Your Faith Journey - Finding God Through Words, Song and Praise

Acclamation - Hallelujah Praise the Lord from Gospel Mass by Robert Ray - a live performance by the Faith Lutheran Chancel Choir.

That great theologian, Meredith Grey, a fictional character on the hit television show, Grey’s Anatomy, said in one episode, “At some point, you have to make a decision.  Boundaries don’t keep other people out.  They fence you in.  Life is messy.  That’s how we’re made.  So, you can waste your lives drawing lines and building walls.  Or, you can live your life crossing them.”  I think there is some truth to what the character of Meredith said.  And, while I believe some boundaries are necessary, very needed, and extremely healthy, I also believe far too often we impose boundaries that not only fence us in, but keep others out. 

When we meet up with Jesus today he is continuing his journey to Jerusalem, his journey toward the cross.  As Jesus and his disciples continue that cross bound journey, they move into a border area, the boundary between Samaria and Galilee, a scary and uncomfortable place.  It was a boundary the Jewish people did not like to cross because it took you into the place where those hated and despised Samaritans lived.  And, look who Jesus meets at that border – ten lepers who raise their voices and cry out to Jesus saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”  These lepers, knowing they are unclean, keep their distance from Jesus, because that is what the law stipulates.  By law, they are not to go near those who do not have leprosy.  Enduring the status of outcast and unclean they are required to live apart from the rest of society.  They are required to live within yet a different kind of boundary, one that keeps them isolated from others.  Considered ritually unclean, they were quarantined and treated as objects of revulsion and fear on the part of their neighbors.  So, as these ten lepers cry for mercy, not one of them breaks the social conventions that surround their disease as they cry to Jesus from a distance.

The writer of Luke’s gospel tells us Jesus sees these lepers and tells them to go show themselves to the priests.  This was also required by law because the priests would have to inspect the lepers and verify their cleanliness.  Only then could they be readmitted to the temple and be freed from their status as outcast and unclean.  So, they go, and while on their way, they become clean.  All ten are healed.   But, only one comes back to thank Jesus for being healed.  This one leper, when he realized he had been healed, turned around and came back, shouting his gratitude and glorifying God. 

So, why did only one leper return to offer thanks?  Part of the answer may be found in the identity of this healed man. He alone is identified as a Samaritan.  He was considered an outcast, not just because of his disease.  He was considered an outcast because he was a foreigner, a disgusting Samaritan.  As such, he was twice scorned, twice rejected, and twice removed from community. 

It really is interesting that this despised Samaritan is the one who stops to say thanks.  The writer of Luke’s gospel again chooses a reviled Samaritan to make a point.  And, as he does, we can pretty much assume his point is not about the proper etiquette for saying thank you.  Luke is not giving his first-century listeners a lesson in good manners and proper protocol for receiving healing.  No.  Again and again we find Luke’s Jesus teaching in parables and living in ways that disorient his followers with the shock of something new.  Again and again Luke’s Jesus shows the people that God is close at hand, in your neighbor, in those you don’t consider neighbors, in an act of compassion and in a touch of healing. 

So, why was it the Samaritan who came back to thank Jesus?  Jesus had not made a formal thank you part of the bargain.  He simply told them to go and show themselves to the priests.  Well, we really do not know why the Samaritan is the only one to return.  However, just maybe the writer of Luke was more interested in describing the boundaries of God’s grace, boundaries that ultimately will expand to include even those the world defines as unclean, foreign and impure.  Luke seems to be telling us a story about a very daring boundary crossing.  A crossing that is daring on the part of Jesus and also on the part of the Samaritan. 

So, the Samaritan alone returns and, if we look at his posture, we discover that he comes close to Jesus and humbly lies down at Jesus’ feet.  Of the ten who were healed, this despised foreigner is the one who breaches the boundaries and moves from a life of isolation to one of grateful intimacy.  While the other nine perform the necessary rituals and practices, he alone feels obliged to say thank you.  And maybe, just maybe, in his need to say thank you there was a yearning for intimacy with God, a sense that faith cannot simply mean performance of ritual.  Faith requires relationship.  Faith – something that in itself is gift – lures us, grasps us and draws us into relationship with God, a relationship that is healing, intimate, humbling, and yes, even dependent.

