The Gospel: Luke 17:11-19
On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, they called out, saying, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" When he saw them, he said to them, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were made clean. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus asked, "Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" Then he said to him, "Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well." Prayer: Lord, you have promised that when two or three gather in your name you will be present with them. We depend on that promise today and pray that you will move among us. Lord, we pray that you have inspired Mike's preparation, that you will enliven his presentation and that you will empower our application. Amen The Message: You will probably have noticed that I tend to focus on, or connect the message in my sermon to, the text from the Gospel reading for the Sunday. So, you might expect that this morning, I would be focusing on the story of the ten lepers in the Gospel of Luke. I may circle back to that this morning, but for now, I am going to take us to the reading from Jeremiah as our starting place this morning. I would suspect that many of us are familiar with Jeremiah 29: 11 "For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope." This is a great promise to the people of Israel, who have been taken into captivity in Babylon, and are trying to assimilate into their new circumstances. This verse is often quoted when people find themselves in challenging circumstances and need some encouragement that the Lord has not abandoned them. I don't know about you, but I know that people have often used this text when I have found myself wrestling with financial, health, or family issues. This seems to be a wonderful assurance of God's constant care and consideration, with regard to his relationship with his people. It certainly has provided me with something to say when I wasn't sure how to respond to the circumstances in which others have found themselves, circumstances, or challenges that I didn't understand. The reading from Jeremiah for this morning is less readily remembered or used. Part of the reason for that I believe is that it challenges our desire for things to change, for things to be the way we want them to be, or to be returned to what we consider normal. Let's look at Jeremiah 29: 4-7 "Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare." Does anyone else find these verses slightly jarring? Is there something about these verses that doesn't seem to sit right with you? So much of the Old Testament rings with the vibrant need for the People of Israel to be set apart, to be different and distinctive. Here it seems that the Lord is saying: "establish for yourself a new understanding of normal." For the time that you are here in Babylon go on with your life and do all the things, you would normally do. On top of that begin to pray and seek the Lord's good intentions for the nation that has taken you into captivity. "But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare." "Pray to the Lord on its behalf." Pray to the Lord for the nation. Remember what I said a couple of weeks ago about the difference between praying for someone and praying about someone. When we pray about others or about institutions we generally pull out our laundry list, our complaints, our disappointments, and our complaints against those people and we fill our prayers with our words about them. When we come before the Lord and pray for and on behalf of others we come with a different list of concerns. We come with those things that are concerns for them. We come before the Lord and petition him on their behalf. Now it is interesting in the context of the Jeremiah reading for this morning that the people have every reason to pray about the Babylonians but very little reason to pray for them. But the Lord makes it clear why he is concerned that they pray for them. "for in its welfare, you will find your welfare." In praying for the nation the people are in fact investing in their own future. Now, I would certainly say that there is no question that the Babylonians have done some horrendous things in subjugating the people of Israel. To destroy the nation and enslave its people they had to be prepared to do all kinds of horrible things. They are certainly guilty of crimes against the People of Israel. If anyone has a reason to pray prayers designed to bring down the wrath of God on a nation the people of Israel certainly would be justified in praying that way about Babylon. But that is not what God asks them to do. He instructs them to pray for the nation. "But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare." Tonight at Sundays@Five we will be continuing our journey with Nehemiah looking at his instructions and the reminder that "The Joy of the Lord is our Strength." When I began the series a couple of weeks ago I encouraged all those who were there to consider studying the prayer of Nehemiah in chapter 1. This prayer is very similar in its form and structure to the prayer of Daniel in Daniel chapter 9. I have printed copies of the two prayers and they are available for you to take home and study. Both prayers are studies in structure and content. They both are used often in teaching sessions about prayer. Both prayers offer insight into how to pray and how we are to seek the Lord's blessing on our endeavors. Both Nehemiah and Daniel see the results of their prayers as they are given the opportunity to speak before rulers and then to fulfill God's purpose for them as ambassadors and spokespersons. Tonight I will spend some time unpacking the great wealth that is contained in Nehemiah's prayer. How do they approach God in prayer, what is necessary as they acknowledge the failings of God's people and then the seeking of the Lord's blessing for the future? The prayer of Daniel is offered as an additional resource for you to consider in your private study time this week. It is interesting that both prayers follow a pattern and if we want we can adopt that approach in our own prayers. Now don't get me wrong this is not a formula for success in prayer. I am not suggesting that this is a foolproof way to get your prayers answered the way that you want them answered. We have to remember that Daniel has already ended up in a Lion's Den because of the way that he prayed. Then we also need to remember what happened to Nehemiah once he arrived in Jerusalem. We may need to be prepared to be harassed and falsely accused, as Nehemiah was, once he became the governor of Jerusalem. The other Governors, of the surrounding communities, constantly challenged and questioned his work and his motivations. But we can learn about accepting responsibility for the community and also how to pray on behalf of others. There are certainly things that we can learn about prayer for our current political circumstances and for other people in our community here at Christ Church. Matthew 6:31-33 NRSV "Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For it is the gentiles who seek all these things, and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Comments are closed.
|
Archives
April 2024
Categories |