October 9 Jeremiah 29 1, 4-7, *Luke 17.
11-19 “Mercy Me” Pastor Jacqueline Hines
Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem. Jerusalem has as its root
word “Salem.” “Salem” resembles the word “shalom.” [slide # 1 Shalom] So Jerusalem has come to
mean “the city of peace” or “the place where peace abides.” Those following
Jesus to Jerusalem were en route to a place of peace. Jesus’ journey to
Jerusalem was interrupted by ten lepers.
Have you ever been on your way somewhere and got interrupted by
someone? Last summer I was on my way out of the King of Prussia Mall and a
police officer stopped me and searched the back seat of my car as all the
exiting cars were searched. [ slide # 2
police searching car] They were looking for a baby who had been kidnapped that
evening. The baby was found a few hours later.
Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem and ten lepers shouted for him
from a distance. “Jesus. Jesus. Jesuuuuus.” [slide # 3 Keeping their distance,…] Jesus was a household
name. He had a reputation in the region. People recognized him even from a
distance. He usually traveled with his armed security guards Peter, James, and
John. Jesus was famous not only for his teaching within the academic setting,
but for his hours of debates in the political arena. [slide # 4 donkey vs elephant] Those
debates were no doubt just as tense as the ones we experience in our day. Some
encountered Jesus in the medical field because they had either been healed at
the hands of Jesus or they were curious about his very different methods of
treatment. Everyone found Jesus entertaining and captivating.
The
ten lepers kept their distance because they were contagious. [slide # 5 contagious] So they shouted his name Jesus, in the Hebrew
language -Jeshua, in the English language Jesus means “savior,” and they asked the
savior to have mercy on them. What is mercy? Mercy is what you need right now.
Mercy is a matter of urgency.
Mercy
is many things. It is compassion, forgiveness, sympathy, love, patience, kindness, forbearance, humanity;
soft-heartedness, tenderheartedness, kindness, liberality, indulgence,
tolerance, and generosity. Our God is full of mercy [slide # 6 God’s mercy
is new every…]
Mercy is what we are holding our breath for, what we hope will
come NOW, right away, in an instant. Mercy is what we are crying out for and
fervently waiting for. When mercy is delayed, loved ones around us, encourage
us by saying, “Hang in there. Hold on.” Or we pray desperately, “Lord, have
mercy! [slide # 7Lord have mercy] Help me
please, Jesus!” [slide # 8 patience…hurry]
The ten lepers cried out for mercy. The disease had hit them like
a hurricane. As soon as their skin started looking a little abnormal, they were
hustled overnight to live in an isolation camp. [slide # 9 isolation]
There are many situations that can change overnight. This week Matthew,
the storm isolated people overnight. [slide # 10 typhoon] Wrong attitudes shut doors of opportunities in
our faces and stop us cold in our tracks. [slide # 11 bad attitude] Certain
diagnosis drive us suddenly to spend hours and days with our doctors [slide # 12 running from doctor] when we
would rather go fishing. [slide # 13 fishing]
The ten lepers were simply a symbol of what happens to all of
us in life sooner or later. Ten is that number signifying things that are
established in God. When we see ten in the bible, we are reminded that God is
present at the very foundation of everything in our lives, whether good
or evil. If we trust God in all of our situations, God will help us get to the
bottom of things. God will help us deal with every situation as only a loving
God can. Though there are situations we would never choose, if God sends us to
it, we can be sure that God will bring us through it. We all have something. [slide # 14 We all have crosses…]
Scientists have helped us understand that leprosy is not caused
by some secret sin or divine punishment or a witch’s curse, and it is not
hereditary. Leprosy is caused by bacteria noticed by Norwegian doctor Armauer
Hansen in 1873. Dr. Hansen, for which leprosy is now named Hansen’s disease,
happened to be an atheist which shows that God uses whomever God chooses and we
ought to be careful about OUR connections.
On the way to do what Jesus told them to do, the lepers’ situation
changed drastically. Luke tells us they were cleansed. It is so exciting when
our situations change for the good overnight! No matter how great we are, for
every one of us, life remains uncertain, unpredictable, unfair, and imperfect,
but in the end, good things happen when we obey the one who comes to save us. We
will always have to face and wrestle with the evils of disease or war or
something, but there is one who always comes to save us. [slide # 15 …our savior]
In Girl scout camp, someone pushed me into the deep end of the
poor and I began to drown. I heard them laughing, but someone realized I could
not swim and they handed me a stick and told me to hold on. I did exactly what
I was told.
Sometimes we hesitate to obey like the man who fell off of a
mountain cliff. He was holding onto an edge when he cried out, “Is there
anybody up there? Please help me.” He
heard a voice from above saying, “Jump. Jump.” The man replied. “Is there
anybody else up there?” Finally, he jumped only to discover that he was just
two feet from a safe landing.
The lepers were made clean when they asked the savior to help
them and when they obeyed. Clean is relative when you think about what I heard
the other day that most of the cells in our body are friendly, foreign cells,
not human cells. We get in trouble when we wash away all of those friendly
bacteria cells that are there to protect us from the bad bacteria.
In any case, the lepers were left with a clean bill of health
and they were on their way to the priests who would officially confirm that. It
was like they were going to get the doctor’s note that would release them to
get back to school or work and no longer have to remain in isolation.
That was good news. One of the ten lepers who was healed could
not contain himself, verse 15 tells us [slide # 16 Then one of them… ] 15Then
one of them, when he saw that he was
healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. [slide # 17 he prostrated…and thanked him] 16He
prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him.
I do not know about you, but nine times out of ten it takes the
power of the Holy Spirit to remind me to give thanks. I keep a gratitude
journal every week and there are days that I procrastinate and procrastinate
writing down at least ten blessings that I have been blessed with during the
week. Once I get started, it is just like the song says, “Count your many
blessings, name them one by one and it will surprise you what the Lord has
done.”
Giving thanks to God and celebrating like we did with the
Thanksgiving Celebration Pig Roast – thanking God for helping us install an
elevator and a warm, welcoming space for worship – is another way of humbly worshipping
God and humbly serving one another. [slide # 18 worship]
When we worship God and serve one another, we exalt God, we lift
God high for everyone to see. We shine a spotlight on the fact that we are
Christians and we prove it every day by our love. [slide # 19 love 1 another]
Do you remember the last time in worship when it was a challenge
to contain yourself like this grateful leper who was cleansed? Our spiritual
memories are milestones that keep us from going under. They give us joy that
strengthen us for the journey. [slide # 20
joy for the journey]
There are moments when we are touched by God’s mercy and we
cannot hold back the tears. Or our hands make a sudden clap. Our toes get to
tapping and we whisper a clear “amen” that only God and the person next to you
in the pew may hear. We may smile broadly at a certain Godly insight that
captures our attention. We may bow our
heads low, utterly speechless as our spirits are prostrate at the feet of
Jesus. We may feel warm all over as Holly shared gratefully a few weeks ago as
her pain subsided.
Alone in your room or in your car, you may even praise God with
a loud voice!! You may sing
along with that cd or radio in a loud voice or in the pew during that song that
touches your heart. We hear you. We celebrate with you. There are nine out of
ten moments when we like that leper return to Jesus and gave thanks for the
tender mercies that we have been given.
As we call to our savior in our need, this day, we know that our
urgent cries will be heard. We will never be left without something. It may not
be all we want, but God has a purpose and a plan, a very precise plan. Whatever
mercy is ours this day, may we return to Jesus, this day, not hold back
and give thanks. Amen. [slide # 21 rejoice…pray….thank]
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