Fairmount UCC - Sermon, 10/14/07 - 'ON OUR WAY…REJOICING'

ON OUR WAY…REJOICING

A sermon by the Rev. Michael Poage
(COPR.2007 BY M.POAGE)

Fairmount United Church of Christ,
Wichita, Kansas

The
115^th Anniversary
of
Fairmount United Church of Christ

October 14, 2007

Scriptures:
Jeremiah 29:1,4-7
Luke 17:11-19

As a congregation we have existed now for 115 years. During that time we have gone through many transitions, transformations, deaths, births, and now, in the year 2007, we face even more change. We have the promise of God that we will never be abandoned or orphaned. We have pledged to each other our support and love for this community of faith as I often say at weddings…"no matter what demands are made upon your day." So I ask you to hear this prayer for a renewal of mission:

"Come, Holy Spirit, renew the whole creation. Send the wind and flame of your transforming life to lift up the church in this day. Give wisdom and faith that we may know the great hope to which we are called. Come, Holy Spirit, renew the whole creation. Amen."

In today’s reading from Jeremiah, a prophet who, when he was appointed a prophet by God, said, "No, surely not me, I am only a boy," now proclaims to us:

"…seek the welfare of the city,…for in its welfare you will find your welfare."

The city is made up of many folks with many careers and jobs. Take for instance the police officer who walked into a barbershop recently and got a haircut. As he was leaving he reached into his wallet to pay, and the barber said, "No, no, it’s on the house. I consider it my contribution to the community." The next morning when the barber arrived at his shop, there was thank you note and a dozen donuts from the police officer.

Soon a minister came in for a haircut and when the barber finished and the minister attempted to pay, the barber said, "No, no, Reverend, it’s on the house. I consider it my contribution to the church." The next morning when the barber arrived at his shop, he found a thank you note and 12 Bibles from the minister.

Later that morning a senator came in for a haircut. When the barber was finished and the senator was about to pay, him the barber said, "No, no, senator. I consider it my contribution to my country." The next morning the barber arrived at his shop, and on the steps he found…12 more senators!!

I’m not sure how that fits into what Jeremiah is telling us, but perhaps it can pull us into some recognition of a new or renewed mission for our community, our church and our country. It has already been a long and expensive political season -- but it is also the season, as the scripture lessons this morning tell us, of God continuing to encounter us, meeting us wherever we are in our lives, learning about faith and living lives based on our learnings of what appear to be the mysterious meanderings of God.

These scriptures proclaim God as the source of life and wholeness, an endless resource for the welfare of the people, the city, the nations. The faith of our past, present and future is simply stated as:

1) relationship to God,

2) relationship to each other, and

3) relationship to self.

And here I insert a caution – this faith involving the three kinds of relationship may be simple to say and hear, but much more difficult to live out. For 115 years, Fairmount Church has been in the neighborhood -- and if my math is right, that is almost 6,000 sermons!! I hope some people, over the decades, have learned something new, and I assume some people have had some good naps.

Today’s gospel reading is a story that takes place only in Luke’s gospel. It takes place on the border. Luke writes: "Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee…." We are told that in the midst of these borderlands he encounters ten lepers begging for mercy –- we assume they want relief from their suffering.

All ten lepers are made clean by Jesus, but different words are used in the original Greek. This is not an academic exercise, but a vital part to the heart of the story.

The verb used as "make clean," is katharizo. Then in verse 15, one of the lepers realizes what has happened, that he is healed. The verb used by that one leper is different, it is iaomai, which can mean to heal or to cure.

And, further on in the story yet another verb is used, sozo, used by Jesus in talking to the one leper who returns and is translated "to make whole" or "to save." That same verb, sozo, can also be translated as rescuing from danger, destruction or suffering.

So by looking a little closer at three Greek words and their translations we can also see what a difference there is between the nine lepers who are made clean, and the one leper who is not cured but is made whole -- rescued from danger, destruction and suffering.

Adding to the drama of the story is the fact that the one leper who returns is also a Samaritan. In one of his books, Jimmy Carter, writes,

"The context for Jesus’ stories about the Samaritans, is a highly prejudiced, sharply divided society – one not unlike our own. To understand this attitude, just think about how many Americans feel about the very, very poor, about people of color, about certain immigrant groups, or about people of different faiths.

For Samaritans, substitute black, Indian, Muslim, a person living with AIDS, a street person, a gay or lesbian person, someone who dresses differently or just someone who does not look like the rest of us…or perhaps roll them all into one! For Jesus to speak with a Samaritan…was a bold move against ingrained fear, arrogance and hatred."

In my over 22 years in the ministry I believe what I have seen is that most of us – as well-meaning seekers of the faithful life are much more prone to identify with the one thankful, faithful, Samaritan who returned to Jesus than with the other nine. And it is fairly natural because we want to be the "good and faithful" disciples, right? We want our relationship to God, to each other and to our self, to be based on…what? The perception, at least, that we are going on our way…rejoicing because we have been made whole, because our faith has made us well.

It’s OK to identify with the Samaritan who returned to Jesus, but it is much more difficult than it may appear. A lot of questions need to be answered before we can go on our way…rejoicing. For Fairmount we need to reach inside and outside at the same time and summon the courage to struggle as a community of faith to be the one Samaritan and the other nine. For being healed and being made whole are two very different things.

We need to decide what kind of leadership we want, now, and five years from now. We need to decide if we are a maintenance church or a mission church. We need to understand the difference between loyalty and commitment. We need to work on our deficit spirituality as we work on our deficit budget.

What was wrong with what the other nine did -- going on…rejoicing? Nothing really; they were just following instructions, like most of us do.

But there was one who chose a different path. Jesus did not condemn the other nine, he just asked, "Where are they?"

We are all lepers of some sort to someone, we are all hated Samaritans of some sort to someone, and we are all a part of the crowd called "the other nine" of some sort to someone.

William Sloane Coffin has written:

"Rules at best are signposts, never hitching posts. Personally I doubt whether there is such a thing as a Christian rule. There are probably only acts that are more or less Christian depending on the motives prompting them. But if we say, ‘Down with rules,’ we must at the same time say, ‘Up with persons.’ And if we exalt freedom as Christians, we must remember that freedom is grounded in love….

So let others say, ‘Anything goes.’ The Christian asks, ‘What does love require?’ In short, we have come up with love as an answer to legalism on the one hand and lawlessness on the other….

Love demands that all our actions reflect a movement toward and not away from nor against each other. And love insists that all people assume their responsibility for all their relations." (CREDO, pg. 22)

Before going on our way, rejoicing, remember that we are all "the nine," we are all "the one," and God does not condemn any part of who we are. God just asks the simple question: "Where are you?"

Amen.