“I AM, MR JEHOVAH Sir!”
A meditation for Thanksgiving
2 Kings 5:1-3, 7-16 Luke 17:11-19
It’s a shame that we need a day to
remind us to give thanks. If there is anything that ought to be a
routine part of a Christian’s life, it is giving thanks. Yet many
find it easier to complain or to gripe than they do to say thank you. Look at all of you who have come to
worship today. There is much about which each of us can be grateful-
life, health, homes, families or friends, the beauty of this valley,
our country and enough money to have some fun, to name but a few
things. I suspect, you are people who are thankful; that’s why
you are here. You fall under the main category of people to whom
preachers preach, namely, people who have heard it all before.
The scriptures that were read today
allude to lepers. If you want to get the impact of these stories,
instead of lepers, substitute AIDS for a feared disease in our day, and
you will see the situation with which Jesus was dealing. In each story,
there is a healing. It is one illustration that many of the stories
that Jesus used or had associated with him were stories that came out
of the scriptures of the Old Testament (which were the scriptures of
that day, and the scriptures that Jesus knew).
In second Kings, we have a very
interesting story that often angered the Jews, because the main person
healed in this story is not Jewish. Naaman was a commander in the Syrian
Army. That is significant, because the Syrians were enemies of the
Israelites. He was, says
the writer, a man held in high favour by his master, a mighty man of
valour. BUT he was a leper. In that day, leprosy was a
disease scorned by society. When one was diagnosed with leprosy, he or
she was shunned by society, and isolated from mingling with anyone who
was not a leper. Only a statement from a Priest that one was cured and
free of the disease would get one back into society. Adding additional intrigue to this story
is that in a raid into Israel, Naaman had taken a young woman back to
Syria to wait upon his wife. When she learns that Naaman has leprosy,
she says to Naaman’s wife, the one for whom she is working "It would be
great if your husband could be with the prophet in Samaria, because he
would cure him of his leprosy." The prophet to whom she is alluding is
Elisha, the successor of the great Hebrew prophet Elijah.
Well, a statement like that will get
the attention of someone who is ill. Naaman goes and tells his King
about this, and the King says "Go to Israel, and I will send a letter
with you to give to their King." So Naaman went and took with him
a cache of considerable means- silver, gold and garments. When the King of Israel received the
letter, he was greatly distressed and cried out "Am I God? He wants ME
to cure him." Meantime, Elisha hears of this incident and he
says to the King "Let him come to me, that he may know there is a
prophet in Israel." Elisha sends a messenger, who says to
Naaman "Go wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh will be
rest, wave his hand over me and cure my leprosy. Doesn’t he know
who I am? Why can’t I bathe in the rivers of Syria? Aren’t they just as
good as the Jordan?" He
began to leave, but one of his servants said to him "Why don’t you do
what he asked. Why go away angry?" So Naaman went into the river and
dipped himself seven times, and his flesh was restored like the flesh
of a child. Naaman is now grateful. He vows allegiance to the God of
Israel and offers a reward to Elisha, but Elisha refuses to accept it.
Why, asked the Israelites, why was
Naaman, a leader in Syria, an enemy of Israel and a man who had carried
an Israeli maiden away to be his servant, why was he healed and many
Israelites were not?
In Luke’s story. Jesus is passing
along the border of Samaria and Israel. It is an area north of
Jerusalem. When he enters a village, he is met by ten lepers who stand
at a distance- remember, they are unclean in that society. “Have mercy
on us”, they cry out. Jesus sees them and says, “Go show yourselves to
the Priest.” You recall, that is how they get back into society and the
scripture says, “as they went, they were healed.” The presumption here
is that if they had failed to follow the direction of Jesus, healing
would not have taken place. This act of his leprosy.
There are a couple of points I want to
emphasis from these two stories. The first is that healing took
place because of action or obedience to the words of Jesus. The
scriptures are quite clear. Naaman had to obey and dip himself seven
times in the river. The lepers in the Luke story were healed as they
went. It was in obedience to a request of Jesus to show themselves to
the priest. Today, we
here in Squamish United Church are a Church that wants and needs to be
healed. We want to make a major impact for Christ in this area. We want
to be a Church that is true of its calling, and we recognize that we
are falling short. The
good news is that we can be just such a Church, and the manner in which
this can happen is the same formula as that which healed the lepers;
namely obedience and work. We are a Church of Christ in this location,
but we are a Church that needs to broaden its membership, and diversify
its participation.
