Author: admin

“Minimum Chips”

Isaiah 65:17-25, 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13, Luke 21:5-19

In the book of Genesis chapter 9, after the waters of the great flood had subsided we are told that “God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth”. Yet only two chapters later we read that humankind has does just the opposite and have migrated back together as a united and single speaking community with the resolve to build a city with a tower “whose top may reach into the heavens so that they make a name for themselves lest they be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.”

God justifiably is less than impressed and with concern of the limitless self-interested and sinful pride of such a situation intervenes and confuses their languages making it impossible for effective communication within their society and in line with “birds of a feather flock together”, so too of those of the same tongue who formed groups and disbursed over the face of all the earth leaving behind a half built tower known to us Babel, coming from the Hebrew verb Balal which means “to confuse”.

Given that historians have dated these events at around the year 2,000 Before Christ it is some time later that we hear of the confusion of the apostles minds as while they are admiring the great temple of God with its dazzling white stones and shimmering gold finishes Jesus instructs them that “the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another as all will be thrown down” to which did come about in the year 70 A.D. by way of the Roman army offensive against Jerusalem.

Fast forward another 2,000 odd years and we see nothing has changed as we the inhabitants of God’s world still look to find security and happiness in earthly structures, be they be big bank accounts and possessions, big promotions, big superannuation or the like as it would seem that even in the gathering of the faithful in a so called “Mega Church” that big is better, and if we could get a few more each Sunday what a blessing that would be and the more the better to hear the Word of God and receive his gifts. Yet Jesus also talks of how he works with the small:

-That where 2 or 3 are gathered he is present and of the benefits of having a faith the size of a mustard seed, and that a pastor and theologian once said to me that instead of one great congregation of a thousand members, he would prefer four congregations of two hundred and fifty seems to make some sense.

Don’t get me wrong, whether in numbers large or small any coming together of those to worship and receive from The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit are being blessed and should we have the capacity in our earthly lives to fund a big holiday or my favorite, a big screen T.V. go for it. Yet the irony is that should the holiday be planned only around seeing as many countries and sights as possible-you see a lot but don’t get to understand much.

Similar with my fondness of big screen T.V.s in that its size has only managed me to see the same movie but at a further distance away underscores the problem of big, like where we may have a throng of “friends” that we communicate with through Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, yet should the house catch fire the one who may come and help is neighbor that we live next to but were too busy to introduce ourselves.

There is a saying that ultimate power becomes ultimate corruption and while the gifts of our modern age are just that, gifts, it does give rise to scenarios like in my lounge sitting where I now sit afar from the contents of what is being displayed due the size of the object, the T.V. screen itself. So to with the smoke and mirrors of our age that we can become at a distance to the real substance of our lives-Jesus Christ, and then when our towers of Babel built on the changing sands of time come crashing down, so too would we if not for our neighbor who though we looked past, was waiting patiently to tame the flames with His waters of Baptism and love that we not only survive amongst the rubble, but rebuilt our temple not on sand, but on His unbreakable gifts to us. Our neigbour Jesus who we held at a distance  but comes to us and takes us in as His family, that in Him  we not perish, but flourish in the certainty of His life giving forgiveness and promise of eternal life.

To be sustained in His promise and forgiveness and endure in times of trouble and destruction, as those told of in today’s gospel.

To endure knowing in His promise and forgiveness as we await our last day and unite with those who have gone before as told to us in the “New heaven and new earth” as described today’s Old Testament reading where “the wolf and the lamb shall graze together, the lion shall eat straw like an ox and there will be no longer any hurt or destruction”.

And to live now in His promise and forgiveness heeding His Word of the epistle reading that having been saved in faith by Christ and free from the ways of the world, we are free to serve him by being in the world but not of the world.

In his song Me and Bobby McGee Kris Kristofferson penned the famous lyric of “Freedoms just another word for nothing left to lose”, and having been saved Christ we have nothing that can be lost as we come to know John the Baptist words for ourselves and join with him in rejoicing that “therefore now this joy of ours in now complete, He must become greater and we must become less” for no longer do we need to ask like those in captivity in Babylon “how shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land” but trust in where He has placed us in our lives and trust that through the Lord that “the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts will be acceptable in His sight” as we make our way towards our grand and eternal reunion. And though we often fail and fall and doubt our abilities, we know that Jesus is with us and works in the small as well as the great for He has told us “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness”.

