The Grace and Peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

I was struck this week with the first letter from Peter, who  writes to us, “love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.  Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.  Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.”  ^{(1 Pe 4:7b-10 NIV).}

Let’s join in a word of prayer: Loving Lord God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; we worship You.  And we celebrate the gift of your Son our great teacher and Saviour who is here with us.  Guide our time together this morning by your Holy Spirit that we may be inspired to show Christian hospitality as we follow your plan for our lives. Gracious heavenly Father, hear our prayer for the sake of our risen Lord,  Amen.

We all know about Mary and Martha so well.  Books have been written, stories recounted and movies made about these beautiful women and the challenge of having a Mary Heart in a Martha World. 

This account from the Gospel of Luke falls in between two other important accounts.  Last week, we encountered the Good  Sameritan,  which concentrates on loving our neighbour with our action.

Next week’s Gospel reading is all about worship through prayer, encountering the Lord’s prayer.

And now, between those two encounters, we join with Martha, Mary, and Jesus. Encountering the challenge of hospitality through both service and fellowship.

Charles Wesley wrote words that encourages us to combine the gifts of both Mary and Martha:

        ‘Faithful to my Lord’s commands

        I still would choose the better part;

       Serve with careful Martha’s hands

       And loving Mary’s heart.’

We are encouraged at times to be spirit-led in prayerful dialogue with Jesus, and at other times to offer hospitality to one another with love in our hearts.

When confronted with the opportunity to demonstrate faith filled lives of devotion and hospitality, what will our response be? 

Sometimes we will need to be active, like Martha.

Other times, we will only need to be present in the moment; like Mary, sharing some time with a friend.     

There are aspects of Mary and Martha, that represent the challenge which continues in each of us.  We search for the right thing to do as we allow the Holy Spirit to stretch us into the character of discipleship.

Luke investigated things thoroughly and writes to us that as Jesus and the disciples ‘went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home.’

Martha displayed her devotion to Jesus with her servant’s heart when she invited Jesus to her home.   He was unexpected but treasured.  Jesus later would raise Lazarus from death, and even now was welcomed with reverence and joy.  But Martha went one step further.  She invited all of his disciples into her home as well. 

As for us, in our time and place, when we hear the door chime unexpectedly, what is our reaction?  When I think about this, I must admit that at times, my secret thoughts would reveal irritation at an interruption.  “Is this another salesman, or a Jehovah Witness?  Or might it be a welcome delivery or a treasured friend?”  Such wide spectrum of feelings.  And how often are we prepared to provide hospitality to even a single welcome guest?

For Martha, preparing a feast for the followers of Jesus must have been a big commitment.  What about us?

Luke goes on to explain a bit more about this visit, Martha ‘had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.”’

We are often called to take on significant commitments when we serve God.  Sometimes with little notice.   We often get called to volunteer for roles, to accept duties for the Congregation, and to join in making significant decisions.  All the things that stretch us and force us to make difficult choices. 

I suspect that at times we get so caught up in these commitments that we are tempted to lose sight of the great Saviour who draws us into the challenge.  Sometimes, like Martha, the commitment becomes the focus, rather than the people we are showing God’s love to by our willingness to serve. 

That’s what appears to have happened here to Martha.  Even in her small kitchen, Jesus held the centre of attention.  But she became so busy working around him preparing the feast, that she became distracted by her preparations.

 When her attention was drawn back to Jesus, it appears she saw where she wanted to be.  She wanted to be at the feet of Jesus, just like her sister Mary.  But Martha couldn’t find a way to be there.  She seems unable to combine her sense of duty with her sense of fellowship. 

And so it is for us.  So often, we want to be in the moment, enjoying our relationships expressed in our hospitality, but we get so caught up in the provision of that hospitality, that the situation makes us grumpy.  And this brings conflict that interferes with our relationship. 

Peter reminds us to ‘love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins’.  By a swift prayer and a soft voice, we can overcome almost any conflict, and show genuine hospitality with gentleness and calm.

Both Martha and Mary were devoted to Jesus.  When Martha complained about Mary, it was more than just seeking his attention.  Seeking his approval.  Seeking his empathy.  

I suspect Martha was crying out for help.  She was missing out on what she knew was really important.  She was feeling short-changed and left behind.  She was beginning to feel used and ignored.