I cannot help but wonder if part of the illness we are seeing within today’s culture and climate is due to a deep self-centeredness, a viewpoint that assumes we are right, that assumes we are entitled to what we have.  We draw deeply entrenched boundary lines and walls, and we will not cross those lines.  We become so preoccupied with our own needs, our own wants, protecting what we have while attempting to justify our unwavering position and perspective, that we maintain our distance from others while holding on to an illusion of absolute independence.  In doing so we continue to create divisions among people, cast others aside as unclean, and attempt to make others appear as outcasts.

“Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back.”  One turned back from maintaining the protection of distance, turned back from going his or her own way, turned back from self-justification, turned back from the illusion of independence and knelt down at Jesus’ feet, proclaiming ultimate dependence on God.  And, in doing so, gave thanks and showed deep gratitude. 

Gratitude!  The truth is, gratitude is an expression of our need for others, of our need for God.  We cannot live within our deeply entrenched boundaries, live at a distance, and become truly healed at the same time.  And, the fact of the matter is, all that we have, all that we think we are entitled to, all of our stuff, our health, our position, our job, the list goes on and on, all is gift.  One UCC pastor puts it this way, “Like the food that nourishes our bodies, these things do not grow up independently within us, but are literally foreign, alien to us, gifts from beyond ourselves that lure us into mutual interdependence with all others who have been embraced by a God who reached beyond the boundaries that we and the world have established to tell us we belong!” 

When we begin to grasp this, the fact that all is gift, we begin to know gratitude.  And, it is gratitude that teaches us about the truth of our very lives – the truth that we live in a profoundly interdependent world.  The strength and health of our communities, our country and the health of our very selves comes to us as gift when we live in relationship to others. 

The healthiest people I know are those whose lives are not lived as the self-made man or woman, living within their protective boundaries.  The healthiest people I know are those whose very lives express deep gratitude as they have reached across boundaries to enrich and embrace others and be embraced by others.  The healthiest people I know are those who know that to be truly well requires the embrace of the alien grace of Christ’s daring love, the embrace of the God who crosses all boundaries to love us where we are and as we are and make us God’s own.

That great theologian, Meredith Grey, a fictional character on the hit television show, Grey’s Anatomy, said in one episode, “At some point, you have to make a decision.  Boundaries don’t keep other people out.  They fence you in.  Life is messy.  That’s how we’re made.  So, you can waste your lives drawing lines and building walls.  Or, you can live your life crossing them.”  I think there is some truth to what the character of Meredith said.  And, while I believe some boundaries are necessary, very needed, and extremely healthy, I also believe far too often we impose boundaries that not only fence us in, but keep others out. 

When we meet up with Jesus today he is continuing his journey to Jerusalem, his journey toward the cross.  As Jesus and his disciples continue that cross bound journey, they move into a border area, the boundary between Samaria and Galilee, a scary and uncomfortable place.  It was a boundary the Jewish people did not like to cross because it took you into the place where those hated and despised Samaritans lived.  And, look who Jesus meets at that border – ten lepers who raise their voices and cry out to Jesus saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”  These lepers, knowing they are unclean, keep their distance from Jesus, because that is what the law stipulates.  By law, they are not to go near those who do not have leprosy.  Enduring the status of outcast and unclean they are required to live apart from the rest of society.  They are required to live within yet a different kind of boundary, one that keeps them isolated from others.  Considered ritually unclean, they were quarantined and treated as objects of revulsion and fear on the part of their neighbors.  So, as these ten lepers cry for mercy, not one of them breaks the social conventions that surround their disease as they cry to Jesus from a distance.

The writer of Luke’s gospel tells us Jesus sees these lepers and tells them to go show themselves to the priests.  This was also required by law because the priests would have to inspect the lepers and verify their cleanliness.  Only then could they be readmitted to the temple and be freed from their status as outcast and unclean.  So, they go, and while on their way, they become clean.  All ten are healed.   But, only one comes back to thank Jesus for being healed.  This one leper, when he realized he had been healed, turned around and came back, shouting his gratitude and glorifying God. 

