Forgiven at Jesus' Feet -- A Message for February 23, 2025

 

In the season of Epiphany, we have looked at several stories of Jesus’ early days in ministry. People were curious about Jesus – the word spread quickly about him. He was a miracle worker, a great teacher, and a compelling speaker. This morning, we turn to one of the stories of Jesus and his love. 

Please turn with me to Luke chapter 7 verses 36-50:

Scripture Luke 7:36-50

When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 

A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. 

As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.

When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”

Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”

“Tell me, teacher,” he said.

“Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 

Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”

Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”

“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.

Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 

You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 

You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. 

Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”

Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”

Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

Here ends this reading of the word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Let us pray….

Message Forgiven at Jesus’ Feet

Back in the day, do you remember what it was like to walk through the cosmetics and perfume section of a department store? There were staff people lying in wait, perfume bottles at the ready, prepared to strike at any moment – spraying you with their wares.  If you were lucky, you could exit the department only smelling of one type of perfume or cologne – if you were too nice to the staff of the department store, you smelled like a flower shop as you departed the store.

In our reading this morning, we read the story of a woman, a woman who had committed some grievous sin or two, who was so appreciative of Jesus and his love that she poured expensive perfume on his feet and wiped it off with her hair. The smell of the perfume would have permeated the air of the room…..everyone in the house probably smelled it ... . . everyone in the surrounding houses possibly smelled it. She made a big, grand gesture to show her love and appreciation of Jesus…and in return, he told her her faith had saved her and she could depart in peace.

The woman who washed Jesus’ feet with perfume approached him at the house of a Pharisee named Simon. Simon didn’t get it at first – instead of appreciating the generosity and appreciation the woman had for Jesus, Simon recoiled and thought Jesus wasn’t a true prophet…Simon assumed that if Jesus was an all-knowing prophet, he would know the woman was a sinner and therefore shouldn’t be touching his feet. Simon got caught up in judging the woman for her past ... .and in the midst of his judgement, he almost missed an opportunity to listen to Jesus and experience the presence of the Holy Spirit.

We are sometimes guilty of being like Simon – we get caught up in our negative thoughts…in our judgemental thoughts…and fail to appreciate the presence of the Holy Spirit in our midst. 

Jesus taught about judgment…In Matthew 7, Jesus is quoted as saying: ““Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.” 

Often, we dislike traits that other people have that remind us of traits we either have or fear we have. So, when Simon judged the sinful woman, he may have had a sinful past that he was hiding – or perhaps he had sinful thoughts he was trying to ignore. The woman may have done things that others knew about, and therefore judged her for. But, we must remember that in the 1st century, if people had disabilities, others blamed those disabilities on sins that either the person or their parents had committed. So, the “sinful” woman may have had eczema or a birth defect and her neighbors could have blamed her sins for her disability. We will never know why she was considered sinful.

Judging doesn’t do us any favors. We are all guilty of making mistakes and doing things wrong. We are all sinners in need of a savior. And, Jesus Christ is that savior. Nothing we do is so horrible that it can separate us from the love of God. St. Paul’s words to the Romans still speak to us. He wrote: “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.” Nothing we do is so horrible that it stops God from loving us or forgiving us.

So, let us be cautious about our judgment of others. We are all imperfect people trying to live better and better lives. Let us work to love each other, forgive each other, and remember that God loves us and forgives us all, no matter what mistakes we have made in the past. 

Amen. 

More than a Prophet -- A Message for February 16, 2025

 

We have been moving through the season of Epiphany for the last 6 weeks. Over these weeks, we have learned more about who Jesus is and what kind of Messiah he is, just as his first followers quickly learned about who Jesus was and what kind of messiah he was. We have focused on passages that include the occasion when Jesus surprised his hometown crowd when he revealed himself as the Messiah, called unexpected people to be his disciples, communicated to the pious Pharisees that it was most important to live God’s love commandments than it was to perfectly follow the rules, and that Jesus came to heal broken people, no matter what their backgrounds were.

Despite all of the teachings and miracles Jesus said and did, there were people who were still unsure of who Jesus was – they weren’t sure he was the Messiah sent by God or if he was a prophet. Questions about Jesus’ identity came from surprising places. Listen to how Jesus answered when people asked him who he was as we read from the Gospel of Luke, chapters 18 through 35:

Scripture Luke 7:18-35

John’s disciples told him about all these things. Calling two of them, 

he sent them to the Lord to ask, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”

When the men came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?’”

At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. 

So he replied to the messengers, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. 

Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”

After John’s messengers left, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swayed by the wind? 

If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear expensive clothes and indulge in luxury are in palaces. 

But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.  

This is the one about whom it is written:

“‘I will send my messenger ahead of you,
    who will prepare your way before you.’

