Reformation Day Sermon: 2010, John 8:31-36

 Today churches around  the globe commemorate that fateful day in history—that day when a young Augustinian monk by the name of Martin Luther did something which is so extraordinarily difficult to do.

Can you hear the hammer?

Listen for it?

What does that nailing signify?

That hammer signifies a stand. Martin Luther took a stand. He took a stand against the established church authority of his day, and drew his own line in the sand. But he didn’t do it to be a rebel; he didn’t do it just to be different. The stand he took when he  took a hammer and nailed 95 thesis, or 95 arguments to the Castle Church door in Wittenburg was not a matter of choice it was a matter of compulsion. Luther was compelled to do what he did on that fateful day, and was compelled to take the stand that he did in the face of church authority, and under the threat of bodily harm. What was this stand? Why was it important then? Why is it important to us here today? What compels a man to put himself at such risk?

The first and important thing we have to know about Martin Luther is that he was a sinner. He was not meek and mild. He could be crude—he could be extraordinarily rude. He was capable of dismantling his opponents with words and insults. The story of Martin Luther is very much an “in spite of  him“ story rather than “because of him” story. We tend to hear many “because of “ stories when we hear about heroic deeds. Heroes do things because of heroic character and bravery, and courage. Not so with Luther. The great work of Luther came about “in spite” of his great character flaws—and he was the first to say so.  From the perspective of faith, the story of the Lutheran Reformation, is not the story of what Martin Luther did or did not do; it was the story of what God did and is doing.

You see, God did something to Martin Luther. Like many people, Martin Luther was a driven person. When he entered holy orders as an Augustinian monk, he did so with great purpose. He was driven by a deep desire for inner peace. You see, he had not experienced much peace as a young man. His parents were very strict, very punitive. His mother lacked affection, and his father held high expectations. So Martin moved forward in life with much fear of punishment, high expectations of himself, and a desire to please others. It was like he was walking on a high-wire, and one wrong step would bring him crashing down to his death. He was constantly plagued by anxiety and depression.  That anxiety which burned within was ready to bubble over on one fateful night as the young man, then a student of law, was traveling  and got caught in a thunderstorm. To Luther, this meant only one thing—that God was angry, angry at him. To Luther, God was always angry, angry and fierce, poised to kill, and eager to punish young Luther. His life mission was, in that instant, transformed. His mission was now to please God, to be the best monk he could be. He would do that through prayer, confession, work, pilgrimage. But what Luther found that, the harder he worked, the worse he felt, the deeper his despair. And the reason for this despair lay in one question which haunted him day in and day out: How much is enough? Have I done enough to appease this angry judge who threatens to destroy my body and soul in hellfire?

Luther’s superiors were compassionate men who saw this suffering, this spiritual torment. His mentor, Johannes Von Staupitz, thought Luther might find an answer to his woes in the pages of scripture. And this is exactly what happened. It was in the pages of today’s epistle reading,  through the words of St Paul, where Luther heard it for the first time, where Luther for the first time heard the gospel—the good news. For years, Luther struggled to justify himself before God, the perfectly righteous judge.  In this passage of scripture, he was given the reason. St Paul writes that no human being will be justified in the sight of God, and that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.  Here for the for the first time, Luther heard that there was nothing he could do to save himself—that by his own works and effort, he was a lost and condemned sinner. Here Luther read that God’s law had pronounced a universal death sentence upon the sinner. From this passage, Luther proclaimed that we are in bondage to sin and can not free ourselves. This was the end of Luther’s effort to please God, to make God happy, to justify himself, because he saw that had no hope of doing so. He had no choice but to let go, and let himself fall fro that tightrope he had been walking on all these years.