So, why did only one leper return to offer thanks?  Part of the answer may be found in the identity of this healed man. He alone is identified as a Samaritan.  He was considered an outcast, not just because of his disease.  He was considered an outcast because he was a foreigner, a disgusting Samaritan.  As such, he was twice scorned, twice rejected, and twice removed from community. 

It really is interesting that this despised Samaritan is the one who stops to say thanks.  The writer of Luke’s gospel again chooses a reviled Samaritan to make a point.  And, as he does, we can pretty much assume his point is not about the proper etiquette for saying thank you.  Luke is not giving his first-century listeners a lesson in good manners and proper protocol for receiving healing.  No.  Again and again we find Luke’s Jesus teaching in parables and living in ways that disorient his followers with the shock of something new.  Again and again Luke’s Jesus shows the people that God is close at hand, in your neighbor, in those you don’t consider neighbors, in an act of compassion and in a touch of healing. 

So, why was it the Samaritan who came back to thank Jesus?  Jesus had not made a formal thank you part of the bargain.  He simply told them to go and show themselves to the priests.  Well, we really do not know why the Samaritan is the only one to return.  However, just maybe the writer of Luke was more interested in describing the boundaries of God’s grace, boundaries that ultimately will expand to include even those the world defines as unclean, foreign and impure.  Luke seems to be telling us a story about a very daring boundary crossing.  A crossing that is daring on the part of Jesus and also on the part of the Samaritan. 

So, the Samaritan alone returns and, if we look at his posture, we discover that he comes close to Jesus and humbly lies down at Jesus’ feet.  Of the ten who were healed, this despised foreigner is the one who breaches the boundaries and moves from a life of isolation to one of grateful intimacy.  While the other nine perform the necessary rituals and practices, he alone feels obliged to say thank you.  And maybe, just maybe, in his need to say thank you there was a yearning for intimacy with God, a sense that faith cannot simply mean performance of ritual.  Faith requires relationship.  Faith – something that in itself is gift – lures us, grasps us and draws us into relationship with God, a relationship that is healing, intimate, humbling, and yes, even dependent.

I cannot help but wonder if part of the illness we are seeing within today’s culture and climate is due to a deep self-centeredness, a viewpoint that assumes we are right, that assumes we are entitled to what we have.  We draw deeply entrenched boundary lines and walls, and we will not cross those lines.  We become so preoccupied with our own needs, our own wants, protecting what we have while attempting to justify our unwavering position and perspective, that we maintain our distance from others while holding on to an illusion of absolute independence.  In doing so we continue to create divisions among people, cast others aside as unclean, and attempt to make others appear as outcasts.

“Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back.”  One turned back from maintaining the protection of distance, turned back from going his or her own way, turned back from self-justification, turned back from the illusion of independence and knelt down at Jesus’ feet, proclaiming ultimate dependence on God.  And, in doing so, gave thanks and showed deep gratitude. 

Gratitude!  The truth is, gratitude is an expression of our need for others, of our need for God.  We cannot live within our deeply entrenched boundaries, live at a distance, and become truly healed at the same time.  And, the fact of the matter is, all that we have, all that we think we are entitled to, all of our stuff, our health, our position, our job, the list goes on and on, all is gift.  One UCC pastor puts it this way, “Like the food that nourishes our bodies, these things do not grow up independently within us, but are literally foreign, alien to us, gifts from beyond ourselves that lure us into mutual interdependence with all others who have been embraced by a God who reached beyond the boundaries that we and the world have established to tell us we belong!” 

When we begin to grasp this, the fact that all is gift, we begin to know gratitude.  And, it is gratitude that teaches us about the truth of our very lives – the truth that we live in a profoundly interdependent world.  The strength and health of our communities, our country and the health of our very selves comes to us as gift when we live in relationship to others. 

The healthiest people I know are those whose lives are not lived as the self-made man or woman, living within their protective boundaries.  The healthiest people I know are those whose very lives express deep gratitude as they have reached across boundaries to enrich and embrace others and be embraced by others.  The healthiest people I know are those who know that to be truly well requires the embrace of the alien grace of Christ’s daring love, the embrace of the God who crosses all boundaries to love us where we are and as we are and make us God’s own.

This is a special musical performance of Keep Your Lamps by the Faith Lutheran Chancel Choir. 

