21st Sunday after Pentecost
October 9, 2016
Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7; Psalm 66:8-12; 2 Timothy 2:8-15;
Luke 17:11-19
(Or watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYmJO_Qeyts)
You may have noticed, as I have, that our attendance this
fall has not bounced back after the summer like it usually does. It hasn’t at
the other church I serve, so I knew we weren’t the only ones with slightly
lower attendance than usual. However, that still left the possibility that it
was me, and so I talked with a couple other pastors, one in the area and one in
North Carolina. Their church attendance has not bounced back after the summer,
either. One pastor wondered if it was because of the election. It’s on
everyone’s minds, but church is one of the few places we don’t talk much about
it. So, why come? If the church has nothing to say about this big event in the
life of our country, why go? Now, it may be you’re coming to get away from
everyone talking about it, because we can and we do offer sanctuary here. If
that’s why you’re here this morning, then you can go ahead a tune me out for
the next ten minutes or so, because this morning I’m preaching on the election.
There is nothing in life or in death
that is outside of the scope of God’s authority. God created all of us, and God
created this planet where we live. There is no place in the universe with which
God has absolutely nothing to do or no power over.
The number one emotion associated with this election is
fear. Fair statement? In particular, fear of who might win. What does God say
about fear? Don’t be afraid. Fear not.
And usually the next sentence gives the reason why: because God is with
you. Don’t be afraid, for God is with you. God sees you. God knows what’s going
on. God will protect you and see you through the time of trial. Don’t be
afraid. Some variation of that phrase is in the Bible over 365 times.[1]
One for every day of the year! Or, about one for every two hours between now
and Election Day. I did the math. Some version of don’t be afraid is in almost every book of the Bible. It first
appears in Genesis 15:1, when God tells Abram, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I will
shield you from danger.” And it runs through the Bible to Revelation 1:17-18,
where Jesus says, “Don't be afraid! I am the first and the last. I am the
living one! I was dead, but now I am alive forever and ever. I have authority
over death and the world of the dead.” Nothing is outside the scope of Jesus’
authority, or, his love. Remember Romans 8:38-39? “Nothing can separate us from
his love: neither death nor life, neither angels nor other heavenly rulers or
powers, neither the present nor the future, neither the world above nor the
world below—there is nothing in all creation that will ever be able to separate
us from the love of God which is ours through Christ Jesus our Lord.” Neither
can this election nor its outcome separate us from God’s love. Have no fear.
God will shield you from danger. God has authority over everything.
And the best news of all is that Jesus has already come!
None of these candidates is our salvation because the Savior of the world has
already come, and his name is Jesus. None of these candidates can save us,
because that power belongs only to Jesus. Since we don’t have to worry about
that, we can have faith and trust in God, no matter who wins. Our politicians
cannot save us. Only Jesus saves. I’m not saying don’t vote. I think everyone
has a civic duty to vote. I’m saying don’t vote out of fear. Vote with
integrity, according to who you think the best candidate is, and keep your
trust and your salvation in God’s hands. “There is a freedom that comes with a
faith-born confidence that neither Donald Trump nor Hillary Clinton nor any third
party candidate is the Lord’s messiah. With that trust comes the corresponding
trust that any of them could be used by the Lord (like Pharaoh in Exodus maybe)
to bring about good in a way that [you and] I could never imagine.”[2] Who
knows? Maybe God already has something in store. Trust God. Have faith in God
more than in any candidate.
After all, God has advice for those who find themselves
where they don’t want to be. Through the prophet Jeremiah this morning we are
told to “seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile.”[3] In
the children’s notes on this passage, “exile means being stuck where you do not
want to be.”[4] I thought that was a
pretty good definition, and something we can all relate to. At some point or
another, we have all been stuck somewhere we do not want to be. You may be in
that place now. Or you may find yourself in that place on November 9. So what
are we to do when we find ourselves stuck some place we don’t want to be? God
says, settle down. Build houses. Plant gardens and eat from them. Essentially,
work for good in whatever situation you find yourself. Work for the good of the place where you find yourself stuck. God
says to pray to God for the good of that situation, because in its welfare, you
will find your welfare.[5]
Or, to use a different word than welfare or good, seek the wellbeing, seek the
health, seek the happiness of the situation you’re stuck in, because in its
wellbeing, in its health, in its happiness, you will find yours. Instead of
being terrified over who might win next month, seek the wellbeing of our
country and pray for the health, physical, mental, and spiritual, of our
leaders.
2 Timothy gave some helpful advice as to how to work for
good and seek wellbeing: “do not to engage in battles over words that aren’t
helpful and only destroy those who hear them.”[6] I
think we’ve heard a whole lot of those battles the past few months. “Wrangling
over words, which does no good but only ruins those who are listening.”[7] “Such
arguments are useless, and they can ruin those who hear them.”[8]
How many useless arguments have you heard related to this election? Too many,
right? How many people have you seen ruined by these echo chambers, how many
discussions become yelling matches, as we can’t even disagree civilly anymore
about some of these topics? Beloved, don’t engage in these battles over words.
They’re not helpful and they can destroy those who hear them. That is the exact
opposite of working for the health of our country, the health of our leaders,
the health of our community, the health of our families, the health of our
church.
And remember that when you find that health… excuse me, when you are made whole, remember to find
Jesus and thank him. There was a sign on a bulletin board at my sending church
to promote the wellness ministry and it said, “Wellness happens.” The sign
drove my mom nuts, and she would try to hide it every time she saw it. My mom’s
a nurse. She knows that health doesn’t just happen, like magic, or out of thin
air. You have to work at health. You have to rehabilitate your knee. You have
to take medicine. You have to go to therapy. You have to keep your relationship
with God right. You have to work to stay healthy. It’s much easier to get or
stay sick. You have to work to get healthy, you have to work to stay healthy.
So, after you’ve been sick for a while, or after you’ve been hurting for a
while, as you might if you have been stuck somewhere you don’t want to be, be
sure to thank Jesus when it’s over.
Today’s Gospel lesson is about the ten lepers who ask
Jesus to have mercy on them. Jesus does, and he heals them. Except to be fully
healed from leprosy, you have to be restored to your community again. Lepers
were thought to be so contagious they were kicked out of town in order not to
get others sick. That’s why Jesus tells them to show themselves to the priests
to show that they are no longer leprous, that they are physically healed and
are ready to be socially healed as well. The ten lepers do that, and then only
one returns to Jesus to thank him. And Jesus says, “Get up and go. Your faith
has healed you.”
Faith
knows to place trust in God alone. Faith works for the well-being of wherever
it is. And faith remembers where healing and wholeness come from. Salvation
does not come from an election or from the government or even from me, a
pastor. Salvation comes from God alone. Healing and wholeness comes from God
alone. It may well be mediated through others, such as a doctor or a pastor or
a politician. God can work through anyone. So remember, to quote our psalm,
when God brings you out from fire and floods and hurricanes and burdens and an
unprecedented election cycle, when God brings you out to a spacious place, to a
place of safety, to freedom, make sure
you give God thanks!
A different
translation of the psalm than the one in our hymnal says, “you, God, have
tested us—you’ve refined us like silver, trapped us in a net, laid burdens on
our backs, let other people run right over our heads—we’ve been through fire
and water. But you brought us out to freedom!”[9]
This election year certainly feels like fire and water and trapped in a net and
burdens on our backs and a time of testing, yet as people of faith, we believe
and we trust that God will bring us through. We believe that no matter who
wins, God is still God. God will still be in control. And God can use anything
for God’s purposes. Thanks be to God!
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