in instilling a sense of skepticism in religious leaders. In Leap of Faith, Martin is a conman faith healer who uses tent revivals to milk those who show up out of their hard-earned money.
The movie is somewhat redeeming when Martin finds some sense of faith after a town that is devastated by drought receives a miraculous downpour, but it was instilled in me early on, that faith healing is foolishness. Leap of Faith is not the only Hollywood attempt to draw attention to revivals and prayers and the often shallowness behind them. HBO has a hit in The Righteous Gemstones. Authors Flannery O’Connor and Shelby Foote have touched upon similar themes as well. We are skeptical of God’s power to heal and certainly our human agency to usher in that healing.
But here is the thing: I pray every day for people who are sick, people who desire healing, and people who are grappling with their prognosis from some ailment, medical decisions, or in need of healing. And I can’t imagine my relationship with those people and their friends and family if I didn’t pray. Since the beginning of Covid-19 and our daily commitment to the Daily Office, I have felt more connected to the community that gathers, and on random occasions have reached out because of prayer, often in times when that connection seems warranted. I think that prayer has changed my relationship with each person I have prayed for, but I can’t quite explain why.
I am struck that as the church was beginning, as Christianity was getting off the ground as a movement for love and hope and resurrection, people were being healed. They were certainly being prayed for and it changed the lives of the community so much so that we hear about it in Acts today. I am challenged to believe the church grew in leaps and bounds because some of what we have heard is true.
I’m not sure how healing works, but I know that we need prayer. These stories might sound foreign, or they might sound foolish, but they inspired our faith tradition to take seriously our call to pray for each other, to pray for God’s healing, whatever that might be.
I’m committed to praying for you. And I hope you will pray for me too. I don’t know where that leads us, except that God has invited us into a crazy and bold relationship. For what may I pray for you today.
John+
Questions for Self-Reflection: What is your practice of prayer? Do you pray for others? How so? Do you keep a list, call friends, write letters? How does prayer change your life?
Daily Challenge: Commit to praying for someone today. Set some time apart and create a plan. Maybe figure out how to incorporate them into a regular rhythm of prayer.