I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”

(All the people, even the tax collectors, when they heard Jesus’ words, acknowledged that God’s way was right, because they had been baptized by John. 

But the Pharisees and the experts in the law rejected God’s purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.)

Jesus went on to say, “To what, then, can I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? 

They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to each other:

“‘We played the pipe for you,
    and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge,
    and you did not cry.’

 For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ 

The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ 

But wisdom is proved right by all her children.”

Here ends this reading of the word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Prayer….

Message More than a Prophet

The Jewish people waited a long time for Jesus. Year after year, century after century, they waited for God to come to earth to set things right. Whenever tragic things happened to the people, they anticipated the Messiah would appear – droughts, battles, military conquests, exile – every time their people and nations experienced a major crisis, they thought the Messiah would come to earth, straighten everything out and restore the people and their nations to harmony.

Over the years, faithful Jewish people  listened to prophets' predictions and preachings about the Messiah – and by the time the first century rolled around and the people lived under Roman occupation, many people thought the messiah would be like a priest and a military commander and an emperor all rolled into one. 

In the third decade of the first century, John the Baptist preached that the Messiah was going to arrive soon….very soon…in the next few days or weeks. Everyone needed to get their “houses in order” so that they could respond to the Messiah demands on their lives.

When Jesus went to John and asked to be baptised, John felt that his prophecies, and the prophecies of many earlier prophets, were fulfilled. The Christ, the Messiah, was here. 

But, when Jesus started his work, he didn’t do all of the things John the Baptist and many others supposed the Messiah would do – Jesus didn’t raise up an Army. Jesus didn’t go to the Temple and move into the quarters of the Head Priest and take over. Jesus didn’t hop into a boat and cross the Mediterranean Sea and depose Caesar Tiberius in Rome.

Instead, very early in his ministry days, Jesus went to Nazareth and said who he was and what his plans were. He announced: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

John probably heard about Jesus’ words …and Jesus’ miraculous healings… and Jesus raising the dead. But, John may have thought those were preliminary activities, and that Jesus was still going to morph into a soldier-priest-emperor.

So, John sent a few of his disciples to ask Jesus if he was the messiah, or if he was just another prophet…were they still waiting for the soldier-priest-emperor messiah or was Jesus it? 

Jesus spoke to John’s disciples and pointed out how he had been spending his time….Jesus told them: “The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.” Jesus was doing the work God promised the messiah would do….Jesus performed miracles only the messiah can do. But Jesus wasn’t also acting as a warrior, priest and emperor. Their idea about what the messiah would be like was different from the reality of who Jesus was.

Even though we live many centuries after Jesus walked the earth, people still are unsure about who Jesus was and how God calls us to behave. If you had 10 Christians in a room and asked them to describe what it means to be a faithful Christian, we would probably get 14 responses.  If you asked them to describe Jesus, the 10 Christians would come up with 10 very different descriptions.

Jesus came to earth as a middle-Eastern Jewish man in the 1st century. He had brown skin. He was probably shorter than all of the men in this room. He was poor. He wasn’t regal or beautiful or muscle bound – he didn’t look like Superman or the Incredible Hulk. Nothing about how Jesus looked communicated that he was the Messiah of God.

Jesus’ words and actions were what is important. He had power and authority, and yet he spent his time and his energy serving others. Jesus focused on helping people with the most need. He relieved suffering by healed people who were possessed by spirits, suffering from illnesses and injuries, and even restoring the dead to life. Jesus led by example – he came to earth to encourage and teach us to treat each other with love and compassion. 

As followers of Jesus, we are called to live God’s mandate to love God and each other as much as we love ourselves. We may not all have the power to heal illnesses or injuries with a word or a gesture. But, we can bring God’s love, forgiveness and reconciliation to each other and to the people in our lives and communities. We can work together to bring justice to oppressive and damaging systems in our world. 

Jesus may have not been the Messiah people expected to come, but he was the messiah we all needed. He radiated love and compassion, and we are called to do the same….to work to alleviate suffering and work to change the world into a more faithful reflection of the Kingdom of God. 

May we do so with love guiding our hearts and actions today and all days. Amen. 

Raising the Widow's Son -- A Message for February 9, 2025

Last Sunday, we focused on Jesus’ actions on the Sabbath – he took exception to the Pharisee’s critique that all work must cease on the Sabbath, even the “work” of healing the sick and the lame. Jesus disagreed and felt that compassion and love must guide the choices of God’s followers – healing is an expression of love for one's neighbor. 

This morning, we focus on Jesus’ work as a healer. Jesus didn’t discriminate when he healed – he didn’t reserve his miracles for the “right” kind of people: faithful Jewish men. Jesus was motivated by love and compassion for all people. 