But fall into what? He read on, and what he read was simply astounding, amazing, ground shaking, and mind altering. Luther read that he did not have to justify himself. There was only one person who ever lived a sinless life. Only that one person could ever be justified in God’s eyes—and that person is Jesus Christ. He is the only human being who ever justified himself in God’s court. To believe in him is to be freed of the death  sentence. When we believe in Him, we are justified in the sight of God. When we believe in Him, God does not look upon our sin, but the goodness of his son. Through Him, we are made heirs of the promise, and children of God. Through Christ, we are no longer enemies of God, but  beloved children and friends. This salvation, this wholeness of spirit, Luther came to realize, is the free gift of God. Works cannot earn us this love; it is God’s doing, not ours. This is the good news. This is the Gospel.  This is the only and ultimate source of liberation for humanity. As we read in today’s Gospel lesson, we read Jesus say. “ If the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed”.

            This Word of life and hope is what motivated Luther to carry on the spiritual battle because when he looked around he saw—he saw people in chains, in spiritual chains, in bondage to works righteousness theology, just as he had been. And when he saw that he could not keep this good news to himself. The Gospel was the power of liberation for all of humanity, and this Word of Life needed to be proclaimed.  For Luther, this meant going to war—to  spiritual war against powers and authorities  which loved the old way of doing things. This was an intimidating prospect, but there would be no backing down, no turning away. Luther’s actions led to his excommunication from the Roman Catholic Church. Before he had heard the gospel, Luther would have dreaded this fate as the ultimate disaster. He would have received it as the rejection of God himself. Now, he could care less. He could care less because he had heard the truth of the gospel. The Son of God had made him free and he was free indeed. With the pounding hammer, resonated the sound of liberation.

            And that sound of liberation still reaches us today. Event  though we are set apart from the Middle ages by five hundred years, that hammer, that chain breaking hammer, still has an impact. It still has an impact, because chains still need to be broken.—chains of works righteousness, chains of addiction, chains of oppression—all the chains which prevent human beings from being who they were made to be. The lessons of Luther must remain in our consciousness, because that temptation to works-righteousness, to the idea that we are saved by our own efforts, is a constant temptation. Works righteousness infects our faith-life whenever we believe that we must do this thing or that thing to earn God’s favour. Works righteousness is present in any spiritual system which prescribes a path of enlightenment and demands that it be followed—any stairway to heaven which must be climbed, or system which must be mastered.

Some might say that this reformation business is just a religious issue and doesn’t have relevance to our everyday lives. Think again. Do you ever define yourself by what you do or don’t do? Do you  ever dwell on failures—professional, personal, financial? Do you worry about the judgment of others? Do you ever despair at failing to measure up to some external standard? Does your happiness hinge on the ability to please others? Do you bemoan the fact that you aren’t the person you think you ought to be? If so, and I think it is safe to say we all can answer yes to at least one of these questions at some point in our lives, it means that we have, at one point, or another entered the same struggle as Luther—the struggle of proving ourselves worthy of being and dreading rejection. We have walked the same tight-rope.

The good news is that we need not prove anything. If we believe that God has come down to earth to free us from the power of bondage and death, we don’t have to prove anything. The Gospel has, just as it has for Luther, freed us. And when the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.

But a voice whispered in Luther’s ear, and it is a voice which whispers in ours—the voice of doubt, the voice which doubts that God really has made this great and tremendous decision about us. The voice of the enemy calls us to doubt this wondrous thing God has done for us.  Luther heard the voice speak: You’re not good enough, God wouldn’t bother saving you. You have to do something to earn your salvation; this isn’t a free ride you know. There’s a lot to learn to master before you can get there. Because of all the things that have happened to you, God doesn’t care. Maybe he’s forgotten His promise. Christianity is for the holy people, you’re just too bad.

When that voice whispered in Martin Luther’s ear, he responded with some very sharp words—words I wouldn’t feel comfortable using from the pulpit. But, with these words, Luther told the devil where he could go and what he could do. Luther did so not on the basis of his own power, but by the power of the gospel. By the power of the gospel, Luther awoke each morningmade the sign of the cross upon his forehead and said, “ I am baptized”—God has given me a sign of His love, God has given me His faith.

Such faith got Luther through some very difficult times. Don’t forget, he lived in the late middle ages. Life was short and difficult. Luther was attacked spiritually, he was beset by personal tragedy, the death of children, he suffered physical ailments –yet none of that could hide the light of the gospel. In fact, that light shone brighter the darker his world became.