This is a special musical performance of Keep Your Lamps by the Faith Lutheran Chancel Choir. 

This is a special musical performance of Open The Eyes of my Heart Lord by the Joyful Noise Childrens Choir.

This is a special musical performance of Open The Eyes of my Heart Lord by the Joyful Noise Childrens Choir.

Over the years, I have participated in a few hundred weddings.  For most of them I served as the musician.  And, since I have been ordained, I have officiated for several weddings.  Through this plethora of wedding experiences, there is one thing I have learned:  a wedding is one of the most emotionally charged events people ever experience.  And, quite honestly, because weddings are so loaded with emotion, they are fragile events containing great potential for mishap and disaster.  Even the smallest issue can create emotional explosions as people are stretched thin and as deep feelings and personal issues easily rise to the surface.  There are tears, profound hope, joy, and sometimes even anger, resentment and frustration.  Even buried grief often comes to the surface during wedding events.  And, when these things happen, it is always interesting to watch how people respond or react to the challenges. Frequently, in the chaos of the moment, they are simply unaware of what is really happening, unable to recognize what is causing the emotional explosions and expressions.

So, as we hear today’s gospel reading, it is quite significant that at the end of his life, literally during the last week of his life when he knows he is about to die, Jesus chooses the metaphor of this most human, emotionally weighted event as the context for a teaching parable about the kingdom of heaven.

To understand this parable, it is helpful to understand wedding customs of that day.  Guests would assemble at the home of the bride where they were entertained by her parents as they waited for the groom.  Then, when the bridegroom approached, all bridesmaids and guests would light torches and go out to meet the bridegroom.  Everyone would then walk in procession to the groom’s home where his parents were waiting.  The ceremony would take place and it was followed by an extended banquet which would continue for several days.

So, in this story that Jesus tells, the groom does not show up on time.  Several hours pass and many in the wedding party fall asleep.  Then, at midnight, they are awakened as someone loudly shouts out, “He’s coming.”  Well, the bridesmaids wake up to get moving and ready.  They trim their lamps and head out to meet the groom.  However, five of the ten have used up their oil and have none left.  And, as they attempt to borrow from the other wiser bridesmaids, their request is rejected.  They frantically begin searching for oil and miss out on the procession.  Then, when they finally get to the groom’s home, they are locked out and turned away. Jesus ends this story by saying, “Keep awake!  You do not know the day nor the hour.”

The writer of Matthew’s gospel is asking this question, “What shall we do while we wait for Jesus to return?”  The early Christian community to which Matthew is writing had to constantly adjust to the reality that Jesus did not soon return as they had expected.  By the time Matthew wrote this gospel, the discipleship community may have been waiting for Jesus’ return for fifty years or more. Most of the eye-witnesses were likely dead. The church had spread, but it had also been oppressed. The Temple had been destroyed, wreaking havoc on Jewish and Christian communities.  Where was Jesus?  This story communicates the message to Matthew’s community that their mission was to wait expectantly and in the meantime, live faithfully, live courageously in the midst of persecution, live with hope, stay awake and aware.  As we hear this parable, our context is very different and we have been waiting much longer than Matthew’s community.  Yet, living and waiting faithfully, courageously and hopefully is still our mission.  Our call is to stay awake and be aware of God’s presence as God comes to us.

The point of this whole parable is a call to live expectantly, hopefully and aware.  As Christians, our hope rests completely on our trust that the God who created the world continues to love this world and continues the process of creation until the project is complete.  Our hope rests in the promise that God will continue to redeem and save the world by coming into it with love and grace, in the person of Jesus Christ.

Now, as I say this, I am very aware of the horror, despair and chaos of the last several weeks.  We have not only seen natural disasters, we have seen the horror we humans are capable of rendering upon others, like the massacre in Las Vegas and then the shooting last weekend at a Texas church.  There are times in human history when the forces of oppression, injustice, violence and torture make justice, compassion and love seem so very fragile.  And, in the face of such horror, our hearts scream out the unanswerable questions, “Why, God, why?” and “Where is God?”   But, like those early Christians, in these chaotic times we are called to wait, to live in hope and to stay awake and aware.  You see, living in the hope that we are given in Christ does not mean we are immune to the harsh realities of history.  It does mean that we live confidently and expectantly, trusting that the Lord of history continues to come into life with compassion and redemption and hope.  And, it means staying awake and aware so we can see how God is very present to us in each moment.