The sure grace of our Lord that gives us the freedom from self-interest to become less, that He become more and the sure grace of our Lord that gives us freedom amongst the turbulence of our lives because in the sure promise of Christ that your sins are forgiven in faith in Him alone, and that you may have known His love right from the start or been born with a restless yearning heart is of no consequence because now His Words are your words-That Christ Died for you, and you are saved, and being saved you are free to serve him in the big and the seemingly small.

Christ died for you may seem like four small words, but in realising that it is me and you individually and collectively those words transform like four words said to me by a five year old child who while sitting next to me on a plane flight from Adelaide to Brisbane and noting that I was not a comfortable flyer, after teasing me for about ten minutes about wings and all sorts of parts of the plane either falling off or being damaged remarked “but you’re not meant to be scared, because you’re the dad”.

“Because you’re the dad”. Four small words struck me with the awakening of the silliness of my worry that not only changed my fear of flying but somehow, even though we still struck regular turbulence brought me the freedom to actually enjoy the ride.

“Christ died for you” and you are saved. Saved from not needing to aspire to riches, yet saved from them controlling you if they do come your way. Saved from needing fame or to be top of the rung, yet if achieved is given as a gift to serve both the Lord and those he places before you, be it in earthly needs, spiritual needs or both.

“Christ died for you” that you are saved and though you may have been born with a restless yearning heart, no longer do you need to search, because He has found you with His love he held from the start-and His love that He won’t let part that through you as you are-whether in the big or the small, in the pro-active or re-active, in the known or unknown, that in trusting in Him alone that the Words of our lips and actions from our hearts will be heard and give light to a better way of living to those still in the captivity of earthly entrapments, sin and self. The Words of our lips and actions from our heart that gives light not to human towers, but to His cross. The Words of our lips and actions from our heart that gives light not to ourselves, but to Him, our Saviour Jesus Christ. .

That was where the message ended. Then as chance would have it, not long after and waiting at the fish and chip shop to pick up our order. A lady and her young son came in and counted up their coins to purchase minimum chips. If they’d come up short I think I would have had enough left to fix it up, but in hindsight with the view to not insult their sense of self-worth I should have offered them the piece of fish we had ordered by suggesting that I got the order wrong and so didn’t need it and if they wanted it, better them than me throwing it away. The point is that it reminded me of why I actually became a pastor. Being that having seen and sometimes trying to help the poor and homeless, it always upset me knowing that they would still be hungry the next day then realised for them what I had come to know. That hope amongst the adversity, that survival amongst the pain and the strength to carry on when the load is heavy is through having to come to know the love of Jesus, and we as Christians having been given the means and the faith, that no much how little or how great is a gift to us that the strength of His gospel and love is made perfect in their weaknesses, as it is with ours. Amen.

“Brothers and sisters in arms-Christs”

2 Thessalonians 2:1-5,13-17

 

As the church year draws to a close, the readings begin to reflect themes of eschatology, that is, the ‘last things’ and in our reading today from 2nd Thessalonians it would appear that some of the congregation at Thessalonica had come to understand from reading a fake letter, as if from Paul, that the ‘day of the Lord’ had already begun and not just initiated. Paul seeing how unsettling this teaching could be, and fearing a lasting disturbance, he reminds them that before the second coming of Christ occurs the antichrist-here termed the man of lawlessness- must appear in the church. This figure, empowered by Satan, would lead a widespread rebellion against the truth of Christ before the end comes. He is doomed, though, for destruction by Christ when he comes. To add further to the importance of not being swept away, Paul stresses their need to stand firm in line with the truth they had been taught.

A parallel text is that spoken of by Jesus himself in Matthew Chapter 24: “(Then) if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ Or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms’ do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

In short whether regionally or globally, teachings that do not adhere to the Holy scriptures as recorded are to be rejected and should someone arise in outback New South Wales or in the Holy seats of Rome or Jerusalem and announce them to be God or a Saviour, unless Jesus has returned on the clouds of the sky seen by all, they are to be rejected as charlatans, no matter how persuasive their words, actions, signs and wonders may be.