How often do we feel used, ignored, short-changed and left behind, when we put our every effort into a commitment?  Jesus calls us into joyful service.  When we turn the joy of serving into burden, we risk the feelings that accompany the labour.  When we turn our attention away from the presence of God in our commitments, we risk losing the joy of our service and our hospitality.  When we stop seeing Jesus in those to whom we are showing hospitality, we risk losing sight of the presence of God.

When Mary sat at the feet of the great teacher and Lord, she made the choice to join with the other Disciples.  Although Luke’s account isn’t clear about all the details, I am sure from another passage that there were the 12 Apostles, some of the other Disciples, and Lazarus as well, receiving Martha’s hospitality.    Despite the possible disappointment of her sister, Mary demonstrated her willingness to take time out of her busy life to experience and absorb the presence of Jesus.  To listen to his wisdom, to feel his presence, to acknowledge his importance over every other commitment in this life.

But, just like Martha, it appears that Mary was unable to discover a way to blend her desire to be with Jesus and her sense of duty to serve her guests.

Luke tells us of the reaction of Jesus to the complaint of Martha.  ‘the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”’

Every day we make choices similar to those Mary and Martha faced.  We may decide to set our time with Jesus aside for a while in an effort to get things done, as Martha did.  Or we may decide to set aside some of the duties that haunt us, in order to spend precious time with Jesus, like Mary did.   The challenge for each of us is to blend our life of faith and service to live fulfilled and happy lives. 

A way to begin this blending is to take time to sit at Jesus’ feet each day, with the Bible in our hands.  We listen to Jesus speak to us through reading Scripture – ‘this mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints’ and to each one of us.’  

The message that the believers of Colossae might have lost sight of, if only for a time. That ‘God chose to make known how great … are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.’

 As we continue to blend our life of faith and service,  we acknowledge the importance of Jesus Christ in every act of service, and every relationship that we share in our Christian experience.

Jesus tells us ‘There is really only one thing worth being concerned about.’  And Paul writes, we ‘must continue to believe this truth and stand in it firmly.’ Never to ‘drift away from the assurance <we> receive when <we hear> the Good News.’ 

It is this assurance that draws us to respond to our Saviour with joyful hospitality for others, family friend and stranger, Christian and non-believer alike.

I declare with you that our Lord Jesus will give us wisdom as we face the challenge of balancing our lives between the needs of being a Martha at times, and a Mary at other times, while keeping our focus on Jesus at all times.

That each of us choose what is better, knowing that it will not be taken away from us.  That we let it begin with each of us.  That we invite the Holy Spirit to set our hearts and lives ablaze for Christ Jesus to the glory of God our Father.

Let us pray:  Gracious Lord Jesus Christ, we long to be in your presence, hearing you speak to us in Scripture, in the intuition of the Holy Spirit, in the Sacraments.  We also desire to serve you by caring for our family, friends and neighbours.  Help us Lord to blend our devotion with our service to live fulfilled, happy lives. We pray this in your name, Lord Jesus.  Amen.

The grace and peace of God keep our hearts and minds in the calm assurance of salvation in our living Lord,  Christ Jesus. Amen.

Rev David Thompson.
Port Macquarie.

Text: Luke 10:25-37

Have you ever acted as a good Samaritan to someone in need? Has something like that happened to you? A survey was taken some years ago to ask people why they gave to charity. The primary reply was a reference to today’s story of the good Samaritan. The impact of this parable of our Lord has been vast. Charitable organisations like Samaritan’s Purse have brought immense help to the poor and needy in many parts of our world.

A Bible study group was examining this life-changing parable to see whom they could identify with in this story. One member of the group felt he had to identify with the robbers because he was led to see how he’d robbed those near to him of his time and love. That night, he wrote a letter to his wife to seek her forgiveness. His letter had a deep impression on her. She responded. “Only the Holy Spirit could have revealed these things to you.”

Many of Jesus’ parables are like a symphony in four movements. The first movement seeks to capture the attention of His listeners, the second movement is a challenge by Jesus on how to live out our faith in daily life, while the third concerns the good news Jesus brings us, and the final movement brings the story to a climax pointing us to what Jesus is doing in our midst for us even now, as our Good Samaritan. His love for us reaches its climax o n the cross. He pours out His love on to two categories of sinners, both law-keepers and law-breakers. Each is as bad as the other.