Let me speak rather bluntly
here. In my view, this Church has failed to recognize that a
Church is people. A Church is much more than a minister, and much
more than a cadre of the faithful. A Church is every
participant. Only when members and participants of a Church are
willing to take the time and make the effort to be the Church will the
Church be healed. For 21/2 months now, I have looked at the
sheets on the bulletin board where people can volunteer to perform
duties in the Church. Only a very few people have signed
up. I have attended meetings, but they are poorly attended, and
they have been without lay leadership. Organizationally, the Church is not
properly supported. Yet there is a reluctance to agree to serve
on boards or committees. Dear friends, you are the Church.
Long after I am gone this Church will still be here, and it will be
successful or not, based on the vitality of the participants who
serve. Lay leadership is crucial. A minister is not called to do
FOR people, he or she is called to lead church folks in the methods
whereby they govern themselves and perform the necessary ministries
that are required.
The answer is not loading more and
more on the few who have already stepped up. The answer is having
more and more making the Church a priority in their schedule, so that
they and this community can become a better place because of their
involvement. Remember the stories, “As they went they were healed.”
Salvation comes in the doing. What are our needs? As I see it, we need
several more people who are willing to say I will be chair of that
committee or board. We need several more people who will say, I
will serve on a committee or board. I will greet on a Sunday, I will
hthat some who have already volunteered for this task can share in
worship.
Another need we have is to broaden our
membership base. We need more members, and the only way we will get new
members is to ask others to come and share their lives with us and
learn about the goodness and greatness of God. I refuse to accept the current
thinking that membership is not important. Membership is
important, because it signifies first a commitment to serve our Lord,
and secondly it is a visible sign that one has chosen to serve our Lord
in the fellowship of this Church. That means a person is saying
by their action of joining "I believe in the work of this Church,
and it will fail over my dead body."
This sermon is not meant to make you
feel bad about yourself; well, maybe just a little. It is rather to
challenge you to be a follower of Jesus Christ by working within the
fellowship of this Church. Together we can make this a GREAT Church. Thanksgiving is a lovely time of the
year. First of all, it comes during a wonderful season, when we are
inundated with all that has been grown and harvested. Inundated in a
time when more than half of the world’s people go to sleep in hunger. Secondly, Thanksgiving is a
wonderful time because it forces us to reflect on the wonderful lives
we have. We are thankful for what we can have and do- unlike most of
the world. Lastly, Thanksgiving is a wonderful
time because it gives us the opportunity to thank God for who we are
and all that we have, and that forces us to think about how we can
respond. Think of where you can contribute in the life of this
Church and let us know.
There are “I Wish” cards in the
pockets of every pew this morning. I hope some of you will take
one and fill out some category. If you are not a member, I invite
you to become one; check item three, and we will respond. If you are
willing to be on a board or committee, or willing to host an after
Church coffee time, or read or greet or bring flowers, there is a space
on the third page to make that known. There is also a place for you to
put down your name. I will be glad to receive the cards as you leave.
Folks, I need your help.
One of my favorite writers is Father
Wes Seeliger, who was an Episcopal rector in Houston, Texas. Here
in Canada, we would say an Anglican Rector. For a time Rev.
Seeliger was the campus chaplain at Texas Agriculture and Military
College, an all-male institution in those days. He tells this story of
life in Aggieland. Hazing is an important part of life at
the university, but the freshmen, or first year students, as proof of
their manliness are expected to retaliate occasionally. This is the way it works. The freshmen,
first year students, will single out a particularly hated
upperclassman. While he is away for the weekend, they break into his
room, deposit a couple of Armadillos, and lock it up again. When our Simon Legree senior returns
on Sunday and surveys the ruins, he plans his revenge. Monday morning, at the pre-breakfast
formation, the enraged senior paces up and down in front of the
freshmen in his outfit.
He glares at them as they stand at attention. Finally, he shouts, “All
right, who is responsible for the Armadillos in my room?” All the freshmen, even those who were away
on passes shout in unison, “I am, Mr. Jones, Sir!” “Very well”, responds Mr. Jones,
“You will all report to me Saturday morning at 05.00 hours for
exercise. All weekend passes are cancelled.” Perhaps only two or three
freshmen engineered Operation Armadillo, but all accept the punishment.
That’s solidarity.
Now here is the scene I would like to
see. The parish is having its Annual General Meeting. The
minister has just given the state of the congregation address.
Suddenly, the door flies open and the room is flooded with light. While
the building trembles, God strides in. Everyone snaps to
attention. God catches each eye. God walks up and down in front of the
congregation and booms out, “All right, who is responsible for this
church?
In unison, everyone shouts, “I Am, Mr.
Jehovah, Sir!”