Sobering stuff that Jesus has told us beforehand that should we be still walking this earth at that time, that we be not deceived in this final display of trickery that Martin Luther makes note: “Paul is not speaking about heathen kings, but about someone ruling in the Church. (As) God’s temple is not the description for a pile of stones, but the whole community of Christians described as one in which the Anti-Christ is to reign proclaiming himself to be God.

These are biblical lessons that we don’t talk of much these days which is fine because our lives lived under the grace of God are not to be concerned with past errors or anxieties of what awaits tomorrow, but lived in the here and now. Yet while we joyously live in the here and now in the sure knowledge of being saved in faith in Christ alone, today and on our last day, the Lord gives us these lessons so that we are prepared not only for the last great deception, but also for current time attacks on the Word of God and his people because to be forewarned is to be forearmed in opposition to being unaware and deceived.

The truth is that the end times started when Jesus won our battle on the cross. And knowing that to be the case, the powers of darkness have been “going down swinging” by attacking what they know to be true, the gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

The “unworldly” gospel of Jesus Christ which tells us that in him, and in faith in him alone are we saved. Not through good works are we saved and not through our failings and sin are we condemned. But faith in Jesus and what he has done for us are we lifted up.

As Christians blessed with faith we know this and sometimes wonder how others could not. Truth is Christ’s promise is counter-cultural and I remember a noted theologian once saying:

“That when you are in small struggling parish, do not be despondent but joyous that the few there believe because in the world we live in, it’s a miracle that any one believes”.

That miracle is faith. Faith not from our own desire or planning, but brought to us from outside of ourselves by the Holy Spirit while we didn’t know it, yet reverberating through every facet of our soul, body and life to be the most precious thing that we cling. Faith that when we approach God the Father, nothing in our hands do we bring, but in faith in the cross do we cling. And standing there beneath the cross we come to see the truth of God the Father. Not a vindictive God, but our God of mercy known through the comforting words of truth from Romans 5:1 “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”.

Peace with God, not through ourselves but in knowing the truth of Christ, and accepting his righteousness for ourselves. His righteousness from Isaiah 32:17: “And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever”.

The Word of God tells us the truth, and the Holy Spirit brings us the faith to believe it and our lives are changed forever to know the peace and assurance that lets us hold firm and fear not when the foundations of society are being shaken around us. The peace and assurance to stand firm in patient endurance and as a strong witness to the unchanging truth of God amongst the changing and challenging times as described in 2 Timothy 4:3-4:

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.”

Peace and assurance given to us in Christ to not fall to what may seem, but to stand in and for what truth is. His truth that we are told in Romans 10:9-17 will not disappoint:

“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame or disappointed.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news! But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed our message? Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.”

The Word of God is powerful and the fictional movie makes interesting point of such where a post-apocalyptic dictator has his Hench men try and track down the last remaining bible on earth so that he use its words of power for himself and create his own kingdom.

It is fiction but the power of God’s Word is not and a respected pastor once told me that it is the truth about the truth recorded in Isaiah 55:11 that allows him to continue in his vocation:

“So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”

The Word of God through its hearing brings the miracle of faith to us through the Holy Spirit. That is a powerful Word. The Word that we ourselves must stand in and know its peace and assurance, and the Word that when attacked we must stand up for that others be not led astray.

The Word that gives us the power of humility should others be not. The Word that gives us the power to forgive those who forgive us not and the Word that gives us the strength and assurance to carry on in our vocations dwelling in peace and happiness knowing that in faith in Christ you are forgiven and saved today, and will be on your last day:

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom. 838-39)

Amen.

 

“What you see is what you get”

Luke 19:1-10

On Monday I was reading an article written by a fashion journalist whose job ultimately led to regularly interviewing models and she said this of her experiences:

“I know it sounds terribly glamorous but if I’d gnawed off a finger every time a model told me her looks were due to water, sleep and whatever product she’s paid to spruik, I’d be digit-less. Honestly, in 20 years of asking – and I’ve had big names babble in to my voice recorder – not one has spoken the truth, namely: “I’m lucky to look like this. It’s all down to genes. Don’t let either of us pretend that it isn’t.”