Law-keepers believe they can keep the law without any divine assistance, while law-breakers believe they’re unworthy of the extraordinary love Jesus offers them. Jesus’ chief critics, the lawyers and Pharisees, didn’t see their keeping of the law as an expression of gratitude to God for the grace He so freely bestowed on them. The law had become for them instead the means by which law-breakers could be identified and condemned. The lawyer who approaches Jesus in today’s parable gives a mixed message. His lips express respect for Jesus; his heart, however, desires to trip Jesus up.

Instead of answering the lawyer’s question, Jesus replies to the lawyer’s question with another question. Jesus could have put the lawyer down by pointing out the question has a simple answer. No one can do anything to inherit something. Inheritance, by its nature, is a gift. Jesus chose instead to play the lawyer at his own game. To the lawyer’s credit, he quotes a known summary of the law that may have originated with Jesus Himself. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind” and “Love your neighbour as yourself”. The genius of his reply is that he places love for God before love of neighbour, even though “love of neighbour” comes first in the Old Testament.

The exchange continues with Jesus’ quick-witted response: “Do this and you will live”. Jesus’ response takes the wind out of the lawyer’s sails. He knows it’s impossible to do this perfectly. Instead of levelling with Jesus with an honest reply, like saying “That’s impossible!”, he seeks to justify himself with another curly question: “who is my neighbour?” He wants to know love’s boundaries. For the Jews, “neighbour” meant fellow-Jew. Jesus declines to tell him who his neighbour is; Jesus answers the unasked question, “To whom am I a neighbour?”

Jesus now shares a simple but subversive story with the lawyer and with us. For 17 miles, the road from Jerusalem to Jericho goes through desolate land, a haunt for robbers and hijackers. Jesus’ listeners can picture the horrific scene: a fellow Jew being mugged, robbed and dumped by the roadside, left unconscious. The first man to see him unconscious is a priest. Priests back then were members of the upper class and rode, rather than walked. We’re shocked by Jesus’ comment: “The priest passed by on the other side”. Why didn’t he stop? we protest. He’s perhaps scared he might be attacked too. More likely, though, the roadside victim could be a notorious sinner. If he helped him, he might defile himself and render himself unfit to lead worship in the House of God. He considers his liturgical duties more important than stopping to help. Besides, he’s probably going to preach about loving one’s fellow Jews.

Next, a Levite, a priest’s assistant, comes along. As a member of the lower class he would have been walking. As he approaches the victim, he looks ahead and sees that the priest didn’t stop to help. “Why then should I?” he probably thinks to himself. Jesus’ words, “He too passed by” still impact on our ears. This part of the parable is still so powerful, so contemporary and disturbing, we have to ask ourselves “When have I passed by someone I could have helped?” And then we need to pray, “God, have mercy on me and fill me with love for those who need my love.”

The third person who comes along helps the victim. A Samaritan helping is the last person Jesus’ listeners would have expected. They would rather have expected a Jewish layman to help, not a Samaritan. It would be like telling Jews in Israel today about a “good Arab” or telling Arabs about a “good Jew”. The Samaritan sees the terrible state the Jewish victim is in. So with a heart overflowing with compassion he stops and acts in love to the dying man. He binds up his wounds and then pours on oil and wine to stop the bandage from sticking, and to ensure that their healing properties reach his injuries. Without any aids, he lifts him onto his donkey and leads him to a Jewish inn in the middle of Jericho. In those days there were no rural inns. Inns were in the heart of a town. There he runs the risk of being criticised for his actions. But he not only provides for the victim’s immediate needs, he pays in advance for 24 days of care.

His use of oil and wine to begin the healing process reminds us of their use in Jewish worship. The true “priest” in this story is the Samaritan. By pouring out a thank-offering on the altar of the victim’s wounds, the Samaritan makes an acceptable sacrifice to God. His seven actions make up for the priest and Levite’s sins of omission. He freely and spontaneously shows unexpected love that far surpasses any known obligation. He goes the second mile, going far beyond the bare minimum. He forgets himself in his utterly other-centred approach to someone in desperate need.

Now there are two kinds of sinners in Jesus’ parable: first, the robbers who compound their robbery with violence, and second, the priest and Levite who are guilty of the sins of omission, of failing to do any good at all when they had the opportunity. Edmund Burke once said, “Evil triumphs because the good do nothing”. It’s easy to make up excuses for inaction, for failure to do good towards someone else. We need to pray, “Help me to act like the Samaritan rather than the priest”.

