Faith, Hope, and Mental Health

 

Service of Worship

Eastern Parkway United Methodist Church

August 8, 2021

Rev. Natalie Bowerman, Pastor

 

Prelude

Greeting and Announcements

Mission Statement: We are a faith community striving to be, to nurture, and to send forth disciples of Jesus Christ.

Call to worship:

Come, let us put away all things that divide us and love one another.
For we are members of one another.
Come; let us not be divided from one another by gender, race, color, or status.
For we are members of one another.
Come; let us put away lies, anger, stealing, and corrupt words.
For we are members of one another.
Come; let us put away bitterness, wrath, clamor, and malice.
For we are members of one another.
Come; let us put away uncleanness, idolatry, and deception.
For we are members of one another.
Together let us speak truth, labor together, and do what is good and edifying to the Lord.
Let us be imitators of God, walk as the children of God, and love as Christ first loved us.
Come, let us be the people of God we are called to be.
For we are saints, God’s chosen people, and members of one another.

 

Hymn #612, “Deck Thyself, My Soul, With Gladness”

 

1.     Deck thyself, my soul, with gladness,
leave the gloomy haunts of sadness.
Come into the daylight's splendor;
there with joy thy praises render
unto Christ, whose grace unbounded
hath this wondrous banquet founded.
High o'er all the heavens he reigneth,
yet to dwell with thee he deigneth.

2. Sun, who all my life dost brighten;
Light, who dost my soul enlighten;
Joy, the best that any knoweth;
Fount, whence all my being floweth;
at thy feet I cry, my Maker,
let me be a fit partaker
of this blessed food from heaven,
for our good, thy glory, given.

3. Jesus, bread of life, I pray thee,
let me gladly here obey thee;
never to my hurt invited,
be thy love with love requited.
From this banquet let me measure,
Lord, how vast and deep its treasure;
through the gifts thou here dost give me,
as thy guest in heaven receive me.

 

Prayer of Confession

Gracious God, our sins are too heavy to carry, too real to hide, and too deep to undo. Forgive what our lips tremble to name, what our hearts can no longer bear, and what has become for us a consuming fire. Set us free from a past that we cannot change; open to us a future in which we can be changed; and grant us grace to grow more and more in your likeness and image, through Jesus Christ, the light of the world. Amen.

 

Assurance

Hear the good news of God’s love for us; not in the earthquake, not in the storms, not in the mighty deeds, but in the silence, in the gentle touch, in the quiet rain God says, again,
“You are my Beloved.” We don’t do anything to earn God’s love, yet God lavishes us with it anyway, and always will. Amen.

 

Psalm 88: 1-18

¹ Lord, you are the God who saves me;
    day and night I cry out to you.
² May my prayer come before you;
    turn your ear to my cry.

³ I am overwhelmed with troubles
    and my life draws near to death.
⁴ I am counted among those who go down to the pit;
    I am like one without strength.
⁵ I am set apart with the dead,
    like the slain who lie in the grave,
whom you remember no more,
    who are cut off from your care.

⁶ You have put me in the lowest pit,
    in the darkest depths.
⁷ Your wrath lies heavily on me;
    you have overwhelmed me with all your waves.^[d]
8 You have taken from me my closest friends
    and have made me repulsive to them.
I am confined and cannot escape;
⁹     my eyes are dim with grief.

I call to you, Lord, every day;
    I spread out my hands to you.
¹⁰ Do you show your wonders to the dead?
    Do their spirits rise up and praise you?
¹¹ Is your love declared in the grave,
    your faithfulness in Destruction^[e]?
¹² Are your wonders known in the place of darkness,
    or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?

¹³ But I cry to you for help, Lord;
    in the morning my prayer comes before you.
¹⁴ Why, Lord, do you reject me
    and hide your face from me?

¹⁵ From my youth I have suffered and been close to death;
    I have borne your terrors and am in despair.
¹⁶ Your wrath has swept over me;
    your terrors have destroyed me.
¹⁷ All day long they surround me like a flood;
    they have completely engulfed me.
¹⁸ You have taken from me friend and neighbor—
    darkness is my closest friend.

