26 September 2025

Well Water Wisdom

A Reflection from +John T.W. Harmon

“Balm in Gilead”

Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there?

Why then has the health of the daughter of my people not been restored?”

~ Jeremiah 8:22

Beloved,

This is not the world or future we imagined for ourselves or our children. The depth of unimaginable pain and suffering that characterize the lives of so many in our neighborhoods, country, and around the world is an agonizing and exhausting distress. Our world, as it stands at this moment in time, desperately needs a radical healing.

We live in a world marked by relentless warfare, murders, gun violence, social and political upheaval, and religious divide, all punctuated by speeches devoid of Gospel values. All of which have given rise to a moral and humanitarian crisis. It feels as if we are being pulled apart as our world is spinning out of control. How did we get here? Where is that beloved community of goodwill and kindness, of justice and peace, of love and compassion?

We lament with the prophet Jeremiah, “My joy is gone; grief is upon me; my heart is sick. Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then has the health of the daughter of my people not been restored?” (Jeremiah 8:22) Jeremiah’s words resonate with the longing of our hearts for healing and restoration. Yet, how do we begin to heal our communities, our nation, and the world when fear and distrust are the threads being woven into the fabric of our culture? Is there a balm in Gilead?

In these times, when our divisions have deepened due to harmful speech, coupled with violence that threatens and destroys human life, we must begin to heal and repair the fabric of society by intentionally living out our baptismal vows to respect the dignity of every human being.

Our words, our speech, and what we express now matter more than ever. Words are not simply expressions of our feelings and imagination; they can inspire peace and acts of love, that influence and encourage hope. They can become vessels of benevolence and goodwill, a healing balm that allows us to honor and respect all whose lives differ from our own.

Since words might serve as the balm, guiding us towards trust and healing, is there a word from God? Is there a balm within each of us that can help heal and mend our divisions, uniting us in a response that goes beyond soothing our personal guilt and safeguarding our privilege?

In all this, I hope we can take the prophet Isaiah as a guide when he says:

The Lord God has given me the tongue of a teacher, that I may know how to sustain the weary with a word. Morning by morning he wakens, wakens my ear to listen as those who are taught. The Lord God has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious, I did not turn backwards. I gave my back to those who struck me, and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard; I did not hide my face from insult and spitting.” (Isaiah 50: 4-6)

May our words fall like seeds that awaken hope; may the reflection of our hearts search for the presence of Jesus in each other; and may our actions bear fruit that will heal our hurting world, conflicted communities, and broken hearts. May we strive to be instruments of God’s presence and healing.

There is a balm in Gilead to heal a wounded world. We are that balm.

With prayer and blessings, I am,

Faithfully in Christ,

The Right Reverend John T.W. Harmon

Bishop of Arkansas