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United Church of Christ | Saxonville, Massachusetts

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A Balm in Gilead

March 25, 2020 by Rev. Debbie Clark

A Lenten Devotion by Debbie Clark

Is there no balm in Gilead?
 Is there no physician there?
Why then has the health of my poor people
 not been restored?

Jeremiah 8:22

During this season, the Tuesday morning Gentle Yoga class has opened each session by seeking inspiration from different kinds of trees, drawing upon the book Be More Tree, by Alice Peck.

Last week we focused on the pistachio tree, a fairly small tree that is tough enough to thrive in the desert and produce delicious nuts.

Some believe that the “balm in Gilead” Jeremiah seeks is actually the resin of the pistachio tree. Pistachio tree resin is also a main ingredient in the holy oil used for anointing in the Orthodox Christian church.

There is an ancient, legendary pistachio tree in Jordan. Fifteen hundred years ago, the story goes, a Christian monk named Bahura noticed a young Muslim boy sitting under this particular tree. He saw the tree bend its branches to offer shade to the child. The monk recognized that there was something special about this child, Muhammed ibn Abdullah, and called him a prophet. Thirteen years ago, Prince Ghazi bin Muhammed bin Talal of Jordan prayed underneath the same tree (or its offspring) before he wrote a letter calling for Christians and Muslim leaders to claim their common roots and work together for justice and peace. His letter laid the groundwork for the United Nations declaration creating World Interfaith Harmony Week.

As we moved into our opening meditation that morning, I invited the yogis to imagine healing sap flowing through the pistachio tree, and also to imagine the healing balm that flows through our own lives.

The answer to Jeremiah’s anguished cry, “Is there no balm in Gilead?” is yes. There is a balm in Gilead. There is a healing balm that flows through the pistachio tree. There is a healing balm that flows through our lives, a healing balm that brings us together across difference and distance.

May we seek a healing balm; may we be a healing balm. Amen.

Filed Under: Lenten Devotional 2020

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