 

A Message

“Faith, Hope, and Mental Health”

 

Friends, the person who requested this sermon wished to remain anonymous. She’s someone I care about. Mental health struggles have hit her family hard, and forever changed her life. She’s someone I know. But she could be someone you know. She isn’t someone who lives terribly far away, who lives in a totally different culture and world, who has a life all that different from yours or mine. She’s a mom. A wife. A suburban homeowner. A Yankees fan. She loves pizza and hates mosquitos. And someone she loved died by suicide.

 

Suicide is a leading cause of death in adults, and alarmingly also in children. One in four adults in the United States suffers from a diagnosable mental illness, and half of all American citizens will suffer from a mental illness sometime in their life. A third of people living in this country will experience an anxiety disorder. In the last year in the US 19 million adults, and 1.1 million kids, struggled with substance abuse and addiction. 17.3 million adults, and 3 million kids, struggled with depression. 12 million people dealt with post traumatic stress disorder, 3 million people were treated for bipolar disorder, and 10 million adults experienced suicidal thoughts.

 

Mental health is an enormous struggle in this society, in this time, in this life. And nearly every person in this room will either experience mental health struggles or know and love someone who does. Mental health issues are so prevalent, and can be so devastating, that for some of us coping with mental health issues can be the greatest struggle we face in this life. And many of us were taught since we were little to bring our struggles here. What does our faith teach us about mental health?

 

I’ll move into the hopeful, uplifting part of this sermon in a few minutes. But first, we have to acknowledge the elephant in the room: it’s not easy to talk about mental health. A lot of us don’t understand it. When your back hurts, or you have a headache, or something’s bleeding, you have a really obvious symptom that you can report to any doctor anywhere, that you’re unlikely to feel embarrassed or ashamed of, that your health insurance will almost certainly cover treatment for, and that you can take a pill or apply a bandage to heal. None of those things are true for mental health issues. “Anhedonia” is one of the most prominent symptoms of depression. I’m guessing that some of you don’t automatically know that that word means “you’re not having fun doing your favorite things”. And even if you do know that, how do you know that you’re no longer enjoying what you should? It’s a very subjective symptom. A lot of people who deal with mental health issues feel like they have an “invisible illness” that no one acknowledges. Whether we don’t recognize within ourselves that something is wrong, or we know something’s off but we also know our health insurance won’t cover therapy, or we know something’s not right but our friends and family are less than supportive and we’re afraid of their reaction if we ask for help, it’s clear that a whole lot of our friends and neighbors desperately need help and aren’t getting it. 56% of American adults with mental health disorders have not received treatment for them. That’s 25 million people. That’s more people than live in the entire state of New York. Our country has a crisis on its hands where mental health is concerned.

 

And as I’m sure y’all know, when you leave mental health issues untreated, like we do for the majority of Americans who suffer from them, there’s far-reaching consequences for that, consequences that hit certain populations disproportionately hard. A quarter of our prison population struggle with serious mental illnesses. 45% of those who could describe themselves as homeless struggle with mental illness. 37% of our LGBTQIA friends struggle with mental illness. 17 % of African Americans, 15% of Latin Americans, 13% of Asian Americans, 23% of Native Americans, and 25% of multiracial Americans struggle with mental illness. When we don’t take care of our mental health, everything else around us starts to unravel—our ability to attend to our work, to take care of our families, to maintain healthy friendships, even to take care of our physical health.

 

As people who love and follow Christ, we have a responsibility to have compassion for our neighbors who are struggling. It’s our job to be the hands and feet of Christ, and to do what Jesus himself would do to create a world where we can all live in peace. Jesus had tremendous compassion for the sick, as we see by all of his healing miracles throughout the four Gospels. Though none of those four texts explicitly name mental illness as the affliction Jesus is healing someone of, there are many references to Jesus “casting out demons” from people. In Jesus’ day, people believed that illness was a punishment inflicted on you for displeasing a deity, and there’s substantial evidence to suggest that in the numerous stories where Jesus “casting out demons” radically changes the person’s behavior, that it was really mental illness that the person struggled with, that Jesus helped to heal.