But humans, in their sinfulness, want to hide, smother, and extinguish the light of the Gospel, want to be in control and responsible for their own destinies. This is why the Gospel must be proclaimed again, again, and again, and be heard afresh in this time and place.  But the Gospel cannot be suppressed, and the hammer must sound whenever humans attempt to do so. The message of Liberty through Christ, and only through Christ, must be proclaimed because it is only the Son who frees humanity, to live as it was intended by its Creator.  The truth of the Gospel, is the truth which states that God is a God for you—who created you, who died for you, and has gifted you to be in relationship with God. This God is our refuge and our strength, a very present help in trouble. This God is a mighty fortress. Now, may the peace which surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Martin Luther - O Lord, Look Down From Heaven, Behold

Sermon. October 24, 2010: Luke 18:9-14 “No room for self-righteousness”

                                 

This past week Canadian news headlines have been filled with a story which has and continues to shock the Canadian public. This is the disturbing case of Colonel Russell Williams. Charged with the murder of two female Canadian soldiers, his is a sordid tale of the abuse of power and perversion. And we should pray that justice  has and will be served and that God will effect healing amongst for family members of those murdered and victimized by this man.  Yet as the weeks and months pass by there will surely be more said about this case, more disturbing images. And as the images  flash across our television screens most Canadians naturally distance themselves, psychologically, from  the disgraced colonel.

The other day, as I saw photographs of this man, and an artists depiction of him sitting  with his head down in the courtroom, I thought to myself, “I am glad that I am not him”. I would rather be anyone but him. I’m sure that all Canadians would share this sentiment. I am glad I am not him. This thought makes sense when we think about William Russell, and it makes sense when we think about other people, too. Driving down Main and Hastings, looking at people standing, some sitting, on the sidewalk—some in drug induced hazes; others wandering aimlessly looking for the next fix. I am glad that I am not any of them either. I am sure I am not the only one who has thought that either—about them and about many other people. And it begs the question: On what basis is this judgment made? Obviously, if I decide that I am better than someone else, I have to have a reason for it. There has to be a reason to believe myself to be morally superior to a criminal; spiritually superior to an atheist, physically superior to someone laying in extended care.

What is the core reason most people believe themselves to be better than others? What is the justification? The truth of the matter, the fact of the situation, is that human beings naturally believe that the reason lies in themselves. That is, they will find the justification inside themselves. It is the goodness of “I” which separates me from a disgraced colonel. It is the work ethic which “I” possess which separates me from the homeless drug addict. “I” would never do such a thing as murder because “I” am incapable; “I” am a good person.

But is we read the Gospel narratives, and attend to the teachings of Jesus with any honesty, we see that the one thing Jesus shatters, destroys, explodes, is the concept of self-righteousness, and the illusion of  human sinlessness—that goodness is rooted in ourselves.. The Apostle Paul writes in  the  third chapter of Romans that all have fallen short of the glory of God. No one is righteous—not one. But the Pharissees, the Holy men of first century Palestine,  didn’t get that. They thought that they were morally superior, purer, and righteous on the basis of their own strength, and therefore superior to others. With that attitude in mind, the only thing they had to do for God was thank Him for how perfect they were.

We see that in today’s gospel lesson. Tax collectors were a particularly despised group, known for their corruption and exploitation of their own people. They were thought to be the lowest of the low. The Pharisee gives God thanks for not being like thieves, rogues, adulterers or the tax collector he stands next to at the temple. But it is the tax collector who confesses his sin to God, and asks for repentance, and it is the despised tax collector, and not the self-styled holy man who gets it, and is upheld by Jesus. And Jesus calls on his followers to model themselves on the attitude of the tax collector in the story. Christians must always remember who they are. They are forgiven sinners, made righteous not on the basis of anything they have done or anything they have not done. Negative comparisons with others do not justify us in the eyes of God-- only Christ does.  Statements we may speak to ourselves beginning with phrases like “ at least I’m not like him”; "at least I don’t do what she did;"" I’m glad I’m not one of those" don’t help us one bit.