Listen now to two stories of Jesus’ healing work as we read Luke chapter 7 verses one through seventeen:

Scripture Luke 7:1-17

When Jesus had finished saying all this to the people who were listening, he entered Capernaum. 

There a centurion’s servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die. 

The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant. 

When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, “This man deserves to have you do this, 

because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue.” 

So Jesus went with them.

He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. 

That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. 

For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.” 

Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well.

Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. 

As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. 

When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.”

Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” 

The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.

They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.” 

This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country.

Here ends this reading of the word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Let us pray…

Message Raising the Widow’s Son

This morning, we focus on two stories of Jesus’ miraculous healing. Although these stories took place hundreds of years ago and despite our advanced medical knowledge, we still haven’t figured out how to overcome death – we still experience illnesses and accidents…  we still contend with the problem of mortality – in order to be alive, we all will die. 

In my work as a pastor, I have observed that when people we love are dying, most of us want to do everything possible to keep our loved one alive….even if they have been ill for a long time…even if they are old….even if they have multiple things wrong. One of my early learnings as a pastor is that most of us don’t feel like we have enough time with those we love – I distinctly remember a situation when I was consoling a grieving woman who was devastated because she thought she would have more time with her father – how could God be so cruel as to take her 98 year old dad so soon?

The first story we read this morning concerns a powerful Roman centurion. He commanded 100 soldiers in the Roman army. He was used to people following his orders. And, he had probably tried to do everything possible to help his servant heal…. before he called for Jesus, he probably consulted doctors and nurses and faith healers and priests….he probably tried every treatment they knew of to heal his servant…yet his servant was dying anyway.

Jesus was perhaps his last resort – and the little he knew about Jesus caused him to presume Jesus would need persuading to come to visit his servant. The scripture states that he sent some of the synagogue elders to plea for Jesus to come.  But, the man still feared he was unworthy of Jesus’ attention.  He invited Jesus to heal his servant from afar, because he believed Jesus’ command could heal the servant. His faith in Jesus was astonishing – and was not misplaced. Jesus did indeed heal his servant.

In the story that follows, Jesus and his disciples travelled to Nain. Nain was southwest of Capernaum…..it was not close enough to Capernaum for word to have traveled there about Jesus.  When Jesus and his friends approached the town, they met a funeral party carrying a newly deceased man out of the town–burial was to take place outside the town’s walls. The man was the only son of his widowed mother – Jesus knew his death would leave his mother destitute. Jesus had compassion for the woman, so he restored her son to life. The people of Nain did not know Jesus – they did not know about Jesus – and they didn’t know of his powers. None of them asked Jesus to restore the dead man to life, yet Jesus represented the compassionate love of God. Jesus was moved by his love to resurrect the man and return him to life….and so he was healed and alive once again.

Jesus didn’t reserve his miracles for the right kind of people – he healed people regardless of how faithful they were. Jesus healed the servant of the Roman centurion – he may not have been Jewish. He may not have been Middle Eastern. He may have been someone who worshipped Zeus or Anubis. HE may have been gay or German or weird. We don’t know what he was like because JEsus didn’t ask.  Jesus just healed him.

Jesus healed the dead son of the widow woman. Again, the man may have died of a horrible disease. He may have died of a self-inflicted injury. He may have been murdered. We don’t know why he died because Jesus didn’t ask. Jesus just healed him and restored him to life.

When Jesus walked the earth, he came for everyone. When people were ill, Jesus healed them. When people were hungry, Jesus fed them. When people were thirsty, Jesus gave them water. When people died, Jesus didn’t ask questions before he restored them to life. 

We are commanded by our faith to be like Jesus. When are called to offer our gifts to others because we have love and compassion for them….we are called to feed the hungry, heal the sick, house the homeless, visit the prisoner….even if the people don’t look like us….even if the people don’t worship like us….even if the people don’t share our sexual orientation…even if the people don’t have the right documentation or permission to be here. Jesus didn’t ask if people were worthy of healing, he just healed them. Jesus didn’t ask if people were worthy of life, he just raised them from the dead. 

Jesus was motivated by love, compassion and caring. Let us be the same….to be motivated by our love, compassion and care for each other and for everyone who is in need.

Amen. 

Healing on the Sabbath -- A Message for February 2, 2025

 

Friends, we are in the midst of the season of Epiphany. In this season, we focus on epiphanies – big new ideas and new beginnings. Last week, we focused on Jesus calling the fishermen – they had an Epiphany after Jesus performed a miracle and caused a tremendous amount of fish to fill their nets. Jesus invited them to leave their boats and fish for people – their Epiphany moment occurred and they indeed left their old lives behind, boats and all, and followed Jesus.