 

But despite everything I’ve told you—despite very clear evidence that there’s so much untreated suffering in our midst that we have a duty to treat with compassion—our Christian churches haven’t had the greatest track record for being a safe place to turn when you’re struggling with mental health issues and you know you need help. Part of the reason is because we don’t all agree with each other on the most respectful, helpful way to respond. Just this year at our virtual annual conference gathering, we watched a testimony of a young man who told his girlfriend he was thinking about taking his own life. He mentioned that his girlfriend belonged to a church but he didn’t, and his girlfriend’s response was to call her pastor right away so that she could get her boyfriend to accept Jesus as his Lord and Savior and get “saved”. I’m certainly not diminishing the power of that testimony, or how life-giving it was to that young man to feel Jesus so strongly in his life when he was at his lowest. What a profound message that is about how Jesus loves us. But I found myself disturbed by that message just the same. The language of “getting saved” doesn’t really jive with me, and I’ll cover that in another sermon. But more than that, I’m prone to say that young man didn’t need a pastor in that moment so much as he needed a good therapist.

 

This idea that our faith should, on its own, be enough to “cast out the [metaphorical] demons” of mental illness is one we keep finding popping up in Christian corners despite lots of public appeal for a healthier message. Just this week, an evangelical pastor by the name of Gabriel Hughes posted this to his Facebook:

 

“If you have a Bible-teaching, Gospel-preaching pastor, who exposits Scripture, exacts sin, and exalts the Savior…He has far better answers for you than all the shrinks, therapists, and psychologists the world can throw.”

 

As much as I’d like to flatter myself by proclaiming that my advice and beliefs are so high and mighty, this is a toxic teaching. There is nothing unchristian about pursuing therapy and/or medication for mental health issues. It’s ok to not be ok. And it’s ok to say so. It’s ok to ask for help.

 

That’s where this morning’s scripture reading comes in. Psalm 88. Boy howdy. The Psalms can be so uplifting and inspirational. So many of them make great calls to worship, great benedictions, sound magnificent set to choir music. This isn’t that kind of Psalm. This isn’t a Psalm you read to connect your joy with the joy of someone who lived thousands of years before you. This Psalm is sad and dark. The Psalmist wrote this one when he felt scared, alone, and helpless. The joy of the world is somewhere off glimmering far away as far as the Psalmist can see. But he hasn’t given up. If I felt like he did you might find me curled up on my couch with a bag of Cheetos watching Judge Judy. And he very well may be. But he’s also writing a song to God with what little energy his depression will allow him. He’s incredibly vulnerable. He allows God to see him on his worst day. He even blames God for his trouble and is so bold to tell God that when he says, “You have put me in the lowest pit, in the darkest depths. Your wrath lies heavily on me, you have overwhelmed me with all your waves.” I don’t believe God is responsible for this man’s problems, but the greatest thing about God’s love is that it doesn’t give up. On our very trying days we can read God the riot act. We can yell. We can scream. We can cry. We can say bad words. We can shake our fingers as hard as we can at God and God won’t walk away. The Creator of the Universe can handle our grief and anger, and loves us for them. God loves our broken pieces.

 

This Psalmist pleads with God for relief, and doesn’t seem to get it by the time he stops writing. Despite all the terrible things going on in his life—his loss of friendships, his feelings of despair and fear, his sleeping difficulties, his tears, and his feelings of hopelessness—God doesn’t snap the Divine fingers and cure him. God doesn’t fix his life, send a great therapist down to talk to him, or make some Zoloft magically appear in his medicine cabinet. But God offers the man something deeper, something that this man is reaching for with the last ounce of his strength because he knows it will see him through to better days. God listens. God cares. God loves. And God doesn’t go anywhere no matter how hard this man pushes his Creator. As the storms of depression rage around this man, God is his anchor in the sea. God is the steady place that can’t be submerged by floods. God is the lighthouse that illumines the path to dry ground.

