Christ the Healer
1992 (Year C), 16 February / Epiphany 6
St Peter de Beauvoir Town
Clergy often burble on and on in very general terms during sermons. I hope the motives are honourable, in that it’s an attempt to make the sermon as accessible as possible to as many people. The result is often exactly the opposite, just a string of religious platitudes that touch few and mean even less. That is not the case this morning, but the result might be disturbing.
Figures suggest that one in ten adults were sexually abused as children, that is one in eight women and one in twelve men. Around 90% of abusers are well known to the child being abused. Most are family members or other relatives. Some are other adults the child trusts; teachers, baby-sitters, neighbours. Abuse by strangers is rare. In about 93% of known cases of sexual abuse on both girls and boys, the abuser is a man.
Healing from such traumatic events doesnt happen quickly and it only starts with facing what has happened in the past.
There are at least as high a proportion of survivors inside the church as outside. A large proportion of abusers are extremely devout, outwardly moralistic and religious. The church has provided a haven for them.
And all the while the church has kept very silent. Despite clear Biblical disapproval of incest. It has promoted the notion of wives being submissive and obedient to their husbands; of children to their fathers. Men who have thought themselves ‘head of their households’ have been given licence to do things denied to their wives and children. The church has idolised the family and put pressure on families to ‘stay together’ no matter what the cost, and has advocated false notions of family loyalty.
When survivors have spoken out, the church has often blamed them, or has belittled their experience and stood in the way of healing by an obsessive demand that they forgive their abuser. One woman speaking very movingly this week demanded that the church get angry, with and for the survivors; at the injustice and violation that has been perpetrated on them. She pointed out that Jesus got angry with the money lenders who violated his temple; he overturned their benches and threw them out. ‘We are told,’ she said, ‘that our bodies are Temples of the Holy Spirit; the church should stand up for us and work to put an end to such violation. Most of us need to know were worth getting angry for. A lot of us don’t know how to get angry on our own behalf yet.’
Survivors of sexual abuse need and deserve to hear the Gospel of Christ the Healer. It is profoundly relevant for them. Jesus himself ministered to many women who had survived many sexually abusive relationships.
Sexual abuse almost always functions within a framework of lies, deception and secrets. Remembering the painful events of abuse is in itself a very frightening and confusing experience. It’s like living in a nightmare world. In spiritual terms, sexual abuse functions within a kingdom of darkness.
By contrast, the Christian gospel is characterised by light and truth. Survivors know that when, perhaps after years of silence and denial, they start to confront the truth of what happened to them, they are on the path to healing and freedom. Survivors understand, perhaps better than most, what Jesus was saying when he said ‘The truth shall set you free.’
The woman who spoke said this, ‘I no longer suffer from the problems that have bugged me for most of my life, but that doesn’t mean that I find life easy now. What keeps me going is Jesus’ attitude towards those women he met, who themselves had been in abusive relationships. He offered love, acceptance and by his actions told them they were special, to be valued. He defended them against their accusers and critics, including his male disciples, and he exalted them to become key people in furthering the Kingdom of God.’
Mary Magdalene, a prostitute liberated by Jesus was such a key person. She was the first to witness the resurrection and it was her faith that enabled the other disciples to recognise the risen Christ. The Samaritan woman, who Jesus met at the well, was liberated by Jesus exposing the truth about her relationships. She went and evangelised the entire village in which she lived, and we are told ‘many believed.’
Jesus needed these women in order to fulfil his ministry on earth. I believe that the church needs women and men who have survived sexual abuse, and become strong through facing the pain and the truth of the experience, to fulfil its ministry.
May those who have undergone the awfulness of sexual abuse find within this church love, acceptance and healing. AMEN