When Jesus now asks the lawyer, “Who acted as a neighbour?” the lawyer cannot say the word “the Samaritan!” He can only say, “the one who had mercy on the victim”. It’s not a question of “who is my neighbour?” BUT, “who am I going to be a neighbour to?” 

Our Lord’s words to the lawyer, “Go and do likewise” should have led him to ask Jesus, “What must I now do to be saved?” He needs to see himself as a helpless victim in need of Jesus as his Saviour. He needs conversion more than he needs more instruction. You see, before we can identify with the Samaritan, we must first of all identify with the wounded traveller. In pointing to the Good Samaritan, Jesus is pointing us to Himself. He is our Good Samaritan who sees us bruised, battered and wounded along life’s way. Through no merit of our own, but out of His inexhaustible compassion, Jesus comes to our aid. Through the picture of the Good Samaritan, Jesus gives us a portrait of Himself and what He can do for us.

As the Samaritan paid for the healing of the victim, so Jesus made the ultimate payment: the sacrifice of Himself, to save us. “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that God loved us and sent His Son to pay the price for our sins (1 John 4:10).” Jesus is the embodiment of mercy. He binds up our spiritual and emotional wounds, pouring the healing oil of His forgiveness and the wine of His love on us in Holy Communion. He entrusts us to the Inn of His Church, where He continues His ongoing care of us.

His Church, this church, is like a hospital. Here, through the medicine of His amazing grace, your wounded Healer cares for you, so you can care for whatever unexpected needy person might be ;your “neighbour” tomorrow, Thursday, or Saturday. Here, in His hospital, Jesus can transform the most unlikely men and women into Good Samaritans. To love your neighbour ”as yourself” means as ;the new other-centred self Jesus is making of you, gloriously other-focussed and continually grateful for His great love for you that never ends.

Now, as you go from the “Jerusalem” of this morning’s worship to the “Jericho” of your daily life, rediscover the joy of putting someone else’s needs ahead of your own. “Love overlooks the many faults and failures of others (1 Peter 4:8).”

Text: Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

In the latest census of the Australian population (2016), the question about people’s religious affiliation showed that those who identified as Christians declined again to just over 50% with the next highest response being “no religion” at over 30%.

It can be difficult as we live in a world that is growing more and more anti-Christian with many people wanting less Church involvement in state matters such as teaching Christian Studies in state schools.

So how should Christians react?

Do we just sit back and say – well there’s nothing we can do about it.

It’s tough to know what we should do.

But we need to be careful that we don’t take up a fight that really doesn’t belong to us.

Paul had a similar situation happening in Galatia. A group of people known as the Judaizers were infiltrating the Christian community. They were introducing ways that were against the Christian gospel.

You may recall Paul warning the Galatians – beware of anyone who comes preaching a gospel different to the one that I came to you with. But he didn’t tell them to take up arms against them.

He simply told them to be sure of what they believe and don’t be misled by anyone. Let God deal with what needs to be dealt with.

That’s what “anathema” means.

He encouraged them to live a godly life and let God fight the fights that need to be fought. He didn’t in any way say that the fight wasn’t important. But he encouraged them to not let anything distract them from what God has called them to do.

He said: Don’t be deceived – God is not mocked. But as for you: Don’t grow weary in doing what is right.

Let us work for the good of all, especially the family of faith. Let us support and encourage one another here in our congregation, our parish, and the wider church – the family of faith – because we are all in this mission together.

Let us always be focused on the cross of Christ – otherwise we will be distracted from what God asks us to do.

In last week’s Gospel reading we heard James and John get distracted by a fight they were not called to fight.

The Samaritans rejected Jesus and they wanted to rain down fire from heaven to destroy them.

But Jesus rejected that.

Today the disciples were distracted also. They went out as missionaries for God. When they returned they were ecstatic. But they were excited about the wrong thing.

They were distracted.

Lord – in your name even the demons submit to us.

But Jesus reminded them of what was important:

Don’t rejoice that the demons submit to you. Rejoice that your names are written in heaven.

When we watch the news on TV, or to read the newspaper, it can create a feeling of helplessness with all the crises of the world.

We are all involved in Christ’s mission of renewing the world, of bringing hatred and injustice to an end. Establishing God’s reign of love and peace. But in the face of the real problems of the world we often feel that our efforts are like a drop of water in the ocean.

Does what we do really make any difference?