But then she goes onto to talk of model Kate Moss who she says is a breath of fresh air because she just goes about her business, being herself in her chosen vocation allowed to her primarily through her gene pool. A “super model” with the eyes of the fashion world on her who’s made mistakes that she doesn’t deny or revel in. She quirky and flawed and in the street you’d barely know it was her which makes her more real. But mostly, it’s because she’s just like everyone else-just like us, and gives the whole of herself-just as she is.

It reminds me of a sports commentator who said that on nearly every occasion that he’s met a gifted athlete, he almost always has left stunned that besides that persons unassailable gift in their sporting field, they are just like us.

Today we are invited to look into the mirror of the gospel of Jesus Christ through Zacchaeus who we will see is pretty much just like us.

A lot has been written about Zacchaeus pondering and developing a background for him politically, socially, emotionally, religiously and psychologically. Truth is we don’t know much about him and why he was up the tree other than what we are told, that “he was a rich tax collector and being short in stature he climbed a sycamore tree so he could “see who Jesus was”.

All this makes logical non-ground breaking stuff when we know from scripture and history that while on His current journey to Jerusalem. Jesus just previously had an interesting encounter with a rich man in Galilee who was saddened when Jesus told him to give his possessions to the poor and follow him, to which Jesus replied that it was easier to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God, and those around Jesus hearing this were amazed at His statement and asked “who then can be saved?” And we remember Jesus answering “what is impossible with men is possible with God.”

Then Jesus, in healing a blind man as he approaches Zacchaeus’ home city of Jericho it is understandable that he has attracted quite a crowd. Such a crowd that Zacchaeus needed to gain some higher ground to get a view and with Jericho being one of the wealthiest cities in Palestine with tightly packed-yet spacious villas and many parks, it easier to gain a height advantage by climbing a tree in the park than trying to commandeer  someone’s roof top.

Hardly ground breaking material and if the Annual Dubbo Autobahn V8 supercar race wound its way down Macquarie Street and up Ronald Street, a few of us would find ourselves trying to get the best vantage point available. Be it as a guest in the sponsors corporate box or hanging from one of the branches out the front of the manse. And afterwards like going to the movies or an AFL game, enjoy the entertainment, go home and life carries on as normal.

Well not for the tree hugging Zacchaeus whose life’s climate is about to change dramatically when the star of the show Jesus turns to him and tells him to hurry and come down as he wants to stay with him, and thankfully Zacchaeus response is not like that of the gentleman who by chance happened to be sitting next to Tony Abbott on a plane flight from Canberra to Sydney and after sharing an enjoyable flight together he asked if when they exit the plane, that when Tony sees that the man’s friends have welcomed him, it would give them a kick if Tony approached him like an old friend. Agreeing, Tony approached the man and with his friends present said: “George it’s great to see you again, what have you been up too” only to hear: “Oh not now Tony, give me a break I’m with my friends”.

Zacchaeus, being scorned by those religious in the crowd as a sinner does not fall to such a temptation of responding to Jesus with any big noting or look at me gestures. He just simply says yes and in doing so His life will never be the same again and we see he is no different to us.

Because Zacchaeus story is our story, we did not find Jesus, he found us. We did not invite Jesus in, He invites himself in and our lives are changed to know hope, peace and life.

We could stop right there but there still are a few loose ends that need answering.

Zacchaeus is a man of some means. He’s rich and we know that “just” prior Jesus told another rich man that it was easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. So how did Zacchaeus manage it? Well he didn’t, God did, because “what is impossible for men is possible for God.”

Maybe Zacchaeus at least played a part in it after all he did decide to give away half of his money and to pay back four times what he may have cheated anyone, surely that counted for something towards Jesus announcing that salvation had come to him and his house. No. Jesus words of salvation within this scenario as it plays out were directed to some of the bystanders who could not understand why he would stay in the house of Zacchaeus, a sinner. Jesus’ response is to tell them that Zacchaeus also belongs to God’s family, and on this day blessing and trust have come to him and only after that does Zacchaeus come through with his commitment to share his money and change his life.