To become aware of God’s presence in our lives, we have to accept what is often difficult, particularly for people in a success-driven culture. We have to accept that human culture is in a mass hypnotic trance.  Far too often, we are sleep-walkers and unaware of God’s grace and presence to us.  We human beings do not naturally see; we have to be taught how to see.  And, this happens as we live together in Christian community, as we participate in the work of the faith community, as we couragesously gather together despite situations that might otherwise create fear, and as we weekly gather together to receive God’s living Word and be fed by the very life of God.  As we wait, even in times of chaos, these are the things that enable us to stay awake and aware as God is always present to us and as the God’s kingdom is always coming, breaking into history and breaking into our lives. 

The good news in the midst of all of life’s challenges is this:  the bridegroom will come, the bridegroom is always coming, and the love of God will continue to appear in our lives in surprising and unexpected ways.  You see, Jesus Christ comes when Christian people live in hope and never give up.  Jesus Christ comes when faithful disciples express love and compassion and work for justice, even in the face of violence and fear.  Jesus Christ comes when we see God’s presence in people who are different from us, when we are able to see our Muslim neighbors, immigrants, refugees, and people whose sexual orientation is different from ours as people created in God’s image and dearly loved children of God.  Jesus Christ comes when those who suffer know they are ultimately safe in God’s love.  Jesus Christ comes and the kingdom breaks into earth when faithful people live in hope, not fear, and give themselves to the work of God’s kingdom and God’s reign. 

I was reading an article this morning about a cosmic encounter that will take place early tomorrow morning.  Tomorrow morning, the planets Venus and Jupiter will pass each other in the sky.  But, the interesting thing is, you must be awake before sunrise if you want to experience this cosmic encounter.  This news made me again realize that cosmic encounters are happening to us all of the time as the God of creation, the Cosmic Christ, surprisingly breaks into our lives.  But, we need to stay aware and awake to recognize these cosmic encounters. 

Keep your lamps trimmed and burning!  Wait with hope and stay awake!  The bridegroom is on the way.

Over the years, I have participated in a few hundred weddings.  For most of them I served as the musician.  And, since I have been ordained, I have officiated for several weddings.  Through this plethora of wedding experiences, there is one thing I have learned:  a wedding is one of the most emotionally charged events people ever experience.  And, quite honestly, because weddings are so loaded with emotion, they are fragile events containing great potential for mishap and disaster.  Even the smallest issue can create emotional explosions as people are stretched thin and as deep feelings and personal issues easily rise to the surface.  There are tears, profound hope, joy, and sometimes even anger, resentment and frustration.  Even buried grief often comes to the surface during wedding events.  And, when these things happen, it is always interesting to watch how people respond or react to the challenges. Frequently, in the chaos of the moment, they are simply unaware of what is really happening, unable to recognize what is causing the emotional explosions and expressions.

So, as we hear today’s gospel reading, it is quite significant that at the end of his life, literally during the last week of his life when he knows he is about to die, Jesus chooses the metaphor of this most human, emotionally weighted event as the context for a teaching parable about the kingdom of heaven.

To understand this parable, it is helpful to understand wedding customs of that day.  Guests would assemble at the home of the bride where they were entertained by her parents as they waited for the groom.  Then, when the bridegroom approached, all bridesmaids and guests would light torches and go out to meet the bridegroom.  Everyone would then walk in procession to the groom’s home where his parents were waiting.  The ceremony would take place and it was followed by an extended banquet which would continue for several days.

So, in this story that Jesus tells, the groom does not show up on time.  Several hours pass and many in the wedding party fall asleep.  Then, at midnight, they are awakened as someone loudly shouts out, “He’s coming.”  Well, the bridesmaids wake up to get moving and ready.  They trim their lamps and head out to meet the groom.  However, five of the ten have used up their oil and have none left.  And, as they attempt to borrow from the other wiser bridesmaids, their request is rejected.  They frantically begin searching for oil and miss out on the procession.  Then, when they finally get to the groom’s home, they are locked out and turned away. Jesus ends this story by saying, “Keep awake!  You do not know the day nor the hour.”