In the struggle between the love of Christ and the powers of Satan, the battle between good and evil, are our efforts of any significance at all?

Does God see us as important factors in bringing about change in the world?

Of course he does.

Just as Jesus sent out the 72 into the world, Jesus left us with the Great Commission:

Go into all the world baptizing and teaching.

Jesus does however provide advice on how we are to go into the world as his people:

First, Jesus says that we are like Lambs in the midst of wolves: Jesus doesn’t hide the fact that the world is going to oppose our message.

For a long time Christianity was a dominant voice in the world, but that is not how Jesus originally saw it. In fact he said: The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. We should never see the church as failing because it is struggling.

And we shouldn’t see the world as our opposition to fight against. Jesus calls it the harvest and we are called to reap. To go out into the world even though the world will not receive us.

We are called to be salt and light in the world. Changing the world by how we live our lives, not by fighting those with whom we disagree.

As Jesus says – they will know we are Christians by our love. (John 13:35)

Carry no purse

When Jesus sent out the 72 he told them not to take any provisions with them.

Why not?

Because God would provide them with all they needed.

How do we know what to take when it is God guiding the mission? Too often, we have an agenda of what needs to happen – but this may not be God’s agenda.

Too often we go out into the world and believe we know what needs to happen.

Jesus is saying – take nothing with you. Let God guide every step and every word and every action.

We don’t know what God is going to do so we take nothing and let God lead the way.

We don’t want to be like James and John demanding God rain down fire every time someone objects to us or criticizes us. Then we would have no mission. There would be no harvest to bring in; it would all be destroyed.

The mission is God’s. We are his workers. We are bringing in God’s harvest.

If we start to work with our agenda then we can interfere with how God is planning the harvest.

Farmers will adjust their harvest strategy according to how the season is. God too has a mission plan and asks us to let him guide our words and actions.

Dealing with rejection

Jesus then tells the disciples how to deal with rejection. It’s not by calling down fire from heaven. No, he says when you enter a town that doesn’t welcome you, go into the street and wipe the dust off your shoes.

In other words, don’t let that rejection weigh you down. Move on.

Don’t take the baggage with you and let the anger and thoughts of revenge distract you from the mission. Keep focus on the mission. Keep doing good, even to those who oppose you.

The Final Victory

Finally Jesus reminds us as to what it is all about.

When the disciples return to tell of their victorious mission work, Jesus is again worried about the distraction.

Too often we become focused on the successes. The success can become our motivation. The success can easily distract us and become our measurement of God’s plan. When churches find success and grow they can become focused only on the growth.

Jesus says to the disciples – don’t rejoice at your success. Rejoice that your name is written in heaven.

And so that becomes our motivation. Not success, but the desire to have others have their name written in heaven.

We can become disheartened at the result of our mission when the results don’t happen.

When we are rejected we can feel hurt. But remember what Jesus said, they are not rejecting you, they are rejecting the one who sent you.

That is where the true hurt is, by God.

So, let us ask once again the Lord of the harvest to send us as labourers to his harvest

– to make us all faithful in our public witness to Jesus;

– to make each and every one of us faithful in bearing Christ’s name and witness to all.

It is in the honour of bearing his name that we rejoice and that our names are written in heaven.

Text: Luke 9:51-62

A young mum and her daughter attended the first three nights of the congregation’s Christmas celebration. Normally the congregation hosted a week-long event of music, entertainment and fun that shares the good news of Jesus’ birth in new and vibrant ways. The local pastor sat down with her on the third night while her daughter played games with the other kids. He thanked her for bringing her family so regularly. She was appreciative of the opportunity to have some fun and she really liked the music… even the children’s Christmas pageant. The pastor invited her to the Christmas Eve worship, offering her the small brochure of the Christmas worship schedule.

She refused. “No thanks,” she said. “We like the fun things, but we are not religious.” The pastor persisted with a smile. She grinned back and said, “No offense, but most of this religious stuff seems to me to be a load of horse you-know-what!” She wasn’t aggressive. She just spoke her heart and then went back to the festivities with her daughter.

The gospel heading today was the “cost of following Jesus.” Was that the issue for this woman?

Or what about this man? He was a farmer and a good one at that. He was a morally and ethically sound person. He would give the shirt off his back and race ahead of you into a burning building to save your kids. He had never been part of a Christian church but wouldn’t begrudge your membership and participation. He wouldn’t belittle your worship or following of Jesus, but wouldn’t join in. He doesn’t see a need. He openly marvels at the hurtful and often foolish things churches and Christians do. He takes life as it comes and complains about life’s hardships a lot less than many of his neighbouring Lutheran farmers.