Zacchaeus is just like us. Jesus found us. He invited himself in and forgave us and we see and know for ourselves, that in Jesus Christ “what was impossible for us, was possible for God”, and our lives as we knew them have changed.

Not changed that we look different. Not changed that we need to change the pattern of our lives in where we work, play or live. But changed because we now see ourselves and our lives through the forgiven eyes of He who came to us. Ourselves, quirky and flawed yet cherished by the Lord who does demand we be anything else. Our quirks and flaws that bring the light of his love to this world through those we meet in our normal lives, by being normal. By being ourselves and while that may not wash with some people, it will with those who we accept into our lives as they are, and realise not the chains of religion, but the freedom of Christ as they see, they are just like us-that in God’s love for us, that while we were still sinners he sent his Son to die for us, and for them.

Be we a supermodel, a tax collector up a tree, pastor, banker, mechanic, auto detailer, husband, wife, son, daughter, rich or poor-because Jesus Christ came to us and invited himself in, we need not be something we are not, but revel in what we are-and that is a saved Son and daughter of the one who gave everything and demanded nothing and in the fleeting time left to us, pray we too demand nothing of others, but give the whole of ourselves to them, just as we are to those just as they are that the light of Christ and his message of acceptance and forgiveness shines bright  to those in the crowd who know him not. Amen.

“(Re) Born Free”

Luke 18:1-8a

Here today we come as one. The old and the young. All different in earthly wealth, occupations and interests. Yet we meet today in faith as one body knowing we are free in Christ and knowing that through that faith in Jesus Christ our Saviour, that the chains of our sin have been taken from us and given the promise of being the Sons and daughters of God the Father both here in this world and in the world to come, I ask what could there ever be to want for or worry of.

But then I remember a speech from Nelson Mandela after apartheid was turned over in South Africa where he said (I cannot remember exactly but the point meaning) “we are now free people, but before us we still have the great battle to realise what freedom is and what it is to live in it”.

Free in Christ that are just words on paper if we don’t know what they stand for. But words that become alive and part of us when we realise the gravity of what has gone before that we may hear them for ourselves.

I really did not want to go over old ground, but I feel I must. At six years old I announced to my Mother that “there is something God wants me to do but I just don’t know what”. Thirty seven years later and having been just accepted to study towards ordination in the church I was confronted by a man whose world had turned on him. A man whose immense courage and strength had been replaced with fear and weakness and for the next three months I essentially became his pastor as he came to understand our Lord who does not look to punish and take life from those who turn from him, but our Lord who looks to reward and give life to those who trust him and in his last months he truly came to that trust like that of a little child and those words that I said to my mum all those years ago, once forgotten came back to me and I said to Cathy that, that was the moment that God had prepared for me my whole life. But then, just into my studies came the inner fight “you’ve done what it was, so leave”. I sought advice from those close to me in the church and from those close to me outside the church and that all offered the same advice-to stay, it was of no comfort to me and after weeks of internal warfare, beaten and bruised one night I laid at the Lords feet in prayer and over and over for hours begged for an answer. I cannot actually remember falling to sleep but when I woke I had the clearest words implanted that I have ever known, the non-judging and even comforting words of “it didn’t have to end this way”, followed by “know my word” and that I still don’t know and understand them all, I do understand those that bring freedom in Christ.

The Words of God the Father, the creator who always was and always is who gave His only Son to be shackled, beaten, tortured and killed only to weep for those inflicting the pain and ask His Father “to forgive them for they know not what they do”.

Shackled, beaten, tortured and un-merciless killed on the cross that those shackled, beaten and tortured in their sin and lives can kneel at the foot of His cross and be given mercy in Him that they may be restored and rise and walk in His freedom.

You and me here today and all those who believe and trust in our Lord and Saviour, though we fail-His success is ours, and though we our sin lives in us-we live in his righteousness, washed clean in His blood and accepted spotless before a God of love. Our God, God the Father. You and me, we are free in Christ to walk without fear or anxiousness of how we stand before our Father in heaven. Yet a freedom that the powers of darkness who with any means possible look to confuse and deny. The powers of darkness who tell Christians the truth of our sin to take that freedom, but the powers of darkness who lie to Christians of the consequences and have us not know that “there is no condemnation for those in Jesus Christ” (Romans 8.1).

