He had been picked on––

constantly––

from the time when he was quite a young pup.

The breeder’s stud male, Riley, had taken something of a dislike to Bear…

and obviously saw him as a threat and a potential challenger…

and took every opportunity to put him in his place.

That was until the day when Bear was in his prime…

and Riley was on the wane…

and Bear let him have it.

Three year’s worth of bullying––

an eternity in a Wolfhound’s short life––

had taken their toll.

And that’s how Bear, my second Wolfhound, came to live with me.

Don’t get me wrong––

he was a really gentle giant…

very sweet…

and very fond of people.

He just couldn’t stand un-desexed male dogs.

For a while, in Melbourne, I used to take him to an off-lead park…

and, most of the time, he was fine.

But, occasionally, someone would bring along an un-desexed male––

and it always seemed to be a German Shepherd or a Rottweiler––

who would be too dumb–– 

and whose owners were too macho–– 

to know any better.

And, wham!

Bear would let them have it.

It would take less than thirty seconds for the other dog to be sprawled on its back…

with Bear’s jaws around its throat.

It happened often enough that…

if Bear even saw a German Shepherd or a Rottweiler––

male or female––

he would go for it.

Normally, Bear was a gentle giant.

He was very fond of people.

He was genuinely excited when he saw young children and especially prams.

But his life experience told him that entire male dogs were bullies;

and he had come to expect that German Shepherds and Rottweilers would attack him…

so he simply got in first.

 

Past experiences shape our expectations and beliefs.

They shape how we see our world…

and, in turn, those expectations…

assumptions…

perceptions…

and beliefs…

shape how we experience our world thereafter.

And they’re often passed down from generation to generation––

which also happens on a much broader scale…

at a cultural level.

There are various expectations… 

assumptions…

perceptions… 

and beliefs… 

that we all share–– 

and that shape our experience of the world.

And, generally, we simply take them for granted as the way that the world is… 

and the way that the world works…

and the way that it ought to.

In Australia, perhaps, that’s things like equality and democracy…

the right to privacy and to private property…

choosing whom we will marry without any interference…

or deciding for ourselves what sort of career we will follow.

But, ultimately, all of these are just a part of our cultural conditioning.

They’re part of how we have been brought up to see the world…

and what we expect from it.

But other cultures will assume and expect vastly different things––

which are equally taken for granted as the way that the world works…

and how it ought to work.

 

And that also applies to the way that we understand our bodies…

the way that they work–– 

or don’t––

and how we fix them.

Growing up in the modern, Western world…

we’re used to thinking in terms of bacteria, viruses, and infections;

we’re used to having complex tests… 

involving all sorts of diagnostic machines…

receiving prescriptions for oddly-named tablets…

or submitting to delicate surgical procedures…

performed by highly trained and extremely well-paid professionals.

But, in many cultures, especially in the past, that wasn’t the case.

In many cultures, there’s no understanding of germs.

Nor is there any understanding of organs…

or chemical imbalances in the body…

or changes at a microscopic or cellular level.

In such cultures, physical perception is what matters.

Does a person look “normal”, like everyone else?

Do they act normally, like everyone else?

If not, they try to explain it.

And, in the world of the first century––

at the time when the book of James was written––

that’s what it was like.

They also lived in a world where things didn’t just happen;

where everything that happened was caused by someone––

by me, personally…

by another person…

by an evil spirit…

or by God.

Thus, illnesses and abnormalities were the result of curses or hexes…

being invaded by evil spirits…

or by sin––

offending God by breaking strong social and religious taboos…

and being punished for it.

And that’s what we see in our reading from James this morning:

“The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed”.

That simply reflects how they understood their world.

And, while there are some people in our society who still make that same connection––

who still believe that illnesses are the result of sin or demonic forces…

or God’s punishment…

and who still believe that God can work miracles––

provided that we believe strongly enough and we pray fervently enough––

most of us operate from a very different view of the world…

and a very different understanding of illness and disease––

its causes and its cures.

So, this reading from James may seem, at best, a little quaint or irrelevant…

and, at worst, potentially dangerous.

 

And yet…

one of the things that modern medicine recognises––

although it’s seldom discussed on a popular level––

is that, ultimately, there is no such thing as a cause of any illness.

Any illness is the result of a series of factors working together––

not just a disease-causing agent acting on its own…

but in combination with other things such as the immune system…

and the environment.

And, of course, one of those factors is what happens between our ears.

How often do we get sick because we convince ourselves that we’re going to be––

so that it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy?

How often do we get sick because we’re unable to let go of the past…

because we cling to guilt or regrets…

and we can’t find a way to forgive ourselves for things that we have done?

How often do we make ourselves sick through worry;

through our inability to cope with the present;

through grief or anger that’s never been dealt with?

How often do we get sick because of disagreements that aren’t resolved;

because of fights that we don’t settle;

because of relationships that are out of wack;

because our lives are out of balance?

 

So, maybe, there is something in what the author of James says that’s still helpful.

Perhaps we won’t find true healing and wholeness until we admit to others:

the things that we can’t let go of…

the things that we regret…

the anger or grief that we cling to;

and until we try to resolve the disagreements that aren’t resolved…

and restore the relationships that are broken and strained.

And, perhaps, that’s why our author advocates confession…

anointing with oil…

laying on of hands…

and prayer.

Because, ultimately, healing and wholeness come–– 

not just by getting our burdens off our chests…

but when we know that… 

whatever has happened…

or whatever we have done––

we’re still loved and accepted by God… 

and by each other.