Know anyone like that?

We struggle just as much today with the issue of following Jesus as the people did when he walked this earth! And I could give you story after story of the confusion and ignorance and indifference that is reflected in people today – just like so many of the responses Jesus experienced during his earthly ministry.

Luke’s Gospel account is concerned about that reality, as it recalls the life and work of Jesus. For the young missionary church of the early centuries, it gave them insights for living in a very difficult and changing environment. No less for us today. God wants us, the continuing mission church in the 21^st Century, to learn from this account also.

Today’s sermon text is at the point in Luke’s Gospel where Jesus sets his face to Jerusalem. He is going up to Jerusalem. He sends his messengers ahead of him – people who tell of his coming, people who prepare the way before him. They go to a Samaritan village and are not received. They are turned away. So James and John, two of the disciples, want to burn to cinders these negative, rejecting Samaritans for their unbelief. Not a particularly good response from them either. And Jesus doesn’t support their idea at all. In fact, he tells the two of them in no uncertain terms. So they just continue on their way elsewhere.

Some people come to Jesus and they offer to follow him, they want to be his disciples. At last some progress in mission it seems! But what does Jesus do? He basically sends them away! He throws up a big reality check in front of them. “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” To another he said, “Follow me.” “Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” To yet another Jesus said: “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

When people come and want to follow Jesus – he goes and sends them away! What is going on here?

We could understand it if, at this particular point, the disciples began to ask themselves whether following Jesus was anything like what they had expected or hoped it would be. Is it worth it, if he is so determined to go up to Jerusalem? Is it worth it if no one wants him, if he is just going to go on being rejected? Is it worth it if he is just going to turn prospective followers away?

Perhaps you can understand how they may have felt. Haven’t we been going on for years about mission in our church, and all that seems to be happening is that we are shrinking and getting older and greyer with each passing year? We are still hesitant at welcoming the stranger in our midst. We don’t seem to find it any easier to invite others to the faith. Sometimes we struggle to have a clear vision or understanding about what we are really supposed to be on about, as a Christian church in the community. And on top of that, we are living in a society that is becoming increasingly cynical about the church – more and more people openly state they have no faith, more and more people are turning to alternative faiths, and fewer people are regularly attending church.

What’s the point! This Christian stuff! Is it worth it?

And I am sure that you could add a few personal experiences to this. Many of us have probably had a few moments in life where we have wondered – what’s the point in believing, or trusting so much, or hanging in there so desperately when things just don’t ever seem to work out or get better, or change even a little bit for the good?

How many of you have sat at the bedside of loved ones and prayed and prayed for their recovery – and it has seemed to no avail?

Have you reasoned with a child – a teenager – to change their way of life, or to come back to church, and it hasn’t happened?

Have you prayed for a loved one to come to faith, maybe for years, without any apparent indication that your prayers are being answered?

Maybe you wanted some changes in your own life, some problem you wanted to overcome, some shameful sin you wanted to be rid of, some temptation you just did not want to experience any more. And just when you think you’ve made it, you find you’re back at square one again. You are still stuck with it, just like Paul’s thorn in the flesh that he never seemed to be able to get rid of.

So this Christian stuff, this mission stuff, is it worth it? Why not just leave people alone – let them believe what they want? Just let things be what they will be. Who cares?

But even that does not work for us, does it? Not when you have been touched yourself by the love and grace of Jesus. Something happens to you that you just cannot turn away from.

You’re still a Christian, aren’t you, despite everything you have struggled with in life? In fact sometimes those struggles make us even more convinced and committed than we were before. More than ever, we pray for and hope in and believe in and work for the mission of the church in our day and age and world.

What is it that makes it still worthwhile, and still gives us a heart for telling others, and wanting their lives touched by Jesus as well?

It can only be the One who goes to Jerusalem, and to the cross, and who goes with us still. For out of the Jerusalem experience of Jesus you come to the only faith and conviction that is possible – that this Jesus is not just one of the prophets, another one who was slain by the people of Jerusalem, but this Jesus is no less than the Son of God Himself, who has come to this sin-filled world to show us his love, his acceptance of us, his commitment to walk with us through this world and everything it can throw at us, to finally take us to be with him where he is. He will not let us go! God will not let us go. God will go through everything he has to go through to stay at our side, walk with us, carry us, comfort our hearts, save us and give us hope.