Like to those Mandela spoke, that we know “we are now free people”, we still have that daily battle before us to realise what freedom is and what it is to live in it”.

Free in Christ to say I don’t know how baptism works but I know it does because I know the cost of our Lords life behind the promise “That those who believe and are baptised will be saved”.

Free in Christ to know that though in ourselves we have no right to approach Our Lord, but knowing in Him who gave His Body and Blood for us we come to stand or kneel at the alter in Holy Communion knowing that in His sacrifice we restored to walk forgiven and given life and salvation.

And free in Christ to evoke His name before God the Father and take it to him in prayer and know the words of 1 John 5:14-15 for ourselves, that “this is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him”, and so “rejoice always; pray without ceasing. And in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).

Free in Christ to live in His freeing truth that some of us heard so well said in bible study on Thursday.

“A little boy brought a fistful of dandelions to his florist father who made beautiful arrangements from exquisitely lovely flowers. The boy came into the florist shop with a fistful of wilted dandelions that he had picked in a field. Without a word, he looked up to his father and shyly handed the dandelions to him. The father gladly accepted the fistful of dandelions. He told his son that they were beautiful. He took a vase, filled it with water, put the flowers into the vase, and placed it onto the middle of the counter so that everybody who came into the store that day could see the beautiful gift that his little boy had brought him”.

We are free in Christ to know His word for ourselves and free to honor Him by bringing our lives of wilted dandelions before him and calling upon Him in our day of trouble, that He may rescue us. Amen.

 

Luke 17:11-19

The maths seems simple. Ten lepers cry for mercy and are cured but only one returns to praise God and thank Jesus. The maths seems simple as so it can be when we see and make an opinion of people based on what they do and have done before us in our societies. It can seem very straightforward and uncomplicated, but it almost never is.

In my previous job in a bank we were undertaking a training session about the importance of “checks and balances” within the workplace to reduce the risk of embezzlement and the instructor said that on the law of averages if you have ten people, no matter what the situation one will always be honest, one will always be dishonest and for the other eight it will depend on their situations. Eight out of the ten that want to do the right thing but given the wrong situation, be it to feed an addiction, make the payments on a house they can’t afford or to just put food on the table are susceptible to fall into doing something they otherwise would not. It seems a damning statistic until I see Abraham and Isaac on a mountain top or God the Father giving His Son Jesus Christ to be nailed to a cross on a lonely hill in Jerusalem and realise that given the wrong situation or one of such gravity I am one of those eight, or in today’s Gospel-one of the nine.

Ten lepers. Nine Jewish and considered the people of God and one a Samaritan despised by the people of God. Two types from either side of the tracks normally separated by racial and religious differences but here united as outcasts by their societies because off their carrying a highly contagious and incurable disease that most certainly would result in premature death.

The diseased, dis-enfranchised and rejected hidden from society and living in those parts where only the odd passer-by may unwillingly stumble upon and hear their warning cries of “unclean” before taking a wide birth around them. All except Jesus who as we’ve heard heals all ten and in the commentaries I’ve read many summarise that nine of the ten in not returning took their physical healing for granted and as such did not accept His spiritual healing as evidenced in the returning and grateful Samaritan. They may be right and certainly Jesus commends the returning Samaritan but before we get on board with such judgements let’s have a closer look at these ten people and especially the nine.

Firstly, not just these lepers but with all lepers is it not a mark of high character that living under the bondage of a disease that they did not earn or deserve that they actually warned away those not inflicted from themselves. Then with these lepers, nine Jewish and one Samaritan “enemy” could they not have simply turned away from the one and had a tidy Jewish leper colony of their own. Then when Jesus approaches, as one they cry out to Him for mercy only to hear a most puzzling response “to go and show yourselves to the priests” and remarkably without hesitation or reasoned follow up questions, they do just that and in discovering on the way that they have been cured, only one returns to thank Jesus while the nine continue on their way. Which I might add is what Jesus actually asked of them never mind the thought of being able to hug loved ones for the first time in years and most importantly, to be able to once again worship in the temple to which due to their unclean illness were not able. An outcome that cannot be understated as even to this day, that the temple has been destroyed in war and cannot be rebuilt and worshipped in due to the Muslim dome on the rock being built in its place is considered by the Jewish a tragedy much greater than that of the World War II holocaust. So how could we place any judgement what so ever on these nine who for all we know gave a great witness to what Jesus did for them. Yet Jesus without condemning them, does make a favourable statement towards the Samaritan who did return and I wonder if he knew more of what was taking place than seems to be placed before us in this short piece of scripture. I’m sure he did but what He was placed before us clearly shows that at the heart of our lives should be Christ, but it still leaves me wondering of the nine what if this? And what if that?