Yet, how often in the Christian church have people  thought themselves better than they ought, and on the basis of negative comparisons with others.  Church gossip and cliques most often find their route in some kind of judgment about other people, usually around some superficial matter. At its worst self-righteousness has masked itself as holiness, and has been the basis of wars, conquest, and domination of others. What would Jesus think of something like the crusades? Or the Spanish Inquisition, which saw the torture and murder of thousands? You know the answer and scripture tells us clearly.

And scripture tells us also  that repentance lies at the very heart of the Christian life. Repentance is the frank admission to God of one’s sinfulness and failings. It is calling on God’s mercy and compassion for those things which have been done and those things not done. Repentance keeps us humble. As our Lord tells us today, “ those who humble themselves will be exalted.” But let us be clear about what today’s gospel lesson is saying and not saying. It does not  mean that we cannot be outraged by injustice, appalled by brutality, and angry at those who murder innocent people, and call for justice to be served. What it does mean is that we can never and should never think ourselves higher than we ought. What it means is that we should forever be thankful for the good lives we have been given, the moral sense we have been given, the compassion we have been given—for these are all gifts of a compassionate God.

Thankfulness and repentance indeed go together—hand in hand. Two weeks ago this nation celebrated Thanksgiving.  Households across this country got together to give thanks. Every week this household of faith gathers to give thanks, but also to repent of our individual and collective sins. Every week we say pray together, forgive us our  trespasses, which is to mean forgive us our sins. When we confess our sins in the order of confession and forgiveness, and absolution is pronounced, we respond by singing glory to God.  This is radically counter-cultural.

In modern culture and society many people profess a belief in God, but this is sadly, too often, a god of their own construction, a god who demands nothing, a god whose job it is to give us more goodies, certainly not a god who demands repentance.

But this is not the God who is described in scripture. The triune God demands repentance. The triune God  has demanded the perfect fulfillment of His Holy Law. Such fulfillment  is not something we could ever achieve The good news of the Gospel is that we don’t have to work our way into heaven. Christ has done all of the work for us. Christ has poured out his love upon us. God’s Grace and Mercy has been given to us without condition.

But let us never labour in the illusion that we don’t need God’s mercy and forgiveness. God’s mercy and forgiveness is the life-blood of the Christian. When we partake in Holy Communion, we celebrate our participation in the New Covenant—the centre piece of which is the forgiveness of sin. Baptism is God’s great and glorious sign of forgiveness to all who receive it in faith—this is why it is so worthy of our thanksgiving. Repentance and thanksgiving  are responses  to God’s great love for us  given through Jesus.

Repentance and Thanksgiving are the antidotes to a “cheap grace” mentality which says that I can do anything I want and God will love me and forgive me. Yes God’s love and forgiveness is constant, but the question becomes: Will I love God? Or will I become the type of person who shuts God out, rationalizes, makes excuses for sin, and walks the path of self exultation and self righteousness  Today’s Gospel Lesson makes it clear that confession and forgiveness are foundational to the Christian life.

In today’s epistle reading, we heard the final written words of St Paul, a man whose early life was spent persecuting Christians, until the resurrected Lord came to him, converted him, and called him to a life of repentance, gifted him with joy, and gave him a mission. Even as he sat waiting for what many historians believe was his impending execution he gives thanks to God for rescuing him from the lions mouth, for rescuing him from the power of sin and death, and giving him the great and glorious gift of eternal life—the same, the very same, gift God has given to each and every one of us through his son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Who are the Lutherans Introduction

Reformation Day Events

Please join us for Reformation Day Fun, starting on Saturday, October 30th:

Saturday, October 30th:

10:30am: Christian-themed pumpkin carving at the church with hamburger lunch.

5:30 doors open at Pastor Thomas' for "Almost Done School not yet retired fellowship".
Pizza 6:30. Martin Luther movie 7:00pm. (RSVP)

Sunday October 31st:

Service: 10:30 am(Reformation Day theme)
Greeting trick or treators at the church: 6:00pm.