Jesus was God at work in this world, working solely for us fallen beings and our eternal future. If I don’t see that as true, then I deny all faith and belief in God and commit myself to nothing – which in reality means I will be led by every passing whim, as the saying goes, “if you stand for nothing, you’ll fall for anything”. However, if I receive God’s revelation as true, that Jesus is God in the flesh, come down for me and my salvation, then I have no other place to go. My only hope is to follow him and be with him, because where God is – that is the only place that true hope can live.

And that is the only thing that can make the difference. The only thing that makes this Christian stuff worthwhile, the only thing that gives us a reason for mission, the only thing that gives us any reason to hang in there in suffering or rejection or failure or whatever. Because God came in the person of Jesus Christ to be with us – not to turn this world into some kind of paradise – but to be with us in this world, here and now, so that we could be with him in the world to come. And because of Jesus, God will not let anything take us away from him – not rejection or hatred or suffering or loss of family or friends or poverty or homelessness or even death. Nothing will be allowed to take us away from him. Nothing can separate us from Christ and his love!

So we can keep telling others the wonderful good news of how God has come to our rescue through Jesus. We can keep praying for our families, or our suffering loved ones, because God in Jesus is also there for them, and in doing so, we can help them to come to see that and believe it.

When you come to know God through Jesus, when he touches your heart and becomes your God – there is nowhere else you can go or be. And nothing will stop you being there with Him – not family or homelessness, or poverty, or rejection. Your priorities will change. Because God has come to you – in Jesus! Amen

And may the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Text: Luke 8:26-39

“Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, just as it is well with your soul” is the marvellous manner in which St. John begins his third letter to one of his Christian congregations. This greeting is so apt, we could use it in the letters we ourselves send to others. We have sayings like “The only wealth is your health”, or “If you’re got your health, you’ve got nearly everything that’s worth having.”

From the Bible, we learn of God’s concern for our health and well-being. Our Creator loves our bodies and souls, and is honoured when we care for them. Martin Luther calls caring for our bodies a Christian work, so “that through its health and comfort we may be able to work to acquire and lay by funds with which to aid those who are in need.

The Old Testament is more concerned with preventing sickness and disease than with healing disabilities and handicaps. Moses has been called the father of preventative medicine. The New Testament focuses more of healing than on health. In St. Mark’s Gospel, for example, Jesus devotes more time to healing the sick and the handicapped than He does to preaching and teaching. St. Mark sees our Lord’s healing miracles as the Gospel in action for our comfort and encouragement. These miracles point to Christ’s greatest act of healing – His dying on the cross – to heal us of sin, our greatest disease and handicap.

Our Lord Jesus is concerned about our total well-being and not just our physical ailments or handicaps. He treats both sickness and health as something spiritual with mental and physical consequences. Christ our great Physician assumes that no one possesses perfect health and no one is free from every handicap or physical limitation, since we all live in a spiritually polluted environment. He seeks to keep us healthy in body, mind and soul through our connectedness to Him. All physical healing is only partial and provisional in this life. Total healing comes only at the Last Day with the elimination of all evil and with the resurrection of the body.

By first forgiving the sins of the paralytic person let down through a hole in the roof, our Lord demonstrates that He’s concerned about more than physical good or ill health. His fantastic bestowal of forgiveness heals our consciences and frees us from the debilitating effects of guilt. His eagerness to free us from anxieties and cares of this world shows His deep interest in our emotional health and well-being. “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you – you of little faith? (Matthew 6:25-30).”

Peace of heart and mind is His will for us. “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid (John 14:27).”

As we look around us in today’s world, we see tortured minds and restless souls who are not at peace within, but who hurt inside. Our Lord invites those in mental or physical agony, those weighed down with heavier loads than they can carry, to come to Him for relief and release. “Come to Me, all of you who are tired from carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28)” In Jesus’ time, there were many tortured souls, souls afflicted by unclean spirits, for whom our Lord showed a compassionate concern.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus and His twelve disciples cross the Lake of Galilee at great risk to their lives, during a terrible storm, in order to heal one demented outcast. Frequently, Jesus interrupts whatever He’s doing to help those in greatest need around Him. The great men and women of our world today are super-busy folk.  We get the impression that they have little time to spare for interruptions and the unexpected. Not so our Lord! On His way to Jerusalem to complete His mission of our salvation, Jesus stopped. He stopped in order to help and heal a blind beggar. “Jesus stood still and said, “Call him here.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, ‘Take heart; get up, He is calling you.’ (Mark 10:49).”

