Today’s text, Mark 5:21-43, inspired a sermon on the theme of healing. Rev. Cari opens up all the emotional responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, and recent discoveries at sites of former Indian Residential Schools. She asks, “How can our faith help us at this time?”

She begins with an extended reflection on neuroscientific learnings about the difference between empathy and compassion, and how important practices of both compassion and “perspective-taking” are.

Then she turns to the text for the day, a “Markan sandwich” with two healing stories intertwined together. How does the posture of each of the supplicants, and the response of Jesus, apply to us now?

If you are feeling overwhelmed by the state of our world, and wonder what to do, this sermon suggests three postures that might just help you find your path forward.

She is grateful to her colleague Andrea Blondal, Crossroads’ Office Administrator for sharing the work of Dr. Tania Singer on the brain and compassion/perspective-taking.