October 17th sermon: "Sola Scriptura"

    2 Timothy 3:14-4:5

 I spent last Monday afternoon at my mother’s place. I was lying on the couch watching the BC lions. I flipped channels between plays. I observed that there were at least two talk shows dispensing medical advice. There were at least another two dispensing parenting and marital advice. And I reflected and realized that there is a whole lot of advice given in this world. In fact, there is a whole industry based on advice. Just check out your local bookstore. Brows the self-help section. From investing to golf to cooking to spirituality, there is no shortage of advice, and no shortage of people willing to give it.

            For Christians, this tremendous market of advice raises a very important question: Where does the church stand in the mix—the mix of plentiful and contradictory advice  which the world offers? What do we, as Christians, make of all of this information  which is offered to us? My pastor says one thing, the television counselor says something quite different. The book I’m reading about marriage contradicts everything I hear in church on the topic.  That talk-show psychologist is giving me advice that I sure wouldn’t hear from the pulpit. With the explosion of information made possible by the internet, people are saturated with information, and many are burdened with information overload. In all of this it is easy for the Christian to become confused, to lose sight of the truth of God’s Word alone—and follow teachings which sound good, make us feel good, tell us what we want to hear, but don’t tell us the truth. False teachings are easy, they are comfortable, they are bendable, and mallable. The sinner likes them, because they put us in charge, and push God out of the way. False teachings are stealthy, deceptive, and alluring. But like a steady diet of junkfood, they do not nourish, but lead, ultimately to spiritual malnutrition. But in times of pain, confusion, despair, it is very tempting to look around in desperation and grasp at whatever is offered—especially answers that are easy.

            This explains the popularity of  the “health and wealth” gospel which we here proclaimed by some televangelists. If only you have enough faith you will be healed of all sickness. If only you believe harder, you will be rich and prosperous. The promise of the success gospel is a false promise, for it gives false hope and tells a lie. And that lie says that Christian faith leads to worldly success and happiness, and a life free of pain and struggle. But we know from scripture that this isn’t the case. Jesus, the Son of God, did everything right; yet still was crucified. All but one of the original twelve Apostles was executed. All of Paul’s letters to the Christian communities in the Greco Roman world speak pastorally to some kind of trouble within those communities—Paul himself was afflicted with a “thorn in the flesh”Christians strong in faith and righteous in spirit endure all kinds of hardship and trouble, and are not spared the sufferings of life. That fact is something the purveyors of the “health and wealth” gospel do not want you to know, an inconvenient truth which is brushed under the carpet.

False and confusing teaching isn’t a new problem. Paul spent a lot of time repairing the damage done by false teachers. In today’s Epistle reading, the Apostle Paul gives sound instruction to his protégé, Timothy. This advice points him to the source—the source where the truth is to be found, and that source is scripture. Paul tells Timothy and tells us: “ All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.” In a world where so much confusion abounds, and so much false teaching, there is one place where clarity can be found. It can be found in the pages of scripture.

But we must be careful in how we approach scripture. Some view the Bible as a kind of instruction manual for good living, believing that if they follow all of the rules, then they will make God happy and earn their way into heaven. But this is wrong. The  Bible is not an instructional manual or mere historical document—it is the Living Word of God. It is the Living Word because it points to He who is the Living God for us. Martin Luther said it succinctly: “All Scriptures point to Christ Alone”. Christ is the centre—both of the New Testament and the Old Testament. Paul reminds Timothy of this basic spiritual fact. “Continue”, he says, “in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it, and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings that are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” “Sola Scriptura”—Scripture alone emerged as a great truth held by the reformers, and for good reason.

Scripture is reliable, scripture is trustworthy, scripture is inerrant, without error, because it innerantly  points to an testifies to Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. You cannot be a Christian, you cannot proclaim Jesus Lord and Saviour and at the same time deny the Bible—deny the source which tells us Jesus is Lord and Saviour. You cannot believe the Bible and deny Christ. The Bible is the only reliable source and guide for Christian living. As Paul says,  all scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness. Yes, there have been errors in translation of scripture. There have been errors in interpretation of scripture. But the message of salvation through Christ, and what that means for us is without error.