In the demon-possessed man in this story, we see the destructive and degrading power of evil. Evil is the perversion of something that’s good – in this case, the perversion of one of God’s good creations, created in His image. Evil perverts what’s good in a self-destructive and menacing manner. Since the Son of God has become one of us, the forces of evil have also tried to “incarnate” themselves in human beings. Even today, we see the terrible destruction of good lives by the demons of addiction. We see the devastation caused by addiction to drugs, alcohol, gambling, petrol-sniffing and so on. Our doctors and professional carers and counsellors are our Lord’s allies in helping people handle and overcome these addictions.

Pessimists might say: “You can’t change human nature.” But our Lord can, and has done so. The New Testament is rich with stories of people’s lives changed by our Lord Jesus. The tormented person in today’s text has been ejected from his home. His rejection by his family must have only added to his agony. The name he refers to himself as, “Legion”, a military term, suggests the terrible battle within himself, the battle between his heart and his soul.  He is known as “Legion” because he has been defeated by an army of destructive thoughts and harmful intentions.

The alien voice within the man asks “What do You want with me, Jesus?” He doesn’t want Jesus to disrupt the status quo. Sadly, we still see people who don’t want our Lord to upset their routines. There are folk locked in their addictions, trapped in the past, not letting our Lord liberate them and give them a brighter future. It’s cause for immense rejoicing when we see someone’s life totally transformed by Jesus. The Gospels picture how Jesus is surrounded with the feeblest of people – those paralysed, the handicapped and disabled, lepers and the lame – because they have no one else to turn to. Jesus has come to help the helpless. Our Lord helps those who cannot help themselves.

So much of His healing ministry occurs behind the scenes, as our Lord respects people’s need for privacy. Our divine Physician adopts a low profile to make it easier for the battered and the bruised, sufferers and invalids in His community to come to Him. The weaker a person’s faith, the easier Jesus makes it for the needy person to believe in Him. Jesus made it easier for all of us to believe in Him and His power to help us, by becoming one of us.

After Jesus healed this deranged individual, we learn that he sits at Jesus’ feet, being taught by our Lord, and is “in his right mind”. What a beautiful outcome! Our Lord’s healing of people has a greater purpose than simply the relief of suffering. He heals people so that their relationships with their families and friends can be restored. That’s why Jesus says to the healed man “Return home and tell how much God has done for you (v.19).”

Today’s Gospel has a message of hope for those for whom every day is a battle with depression, haunting anxieties, compulsive behaviours and fears of the future. What Jesus is doing in your life right now has everything to do with a better future for you. Never forget Romans 8:28 – “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose.”  Display this message prominently in your home as a constant reminder of God’s design for your life. Jesus responds to your prayers for your own health and for the better health of your loved ones according to His loving wisdom, with either relief, with the gift of courage and endurance, or by giving you renewed hope.

St. Paul learned that he was more effective for God with his handicap (his “thorn in the flesh”) than he was without it. The Greek Orthodox Church calls the handicapped “the holy ones”, because they remind all of us of our need for God and of our own limitations. Wisdom is to know your limitations and to live within them with the help of our Lord. His unconditional love for each of us is the greatest of miracles. It’s a further amazing miracle that so many people believe that Jesus can really make a difference in their lives, and help them in a way no one else can.

To believe in prayer is to believe in miracles. Martin Luther says “Faith is prayer and nothing but prayer.” We cannot be whole without prayer. Our Lord comes to us with His healing power in our worship. In Holy Communion, He continues His healing ministry among us. What’s why, after receiving Holy Communion, we thank God for “this healing gift”. “We must … regard this sacrament … as a pure, wholesome medicine which aids and is life-giving in both soul and body. For when the soul is healed the body has benefited also (The Large Catechism).” Thank the Lord for that!

One of our hymns says it well:
At evening when the sun had set,
the sick, O Lord, around You lay:
in what distress and pain they met,
but in what joy they went away!
Your touch has still its ancient power,
no word from You can fruitless fall:
meet with us in this evening hour
and in Your mercy heal us all!
Amen.