We are left wondering and maybe that’s a good thing because that’s God’s business. Yet paradoxically, in knowing that it’s God’s business we aren’t left wondering because we know that if in fact they still haven’t fully grasped the situation we know he won’t give up on them. We know it because we’ve been there in the wilderness separated from the kingdom of God by the stain of our own illness called sin. Sin, that like leprosy for those in this scripture had no human remedy and no matter how much we could try and scrub ourselves clean with good works and pious living still could not be cleansed.

To ten lepers 2,000 years ago Christ came and gave them the simplest of instructions, to “go and show your selves to the priest”. No question and answers just seven simple words that followed in faith cured their disease. To you, me and all those in the world today Christ comes with a message akin to that of the ten. No questions, no catches. Just believe in me and you shall be saved.

So I ask you, do you believe that Jesus Christ the Son of God died on the cross for your sins. If you have answered yes-then like to a Samaritan leper He now says to you “Your faith has made you well, so rise and go your way” and tell of me to the other nine that like you, they may be cleansed of sin and stand alongside yourselves before God, clean and pure through my blood.

Through the blood of Jesus Christ who gave himself on the cross you have been given eternal life and life in this world. So fall at His feet giving Him thanks and praising God with a loud voice-that those still lost, will follow His voice and receive His peace. Amen.

 

Sermon Hebrews 11:29-12:2

How will you run your race?

 

The atmosphere is electric. Excitement and anticipation is all around. People leaning forward in their seats, just to get a better look. Children standing on seats unable to contain themselves. Hearts beginning to beat faster. There are others too whose hearts are beating faster, excitement building, unable to stop the anticipation, as they look ahead and focus on one point. The dream to be the best and to do their best has now begun. The athlete in this Olympic race stands at the starting line with now only one goal. To reach the end.

It started four years earlier for this athlete. She had missed out on a chance to run in the last Olympic Games. The next day she returned to her training plan. The early morning starts, the repeated efforts, the weights sessions. How many times had she wanted to give up? How many times did this training regime feel like a treadmill?

You know the routine, you know how it is. Wake up, eat a carefully selected breakfast, train for two hours, home for more carefully selected nutrition, weighed and analysed, short rest, some study only to return to the track again that afternoon for another training session. Recovery that evening in an ice-bath, stretching, more study, food and then bed. Only to be repeated again and again. Now all of this hard work, the set backs, the muscle strain, the early mornings has been worth it as she stands ready for the starter’s gun.

In the Olympics and in many races in life the athlete tries to win, to be the best, but what would you do if after all of that training it came undone? On youtube you can see a clip of the Olympic Games in Mexico City where in 1968 a man from Tanzania ran in the marathon. Soon after starting the race he cramped up due to the altitude and fell heavily. His wounds were hurriedly dressed and although he was in pain with a dislocated shoulder as well as his knee injury he was determined to finish the race. After the sun had set, he entered the stadium to cheers from the remaining small crowd and finished the race over an hour after the rest of the athletes. When asked why he hadn’t withdrawn from the race, he simply replied ‘My country did not send me 5000 miles to start the race, they sent me 5000 miles to finish the race.’ This man’s name was John Stephen Akhwari.

Have you ever been in a race? Perhaps not an Olympic race but a race where there was a start and a finish. How did you feel? Did you prepare your body and mind for the big event? Did you analyse your food and it’s nutritional value to assist you? Did you think about tactics or a plan for how to run your race? Perhaps you decided to go out hard and then fall over the line or hold back a bit and save some energy? What about perseverance? Would you continue even if like the Tanzanian runner you fell?