Now Paul wasn’t speaking to Timothy about what we understand as the New Testament. At the time Paul was writing  it hadn’t been written yet. What he was telling Timothy was that Christ had been revealed in the pages of the Old Book, the Hebrew Bible; for the work of Christ is present in and throughout the Old Testament Narrative, delivering and nourishing the Israelites in faith, until He himself entered the world in the person of Jesus. This isn’t easy to understand. The workings of God is beyond all human comprehension. But what we can understand is that in the face of Jesus we see the face of God for us-the God who loves us, the God who has claimed us, the God who has rescued us. That is the most important and central lesson we need to learn from the Bible. In the pages of the Bible we learn about what God has done for us, how God has transformed us, and how God expects us to live according to his great promise for us. All of this  deserves our attention, and Paul is emphatic as he urges Timothy in the use of scripture.

The first thing Paul tells Timothy is to proclaim the message. What is the message? What is the central message? The best summary of that message is John 3:16: “ For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish but have eternal life” That’s the message. That’s the Good News. And pay very close attention to the facts of this message. Who is the initiator of the action? Who is the subject of the sentence? The answer is clear. It is God.

This past week, the world ‘s eyes were fixed on television screens as Chilean miners were brought safely to the surface from within what would have been graves, miles beneath the surface of the earth. These men were trapped. They could have done nothing to rescue themselves. Their physically reality paralleled the spiritual reality of humanity. Luther said it succinctly, “ were are in bondage to sin and cannot free ourselves”.  Trying harder doesn’t help—it cannot help you. What was required was a great rescue. Just like the rescuers were sent down into that collapsed mine to bring those men up, Christ came down to earth to bring us up. That’s the good news. We don’t have to try; it has all been done for us. To believe that is to have faith. To trust in that is to have faith. But we need to be reminded. We need to be reminded again and again and again. Again and again we need to hear that Word of Life proclaimed Through the visible signs of water, God proclaims that Word to us. Through the wine and bread of communion, God proclaims that word to us. And through the pages of scripture God proclaims that Word to Us.

We need to hear that Word, both in Good Times and Bad. So Paul urges Timothy to be persistent in his proclamation whether the time is favourable or unfavorable.

And we will struggle with the Word of God, because there will be things in the Word that we do not want to hear. We will hear that we are not to do as we like; that Christians are called to a different way of being, that may cut sharply against the grain of social norms in this time and place.  So we need to be constantly convinced of God’s love for us, rebuked when we sin and are straying off path, and encouraged to live lives worthy of the Christian.  Scripture does that too: it convicts us, calls us back to repentance, and back to trusting in the God who has done all things for us—rather than trusting in ourselves and our self constructed idols.

In today’s Gospel lesson Jesus encourages his followers with the parable of a widow who sought justice from an unethical judge. How easy it was for her to place her faith and trust in this man. How easy it is for many of us to place trust in the things of this world. Yet, how difficult it is to place trust in the God who has promised us eternal life—so our Lord commands and encourages us to pray always. The walk of  faith is not easy. It is not easy because life can be so very difficult.  Faith can be a struggle. Just as Jacob wrestled with God at the Jabokk we will wrestle and struggle with God’s Word as it confronts us, convicts us, and challenges us. But we have not been left alone. That same Word is the same Word which has rescued us, nourishes us and sustains us. It is a word of promise, and that promise does not depend on us, does not depend on how religious we are, does not depend on what we have done or haven’t done. The righteousness Paul speaks of is not something we muster, it is something which God has given us freely through Christ. We know this from scripture.

