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Mt Olive Lutheran Church November Messages |
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Thanksgiving
The ten lepers cry out, Have mercy on us! Jesus heals them. But only one returns to say “Thank you!” Why? Do you know how it must feel to be a Samaritan? He must feel totally undeserving of Jesus’ attention or help. When you feel undeserving of something; when you feel unworthy; you are thankful when you receive a gift. Let me try to explain with a story. A man who brutally killed a woman’s husband and only son was brought before this woman. He deserved punishment. The court asked her to pronounce the sentence. The man lowered his head expecting the worst. She said, “I forgive this man because my Lord Jesus Christ has forgiven me. And I only ask that this man eat Christmas dinner with me because I no longer have a husband or son.” I have been forgiven, though I deserve lashes, jail time, and even worse. I don’t deserve to be invited to the dinner table of Jesus. Yet I have been given a bona fide invitation to eat the Bread of Life and to drink the new wine of forgiveness. Well, why didn’t the other nine feel thankful? Do you ever feel that you deserve God’s forgiveness or goodness? The 9 Jewish lepers may have taken Jesus’ healing as something they deserved. They were Jews, God’s chosen people. It is difficult in this day and age of televangelists who offer you a God who favors you if you are chaste, honest, sober and respectable, church-going, Bible-toting and Psalm-singing. Undeserved grace has certainly vanished from Christian television churches and it is an endangered species in most other churches also. If you want something from God, whether forgiveness, healing, prosperity, or simply his attention, you must worship in the right way, pray in the right way, believe in the right way, or do something to deserve it. When everything in religion is a matter of deserving, there is no real thanksgiving. The first sign that our faith is not alive and well is the loss of gratitude. The first sign that a church is dying is the loss of gratitude. Awareness of our not deserving the least kindness of God in our daily lives, not to mention the great gifts of forgiveness, life, peace, hope, and eternity – such awareness will lead to a life of continual thanksgiving. You will live with an attitude of gratitude. Luke 13:10-21 JESUS SPOKE about the kingdom more than anything else. It is a key concept in the Old Testament. The Jews expected a Messiah-King to come and establish a kingdom of prosperity and peace on earth, specifically in Palestine, re-establishing the nation of Israel. DURING THE 1st c. alone there were 10,000 insurrections in Israel. STILL TODAY, many Christians along with the Jews think the modern state of Israel will become the kingdom that Jesus spoke about. What is the kingdom? How does it come? DID YOU NOTICE the ‘therefore’ in verse 18? Most English translations miss this or omit it. But the ‘therefore’ is important. ‘Therefore’ is a transitional word. We might translate ‘therefore’ with the words ‘in view of this’. You see, Jesus performs the miracle of healing the crippled woman and then, in light of this miracle, Jesus comments on what just happened by telling us what the kingdom of God is like. THE KINGDOM OF GOD is like a mustard seed. The kingdom of God is like leaven. Both cases speak of tiny, almost invisible, beginnings that grow to an unimaginable extent. The contrast between the small beginning and the great end result are present in both. JESUS RELEASES one crippled woman from Satan’s grip. Just one anonymous woman in an unnamed synagogue – yet this is the seed and start of big things to come. THEREFORE, the kingdom is about something seemingly small defeating Satan on a cosmic scale. So great will be Satan’s defeat that it will reach to the ends of the earth. The imagery of the birds of the air nesting in the branches is an Old Testament image which speaks of a worldwide kingdom. What appears tiny and insignificant will prove to have been the beginning of a mighty kingdom that will have worldwide consequences. SO PERVASIVE will be Jesus’ kingdom from this small almost imperceptible beginning that it will affect a surprisingly large number of people. Just a little leaven can affect a surprisingly large amount of meal. A little bit of leaven has a powerful effect. This release of one woman from the grip of Satan may not be seen by the synagogue ruler as the working of the kingdom. But what Jesus has done is only a small indication of the effect the cross will have on countless lives. So, WHAT is the kingdom. It is nothing less than the defeat of the devil and all his schemes. This is really important and significant – bigger than any earthly kingdom can accomplish. So, HOW DOES IT COME? The mustard seed and leaven will help us here too. Remember: small things produce big results IN BAPTISM, you are clothed with Christ, connected to His death and resurrection, renewed and regenerated by the Holy Spirit, justified by God’s grace and made heirs of eternal life. Everything the devil despises and opposes. You’ve got to be kidding. A little water and a few words. Yep. God’s kingdom comes to us in small ways but has amazing consequences. When you read GOD’S WORD, the message of Christ gives you a faith that defeats Satan and all his hordes, secures you as a child of God, and promises life now and forever. Just reading words or listening to them on CD has such power? Yep. A few minutes during study hall, lunch break, in the car, while you are exercising, wherever. Small bits of time here and there can make an eternal difference. The LORD’S MEAL. We try to make it fancy with coming forward, bowing, and sometimes crossing ourselves. But at its fundamental level it is so simple. Bread and wine. A few words. And yet this is the Bread of Life and the new wine of forgiveness. It is a participation in Jesus’ death, a strong word of forgiveness and the promise of life everlasting. Seemingly insignificant simple actions which free us from bondage to guilt and give us real power and courage in our lives – to live. It is through these small things that we DEFEAT THE DEVIL – the enemy of all that God wants us to have and to enjoy in Christ forever. The devil, says Jesus, is a murderer. He wants to take life from us. But Jesus came that we may have life and have it to the full. SMALL THINGS that produce big results. May you experience the marvel of Jesus’ kingdom in your life now and forever through the small things or remembering your Baptism into Jesus’ death and resurrection, enjoying your Bible, the message of Christ, and coming often to the Lord’s Meal, the participation in Jesus’ death.
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