Audio can be found at- https://soundcloud.com/tigerowl/pentecost2c-st-michaels-5-29-2016 Beware the air conditioners are loud.
Luke 7:1-10
7:1 After Jesus had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum.
7:2 A centurion there had a slave whom he valued highly, and who was ill and close to death.
7:3 When he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to him, asking him to come and heal his slave.
7:4 When they came to Jesus, they appealed to him earnestly, saying, "He is worthy of having you do this for him,
7:5 for he loves our people, and it is he who built our synagogue for us."
7:6 And Jesus went with them, but when he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to say to him, "Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof;
7:7 therefore I did not presume to come to you. But only speak the word, and let my servant be healed.
7:8 For I also am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes, and to another, 'Come,' and he comes, and to my slave, 'Do this,' and the slave does it."
7:9 When Jesus heard this he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, he said, "I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith."
7:10 When those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.
Luke 7:1-10
7:1 After Jesus had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum.
7:2 A centurion there had a slave whom he valued highly, and who was ill and close to death.
7:3 When he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to him, asking him to come and heal his slave.
7:4 When they came to Jesus, they appealed to him earnestly, saying, "He is worthy of having you do this for him,
7:5 for he loves our people, and it is he who built our synagogue for us."
7:6 And Jesus went with them, but when he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to say to him, "Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof;
7:7 therefore I did not presume to come to you. But only speak the word, and let my servant be healed.
7:8 For I also am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes, and to another, 'Come,' and he comes, and to my slave, 'Do this,' and the slave does it."
7:9 When Jesus heard this he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, he said, "I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith."
7:10 When those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.
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Luke 7:1-10God, we walk as though we have
no hope in you. Your word declares that nothing can separate us from your love
which is in Christ Jesus. Melt us, mold us, fill us, use us in your ministry as
we journey on our toilsome way here on earth, for you are our faithful God.
Amen.
When a Pastor is asked to supply for someone,
I usually check to see ‘when was the last time I preached on the lessons for
the Sunday’. I’ve got enough years on
the soles of my feet to at least to try and remember where I preached, to whom
I preached this message, and then there is the difficult part – How out of date
is the message??? Since the pastors
study group had already met in this area, going to their usual Tuesday meeting
was already out of the question. There
is one more option, I have an online service I have been a part of since I
first got a computer in in 1984. Gospel
Notes for Sunday has been written by Brian Stoffregen for over 15 years and
these are his words about the study for the scripture - Luke
7:1-10 which is assigned for this Sunday is used even less. Then there was the
phrase that we shared, I have no sermons archived on today’s text.
So my challenge is to keep it real with a
congregation of people I have joined on occasion, in a church I walk or drive
by almost daily and one to which I can walk to worship. And your pastor would be disappointed in me
if I didn’t keep it real. So let us take
a look at the text like we were reporters looking a life in this community at
Capernaum and how it relates to 6500 Germantown Avenue.
Who are we looking at? First a little background – in this Sixth
chapter of Luke, we learn that Jesus is busy
Lord of the Sabbaoth-gleaning fields
and eating on the Sabbath –SOM Lord of Sabbaoth
Healing a Withered Hand-Healing on
Sabbaoth – Thought of punishment for Doing good
Choosing 12 Disciples-
Sermon on the Plain where he Teaches/Preaches about the
Beatitudes Blessed be ye poor:
for yours is the kingdom of God.
Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled.
Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh.
Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall
separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name
as evil, for the Son of man's sake.
Woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your
comfort.
Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.
Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you, for that is how
their ancestors treated the false prophets.
Do Not Judge Others-Do not judge
and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned;
forgive and you will be forgiven.
After teaching in Chapter 6 we experience the
reality of life of walking along side Jesus.
There is no down time, there seems to be a constant call for the
attention of Jesus. He finds that there
is a slave, a highly regarded slave who is ill and near death. He is not able to come on his own to request
healing, but the request comes from his owner a Roman Centurion, who make the
request of Jewish elders to approach Jesus to heal his servant. The request comes with a community blessing
that the centurion is one of the good guys, he loves the Jewish nation, and he
was instrumental in building the synagogue. With Jesus agreeing to travel with
the Jewish elders, the trip to the suffering slave is interrupted by messengers from the centurion, who self declares that he
is not worthy to have Jesus come to his home, nor does he presume that he is
should come to Jesus. As a military
officer he knows the responsibility that comes with giving, following, and
obeying orders. Jesus is stopped in his
tracks, "I
tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith."
What is
the measure of faith in this community? You
have been around for a long time. As I continue to do research on African
American Lutherans, there is record that the dedication of St. Michael’s
building on October 1, 1752, a Black man, Christian Gotthilf, was baptized here
at St. Michael’s. An early name for this
section of the city of which St. Michael’s was a land mark was Beggarstown. As a congregation St. Michaels was
participant in the stabilization of this neighborhood through the 50’s, 60’s,
70’s and through the last nearly half century. In many ways, should Jesus walk
in the door now, called to be present with us, he might ask us what is it about
our faith that we did not trust that he was already present. What has been missed in the ministry offered
here? Depending upon the moment, it has
found food for the needy, education and care for children, music for the soul
and for those eager to learn, a community center where no question in unheard
and sincerely prayed for.
When
has this taken place-throughout the life of the congregation? Though I was only a member for a short period
of time, living across the street and being supervisor for students you hosted,
for 27 years, St. Michael’s has been my when desperate to get to worship
quickly. You have had an open door for
vagabonds like me and for those who have just been in the right place to make
the choice to hear the words or receive the actions of a Jesus community that
gathers here faithfully.
Where? Right here.
There is relatively few who do not know the church on the Great Road
from downtown Philadelphia to Plymouth at the 8 mile marker. The bulk of this
property was purchased in 1737, even though the first pastor who died in 1728
was buried in the graveyard. So wherever
the first gathering place was, it couldn’t have been far away. We don’t have to go far to find the places
where God has been present, and where God is still present.
Why?
Because. Yeah I know I sound like my
mother, and maybe yours. But Because is
a way to respond to the fact that each of us in our way have experienced the
love of God, the love of God’s community, the presence of the Holy Spirit in
the critical moments of our lives. It’s a part of the vows we take at Baptism,
it’s a part of the promises we take when we promise to educate our youth at
their baptism. It’s a part of the
implied wardrobe that we wear when we say we are Christians and Christ
followers.
How is
it measured-By dedicating our lives and spirits and souls to being the face of
Jesus to all we meet. We are not all
that different from the soldiers we remember this weekend, as some of them gave
their all to be the protective face of Jesus.
How is it measured? By telling a
former student and neighbor, that I’m just across the street if you need
anything. How is it measured? By opening your doors to the neighborhood on
a regular basis, and by a pastor who seems to thrive, just like this
congregation, on the ability to welcome the stranger, that is what gives love a
measure. AMEN.
Thanks
to Lucy Lind Hogan
