"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord" (Luke 4:18-19).

TO MAKE THE WOUNDED WHOLE


There is a balm in Gilead,
To make the wounded whole.
There is a balm in Gilead,
To heal the sin-sick soul.
---Slave Spiritual

There have been many books written concerning the church and its purpose. What really is the purpose and mission of the church? There are some who would suggest that the purpose of the church is evangelical. That is, the church should be concern about saving souls. There is another group who suggests that the focus of the church should be man's social environment. How are we to resolve this dichotomy? One book that have received wide acceptance recently is Rick Warren's book, The Purpose Driven Church. Warren goes to great length in defining the purposes of the church. Warren and others are helpful in highlighting elements in the purpose of the church, I simply want to suggest that the purpose of the church is encapsulated by the words of the slave spiritual - to make the wounded whole!

I believe, the text above, affirms my notion that the purpose of the church is to make the wounded whole. Cain Hope Felder, in his book, Troubling Biblical Waters, in making reference to Luke 4:16-30, states, "Luke stresses this by indicating that the Holy Spirit empowers him to proclaim freedom on behalf of those who are seldom heard or seen: the poor, the captives, and those oppressed by the social and religious elite. We should not be surprised that Jesus was known as one who did not discriminate against persons on the basis of their appearance or social standing." The theology of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. seems to side with my position when he said, "I have the audacity to believe that people everywhere can have three meals for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits." The Black church has its roots in social justice. The civil rights movement was birthed in the church. Our fore-fathers saw social justice and saving a person's soul as equally important. Now, for some, the church saves a person and then shows little regard for their social well-being. Jesus had a two-prone approach to the people he met. He addressed their social predicament and their need for a Savior.

All around us there are wounded people, the homeless, the poor, widows, prisoners, immigrants, and homosexuals. When children are under educated they are wounded. When people, because of social injustices, cannot get a job, they are wounded. When people are treated unfairly in the judicial system they are wounded. The six young boys in Jena, Louisiana are wounded. The woman held hostage in West Virginia and the boy in prison in Georgia for consensual sex are wounded. The wars, in Iraq, Afghanistan and other places, have created a lot of wounded people, both mentally and physically. The victims of Katrina are wounded.

Jeremiah asked, "For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt; I am black; astonishment hath taken hold on me. Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? Why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered? What shall we do as an individual and as a church to make the wounded whole?