The writer of Matthew’s gospel is asking this question, “What shall we do while we wait for Jesus to return?”  The early Christian community to which Matthew is writing had to constantly adjust to the reality that Jesus did not soon return as they had expected.  By the time Matthew wrote this gospel, the discipleship community may have been waiting for Jesus’ return for fifty years or more. Most of the eye-witnesses were likely dead. The church had spread, but it had also been oppressed. The Temple had been destroyed, wreaking havoc on Jewish and Christian communities.  Where was Jesus?  This story communicates the message to Matthew’s community that their mission was to wait expectantly and in the meantime, live faithfully, live courageously in the midst of persecution, live with hope, stay awake and aware.  As we hear this parable, our context is very different and we have been waiting much longer than Matthew’s community.  Yet, living and waiting faithfully, courageously and hopefully is still our mission.  Our call is to stay awake and be aware of God’s presence as God comes to us.

The point of this whole parable is a call to live expectantly, hopefully and aware.  As Christians, our hope rests completely on our trust that the God who created the world continues to love this world and continues the process of creation until the project is complete.  Our hope rests in the promise that God will continue to redeem and save the world by coming into it with love and grace, in the person of Jesus Christ.

Now, as I say this, I am very aware of the horror, despair and chaos of the last several weeks.  We have not only seen natural disasters, we have seen the horror we humans are capable of rendering upon others, like the massacre in Las Vegas and then the shooting last weekend at a Texas church.  There are times in human history when the forces of oppression, injustice, violence and torture make justice, compassion and love seem so very fragile.  And, in the face of such horror, our hearts scream out the unanswerable questions, “Why, God, why?” and “Where is God?”   But, like those early Christians, in these chaotic times we are called to wait, to live in hope and to stay awake and aware.  You see, living in the hope that we are given in Christ does not mean we are immune to the harsh realities of history.  It does mean that we live confidently and expectantly, trusting that the Lord of history continues to come into life with compassion and redemption and hope.  And, it means staying awake and aware so we can see how God is very present to us in each moment.

To become aware of God’s presence in our lives, we have to accept what is often difficult, particularly for people in a success-driven culture. We have to accept that human culture is in a mass hypnotic trance.  Far too often, we are sleep-walkers and unaware of God’s grace and presence to us.  We human beings do not naturally see; we have to be taught how to see.  And, this happens as we live together in Christian community, as we participate in the work of the faith community, as we couragesously gather together despite situations that might otherwise create fear, and as we weekly gather together to receive God’s living Word and be fed by the very life of God.  As we wait, even in times of chaos, these are the things that enable us to stay awake and aware as God is always present to us and as the God’s kingdom is always coming, breaking into history and breaking into our lives. 

The good news in the midst of all of life’s challenges is this:  the bridegroom will come, the bridegroom is always coming, and the love of God will continue to appear in our lives in surprising and unexpected ways.  You see, Jesus Christ comes when Christian people live in hope and never give up.  Jesus Christ comes when faithful disciples express love and compassion and work for justice, even in the face of violence and fear.  Jesus Christ comes when we see God’s presence in people who are different from us, when we are able to see our Muslim neighbors, immigrants, refugees, and people whose sexual orientation is different from ours as people created in God’s image and dearly loved children of God.  Jesus Christ comes when those who suffer know they are ultimately safe in God’s love.  Jesus Christ comes and the kingdom breaks into earth when faithful people live in hope, not fear, and give themselves to the work of God’s kingdom and God’s reign. 

I was reading an article this morning about a cosmic encounter that will take place early tomorrow morning.  Tomorrow morning, the planets Venus and Jupiter will pass each other in the sky.  But, the interesting thing is, you must be awake before sunrise if you want to experience this cosmic encounter.  This news made me again realize that cosmic encounters are happening to us all of the time as the God of creation, the Cosmic Christ, surprisingly breaks into our lives.  But, we need to stay aware and awake to recognize these cosmic encounters. 

Keep your lamps trimmed and burning!  Wait with hope and stay awake!  The bridegroom is on the way.

This is a special musical performance of Blest Are They with a solo by Diane Hill.