There are many ways to run a race. Our text today encourages us to, ‘run the race with perseverance the race that is set before us looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of faith.’ Yet unlike an Olympic race, this is the Christian race in life. The race that God has set before us.

In this race the vital thing is to keep our eyes on Jesus. The focus is not to run faster as in the Christian race speed is not important, rather perseverance and keeping our eyes on Jesus. Prayer, reading the bible and coming to worship are ways to help just that – to keep your eyes on Jesus.

There is only one tactic needed to run the race before you-and that is faith. Faith in Jesus Christ, the one who has run his race and now sits God’s right hand. Faith that is not earned, rather it is a gift. Faith that is so vital to us, faith that is already given in our baptism and it’s something that we grow into as we live our life in Jesus. Faith that is gift from God, strengthened by the Holy Spirit through hearing God’s word and receiving the lord’s supper.

We need to live our lives as best we can and be careful not to fall into sin, or return to sin when we have been made free from it. This sin that clings so closely to us and holds us back. When we are not sure if sin is holding us back, think about the commandments. Is there sin holding me back or clinging to me as I run my race?

When an athlete runs, he or she only wears the clothing they need for the race. They only carry what they need and no more that may weigh them down. So look at the clothes you put on. Not only the garments that cover our bodies but those other items we put on. Perhaps putting on more material things to make us feel more successful in life and to even give us more status in the race. Our texts encourages us to lay aside every weight and the sin which clings so closely and let us run. What is holding you back or weighing you down? Lighten your load by giving this all to God and run, not so much to win as you already share the victory in Jesus. Rather run as one who is free to run in faith with Jesus.

As John Stephen Akhwari said his country didn’t lay the race out for him to start but to finish the race. God lays this race out for you to not only in Jesus start it, but to finish it in Jesus. You have the victory in the one who has won the victory on the cross. Through his death and resurrection, Jesus has won the victory over sin, death and the devil. This victory is offered to all who believe, who have faith in the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, as we have heard in the one who has run His race and finished.
Yet while you run your race, there are a great cloud of witnesses who will cheer you on. All of the faithful who have gone before, who have run their race with perseverance, now encouraging you to persevere and run with determination pointing you to Jesus. Imagine running along a road with the path lined with those who have completed the race in faith and now stand there waving and cheering. Imagine the great cloud of witnesses such as David, Samson and all the prophets. Alongside are all the faithful from this congregation who have lived and died in Jesus, who have kept their eyes on Christ and who now cheer us on in our race.

As you look at the people will you see some from your community who are pointing you to Jesus along your journey when you become tired or despondent? Will you point others to Jesus as a witness along their race? Will you pray for those who are burdened? How will the world see you and how will you treat your fellow runners? Just as some had given up on John Stephen Akhwari finishing, you too may have friends, family, team mates or colleagues who will also give up, unlike the faithful, the great cloud of witnesses that remain there until you have finished. They have died and now wait for you and all Christians until we all finally received our inheritance in heaven.

Let’s not forget that you are not running alone? Christ ran the race that God set before him – humbling himself as he ran the race, a path that lead to humiliation, suffering, scourging, and finally to the cross. Christ persevered with this even though he asked his Father if his race could be changed but not my will, not my race Father but yours. No one could run the race for Jesus and no one can run your race that God has called you to run.

It might be time to ask you how your race is going? How is your nutrition going for your race? What if you run out of puff and can’t complete the journey? Be nourished and strengthened to keep running by the power of the Holy Spirit as you gather around God’s word and participating in the foretaste of heaven in Holy Communion. In faith then run, run as a free person by receiving forgiveness of sin and living under the grace bestowed upon you by God. Unlike the Olympic Games where the athlete runs alone, relying on his/her strength and preparation to finish, placing all their faith in themselves, the Christian race has something special about it. Let me re-emphasise the runner never runs alone and the runner places faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus runs with you, he walks with you and binds up your wounds when you stumble and dusts you off, yet also Jesus runs ahead clearing the way for you too. He removes stumbling blocks and carries you when you no longer can move. He is the pioneer and perfecter of your faith. He begins your faith and perfects it along the way. He is the beginning and the end of the race, so live in him and finish your race in him to finally receive, as you have now but fully then your eternal salvation.

Amen

Mark Gierus