            But we also know from scripture that God has claimed us, and rescued us for a reason, and it is not so that we can do as we like, how we like. It is with a far greater purpose than humanity can imagine or conceive that God has done this great rescuing work—it is to transform us into the image of Christ. Yes it has been said many times and it is most certainly true that there is nothing we can do to make us love God more or make God love us less.  But there are things we do to turn away from God. When we neglect the hearing of  God’sWord, we turn away from the nourishment of the Gospel. When the nourishment stops the starvation begins. We may struggle against the Word, but we need to hear it, we need to be nourished. And that nourishment happens here in this place. It happens when we hear that word proclaimed, “In the name of Jesus Christ your Sins are Forgiven” For where there is forgiveness of sins there s new life and salvation. The nourishment happens when we are washed in the waters of baptism, and give thanks for that baptism. That nourishment happens in the bread and wine of Holy Communion. That nourishment also happens in individual Bible reading and in  group Bible Study. All of the work of those great reformers was not done so that our Bibles collect dust on our bookshelves. Some might respond by saying: Well I did my Bible reading a long time ago. I know the stories. But that really misses the point. God’s Word is Living is active, it is doing something—it convicts and restores, admonishes and guides. It is a the Living Message of the Living God. The same Living God who has done such a marvelous and wonderous thing for you, who has given you the gift of eternal life, who is transforming you into the image of Christ. Now. May the peace which surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and minds in  Christ Jesus, Amen.

Battle Hymn of the Reformation

Thanksgiving Sermon 2010

In today’s Gospel lesson, the journey of Jesus takes him through a strange region. This is the region between Galilee and Samaria—the demarcation point between two peoples who are connected but at the same time distant, two peoples who celebrate a common history but who view each other with suspicion and animosity. As we know from other gospel texts, the division between Jews and Samaritans was sharp, and the division centered around a disagreement concerning origins. The Samaritans claimed  status as true Israelites—as descendants of the ten  northern tribes who were scattered by Assyrian conquerors in the seventh century. They professed to worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in truth, and followed Mosaic Law. The Judeans disagreed, regarding the Samaritans as the descendents of the Assyrian conquerors who destroyed the Northern Kingdom in the eight century. They were more or less regarded by Jews as “wannabees”, outside the covenant  God had made with Israel—not true descendants of Jacob.  

It  was along this cultural and religious border Jesus moved as he made his way south. And as he does he encounters another group of people, who represented another distinct category—these were the leapers.

            Now, the biblical disorder called “leprosy” was not the same as the modern skin disease known as “leprosy”.  Rather, it was a condition  marked by skin discoloration.  Law required that lepers be separated not for medical reasons, but for religious reasons. Biblical Leapers were regarded not as quarenteened medical patients, but as ritually unclean. Levitical Law required that Priests diagnose leapers as unclean and to be exiled from the community. Preists were also entrusted with the task of determining whether they were“clean”, and ready to return to the community. This pronouncement by a priest would be the ticket back to community, to livelihood, and to friends. And though Jews and Samaritans were separated by this massive cultural gulf, they both held this law of exclusion in common.  Lepers were on the outside. Locked out of regular life and society, they moved in groups, remained near urban centres, and begged for a living.

            It was just such a group that approached Jesus as he entered a village. The text does not tell us exactly what it was that drew these lepers to Jesus. Perhaps they were so lonely and desperate they sought help any way they could from anyone they could.  But perhaps they, like many others, knew who Jesus was right away—and the gifts he had for them.     “Jesus, master, have mercy on us!” This was a cry for mercy, was a cry for compassion, a cry for change, a cry for healing, a cry for a return to life and family. “Jesus, master, have mercy on us!” Hearing these words, Jesus told the ten to do the only thing that would restore their lives, and bring about a fundamental healing in relationship—this was the pronouncement of cleanliness by a priest.  Not surprisingly, they didn’t waste any time moving. And as they went, they were made clean. But one of them stopped. The one who stopped was the Samaritan amongst them. The text doesn’t tell us exactly why he stopped. It was the case that his journey would be much longer than the other ten. The Samaritan would have to travel to the ritual centre on Mount Garizim to be pronounced clean by a Samaritan priest. Maybe, this journey would not be possible, and this caused him to pause. We don’t know.But we do know one thing. We know that his heart was filled with Thanksgiving. Seeing that he was healed, he threw himself down at the feet of Jesus, at the feet of this Jewish Rabbi .  It was the foreigner who  turned out to be the thankful onel.    Within this unexpected, unprescribed encounter, emerged this tremendous moment of Thanksgiving. How startling, how wonderful, this moment must have been for this outsider and outcast.