 

God is our fortress and strength, our present help in times of trouble. God helps us to lift up our eyes just far enough to reach out for more help. God tells us to take care of ourselves in body, spirit, and mind because God loves us and doesn’t want to see a world without us in it. God assures us of the Creator’s love, and imbues us with it no matter what happens.

 

And then for those of us having a better day than the Psalmist, for those of us in a better place mentally and emotionally, that same Divine love charges us with work to do: go out into the world and erase the stigmas around mental illness wherever you find them. Tell your friends and neighbors it’s ok to not be ok. Ask your neighbor how they’re feeling, and wait for a real answer. Don’t shy away from the awkward conversations and the hard questions. Show as much care and concern for your neighbor starting a new antidepressant as you show for your friend starting any other kind of medication. And more than anything, tell your friends, your neighbors, your community, out to the furthest corners of your reach God’s Good News for those struggling with mental illness today: I love you, and it gets better.

 

Amen.

 

For more information check out mhanational.org

 

Hymn #533, “We Shall Overcome”

We shall overcome,
We shall overcome,
We shall overcome, some day.

Oh, deep in my heart,
I do believe
We shall overcome, some day.

We'll walk hand in hand,
We'll walk hand in hand,
We'll walk hand in hand, some day.

Oh, deep in my heart,

We shall live in peace,
We shall live in peace,
We shall live in peace, some day.

Oh, deep in my heart,

We shall all be free,
We shall all be free,
We shall all be free, some day.

Oh, deep in my heart,

We are not afraid,
We are not afraid,
We are not afraid, TODAY

Oh, deep in my heart,

We shall overcome,
We shall overcome,
We shall overcome, some day.

Oh, deep in my heart,
I do believe
We shall overcome, some day.

 

Time of Prayer and Lord’s Prayer

 

O Eternal One, whose message to us has always been that our relationship to you is inextricably related to how we treat our sisters and brothers, bend low your spirit this day and touch us with your power.

• Wean us from our tendency to nurture perceived slights and to put hot coals to our anger.
• Wean us from all tendencies to take advantage of others for personal gain.
• Wean us from negativity and from becoming bitter whether or not we think we are justified in our feelings.
• Wean us from the all too human and common tendency to gossip about others and to slander them in any way.
• Wean us from carrying malice in our hearts and from giving in to anything that would poison relationships with others.

Make us over again, O gracious God.

Give us a consistent kindness and compassion for others. Keep us always tender hearted even when the world delivers difficult blows and setbacks to us. Teach us once again about your redeeming grace in order that we may learn, however slowly and however tentatively, how to forgive others. Teach us how to live abundantly into the future as victorious and expectant people, greeting each new day with eagerness and excitement. And indelibly remind us that we are among your forgiven and beloved community.

We present to you all who have special need of your grace today. Keep them in your gracious care and insofar as we are able use us to make their burdens lighter. Be with those who war and who are victims of war and grant to us a peaceful world.

 

Our Father, Mother, Creator God, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who have trespassed against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

 

Offering, doxology, and prayer of dedication

 

Hymn #673, “God Be With You”

 

1.     God be with you till we meet again;
by his counsels guide, uphold you,
with his sheep securely fold you;
God be with you till we meet again.

2. God be with you till we meet again;
neath his wings securely hide you,
daily manna still provide you;
God be with you till we meet again.

3. God be with you till we meet again;
when life's perils thick confound you,
put his arms unfailing round you;
God be with you till we meet again.

4. God be with you till we meet again;
keep love's banner floating o'er you,
smite death's threatening wave before you;
God be with you till we meet again.

 

Benediction

Go out and imitate God, living in love.
Put your hope in God’s Word
and let your own words be truthful and constructive.
May sin rouse your anger,
. . . but never let anger cause you to sin.
Don’t allow any room for evil.

And may God always hear your voice.
May Christ Jesus raise you to new life;
and may the Holy Spirit nourish you for the life of love.

We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
. . . In the name of Christ. Amen.

 

Postlude