This morning, we continue following the story of Jesus’ early days in ministry by again turning to the Gospel of Luke. At this point, Jesus had called a few more disciples and had travelled to some bigger cities. Jesus drew larger crowds and was attracting attention – some of the attention was positive and some was not. The Pharisees, a group of faithful Jewish leaders, were closely observing Jesus – they emphasized that piety was tied to following all of the Jewish laws. And, they believed Jesus to be breaking those laws.
So, we turn to Luke chapter 6 to hear how Jesus handled the Pharisees and their accusations. Join me as we read verses one through sixteen:

Scripture Luke 6:1-16

One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and his disciples began to pick some heads of grain, rub them in their hands and eat the kernels. 

Some of the Pharisees asked, “Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”

Jesus answered them, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 

He entered the house of God, and taking the consecrated bread, he ate what is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.” 

Then Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

On another Sabbath he went into the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was shriveled. 

The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath. 

But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Get up and stand in front of everyone.” So he got up and stood there.

Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?”

He looked around at them all, and then said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so, and his hand was completely restored. 

But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were furious and began to discuss with one another what they might do to Jesus.

One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. 

When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles: 

Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, 

Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

Here ends this reading of the Word of God for the People of God. Thanks be to God. Amen. 

Let us pray….

Message Healing on the Sabbath

When we were young children, one of things we first learned about going to school was that there were rules – one of the “rules” was that we needed to follow the rules. Some of the school rules were things we probably learned before we started attending school – No fighting – no lying – no climbing or jumping on the furniture – use inside voices inside and outside voices outside. Other rules we learned in kindergarten or first grade were more school-specific rules: raise your hand when you want to speak – take your hat off in the building – line up in ABC order. The school rules don’t always apply to the rest of our lives–we don’t raise our hands when we want to speak at home. But, the rules we learned outside of school usually apply at school–we aren’t supposed to fight at home or at school.

We learn early on that there can be exceptions to the rules–raise your hand when you want to speak unless it is an emergency. Ask permission to leave the classroom unless you are throwing up. You can turn in your homework late if you were out sick the day it was due. Sometimes, there are acceptable exceptions to the rules.

In our reading this morning, the Pharisees are not ok with any exceptions to the rules. They were convinced the rules had to be followed no matter what. They believed there was a correlation with how well they followed the laws of the Old Testament and how they were rewarded by God…for the Pharisees, following the laws and rules of their faith was their ultimate goal in life. 

In the 10 commandments, it says: “Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work–you, your son or daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it.”

The Pharisees were correct in believing the commandments tell us not to work on the Sabbath day. But, where they got tripped up was in how they defined “work.” They got really into discussing and debating what they believed God considered work – and they also got really into deciding how other people should behave based on their own interpretations. They wanted to impose their theological ideas and rules on everyone.

Jesus had a problem with this.  He rejected the Pharisee’s imposition of their “interpretation” of the rules onto him…onto his followers. Jesus also rejected the Pharisee’s belief that no exceptions could be made in how they applied the laws to their lives. 

The rules weren’t necessarily ‘made to be broken,’ but the laws of God are not equal in stature…for Jesus, the Love Commandments took priority over all others. So, we must live the commandment to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ ….and ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Was it loving for the Pharisees to deny hungry people sustenance on the sabbath because picking grain may be construed as work? Was it loving to deny healing to a crippled man because healing someone may be construed as work?  Jesus didn’t think either denying food or healing was loving or just.

Jesus wanted his followers to learn that observing the sabbath is not about following rules, it is about doing God’s work. God’s work is to love. God’s people are called to love. We love by feeding the hungry. We love by providing healing to broken people. We love by helping people who are suffering. We love by lightening the load others are carrying – literally carrying and emotionally carrying.

As we live through this present time in our lives, we know there are many people around us who are struggling. People are struggling to afford necessities for their families. People are worried that their jobs will change or disappear. People are watching the news and are scared about what is happening in our communities, in our country, and in the world.  Many people are worried about the immigration status of their family members or friends – did they fill out a form incorrectly or fail to dot an i or cross a t? There is a lot of fear and stress.

In times like these, we must remember Jesus’ emphasis on Love. This is the time for us to act with love towards each other, towards all people. Every interaction we have – with our families, with our neighbors, with people at the grocery store or at the the hairdresser – we must act with love. We find ourselves in unpredictable situations with worried and stressed people, and we may be the balm they need – the love we offer each other may be the one positive thing that makes a difference in their lives, transforming a stressful day or occurrence into a positive.

So, let us focus on the overarching theme and calling of our Christian faith – let us love each other as much as we have been loved by God. Let us work to be a loving expression of the Christian faith in the lives of others. Amen.