            But we know from today’s Old Testament reading that this was not the first time a healing of leprosy was the cause for great and tremendous thanksgiving. Hundreds of years before the gospel lesson we read today, we hear the tale of another foreigner who receives remarkable healing. This time it is a powerful Syrian General, Naaman, an enemy of Israel, a man determined to bring down the descendants of Jacob, a man who has kidnapped a young Israelite girl and made him his wife.

            This powerful general also happened to be a leaper. And his Israelite wife knew where the cure was to be found—it was to be found within the heart of Israel, with the great Prophet, Elisha. When the King of Israel finds out about this proposal, his reaction is what you might expect. It would have made as much sense as inviting a burgler who has been staking your house inside for a warm meal. But Elisha saw things differently, Elisha saw the tremendous potential in this healing. So the day came when Naaman arrived at Elisha’s door, and the prophet gave him some very simple instructions: wash in the river Jordan seven times. His response is not all that positive. “What, do I really have to?” “ Couldn’t it be easier than that?” “Go down to the Jordan, the river in Israel?” “ Couldn’t I wash in the rivers of Demascus?” Not surprisingly, he refused. But his servants convinced him, with the basic argument that things could be a whole lot worse.  So he does it. He goes down to the river. He immerses himself. Seven times he washes himself, and he is cured.  And just like that leaper whom Jesus will cure hundreds of years later his response is of pure, unabashed, and total Thanksgiving. And in both cases, what follows that Thanksgiving, what flows from this gratitude, is faith. In both cases, foreigners, outsiders, came to recognize the workings of the one true God. And it came through God’s mercy and God’s grace.

Things could have been different. Jesus could have rebuked the  Samaritan leaper, and sent him on his way, refused to have anything to do with him. God could have given the Isrealite King the power to destroy Naaman. But this was not what God chose to do. God instead chose to reach out through mercy and love, and through that testified to who he is.

          Today’s readings testify to the wideness and surprising nature of God’s mercy and grace; testifies to a God who does not stop working to effect healing and wholeness, to a God who delights in hearing our Thanksgiving. The Psalmist tells us that, “ The Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom”. Here fear does not refer to being afraid, but rather to an experience of God’s awesomeness. And God’s awesomeness is revealed most completely in the mercy and Grace of God, through the Christ who draws all humanity to himself.  And that work of extension and healing continues. The Word of God, as the Apostle tells us, is not chained.  It works through barriers and effects thanksgiving and faith, in ways which are mysterious, subtle, and beyond all attempts of the human intellect to contain it. It transcends boundaries that divide, and brings healing and wholeness to those regarded as outsiders. The message we need to grasp hold of is the message which runs through all the readings this morning that God is on a mission of healing, and the appropriate response to that healing is Thanksgiving. Herein lies the tremendous exuberance expressed in today’s psalm. The writer gets it—the writer gets what God’s mission to the world is really all about. And when he gets it, he can do nothing other than proclaim Thanksgiving with all of his heart.

            Today this country, this nation, celebrates Thanksgiving. But a moment’s reflection reveals that theme of Thanksgiving runs through this entire worship service. We gave thanks for Baptism, we give thanks through prayers of intercession, we sang and sing thanks with hymns. In a moment we will sing the great Thanksgiving for God’s great gift to the world, given through Christ Jesus.

I would invite you to pay special attention to those words which say, “ it is indeed right, our duty, and our joy, that we should at all times and in all places give thanks and praise to you almighty and merciful God”. There is indeed always something to be thankful for, even when all seems dark and hopeless. Somewhere, there will be something.  Somewhere God will be extending his hand of mercy and healing. If you cannot see it pray for eyes that can, and these gifts will be shown to you.

            This Sunday we honour a special gift which has been given to this congregation—the gift of stained glass windows. And we give thanks for them. We thank God for working through the donors who sponsored them, and the artist who crafted them. May they serve as a constant reminder of God’s great love, which shines in our hearts, which shines through the darkness.  As you look at them in the coming weeks, months, and years, remember this day of Thanksgiving. And may the theme of this day fill your everyday, remembering always and everywhere God’s  mercy and love.  Amen.