Eighteenth Sunday After Pentecost

Grace and peace to all of you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

When I was growing up, I played a lot of different sports. I played some baseball for our parks and recs league in my hometown, and I even tried my hand at basketball, although that was very, very, very short-lived.

Later, I would play a little football, but I really found my home on the wrestling mat, and that stuck with me through junior high and high school, as well as a small club I helped start at Eastern Oregon University, where I attended college.

Like all sports, it was rigorous and demanding; if I wanted to achieve anything at all, I would have to put in the hours and the hard work.

Days began with early morning long-distance runs, in all conditions; heavy rains, snowfall, strong winds at my face pushing against me with each passing mile, zapping my strength without mercy.

Practices in the late afternoons consisted of learning and drilling techniques and fundamentals, over and over and over again, until they became ingrained in my muscle memory, and I no longer needed to think, but could react with speed and confidence.

When the long and grueling afternoon practice was over–my High School coach–a former Gold Glove boxer–would unlock the weight room, and before dismissing us from the mat room, he would say, “No deposit, no return.”

Coach kept the weight room open for an hour after each practice and gave us the option to either go home, shower, eat, and rest, or put in another hour, an additional deposit that might yield a return in our ability to compete.

Coach did not offer guarantees–he couldn’t, no matter his long history of state titles and coach of the year awards; all he could offer was an opportunity.

An opportunity that had to be taken without any absolute assurance of the outcomes for all this work.

It was by no means a guarantee of victory but a way to confront the uncertainty that constantly looms in competition.

We all face uncertainty in many ways throughout life. We try to prepare ourselves to protect against it so we can improve our chances of success, as I mentioned with respect to sports.

We make plans to mitigate risks, protecting ourselves and the things we work for through insurance policies and other measures.

We try to keep our distance from disasters as much as possible, but no matter what we do or how well we plan and prepare, troubles do arise that overpower even our best attempts to fortify ourselves.

Sometimes when these things happen, we might think that the hand of the Lord has gone against us.

In our first reading today, Naomi certainly thought as much.

Losing a husband and two sons is catastrophic! The level of grief that is associated with that kind of loss –the loss of your family– is unimaginable.

And amid her suffering and grief, Naomi encourages her foreign daughters-in-law to leave her and, with God’s blessing, says, “Go, return each of you to your mother's house, and may the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. The Lord grant that you may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband!” (Ruth 1:8-9)

Perhaps by her own wisdom, Naomi thought it would be easier on the younger widows to return to their own land, to their own families, to places and things that were much more familiar to them, that they might have a chance to start over and remarry and build a future for themselves. That kind of thinking seems totally reasonable!

But one of the daughters, Ruth, acts contrary to sound reason. She acts in faithfulness to Naomi, and instead of kissing her goodbye, she clings to her mother-in-law in confident hope, saying, “Do not urge me from following you, where you go, I will go, your people will be my people, your God, my God. May the Lord do so to me and more also, if anything but death parts me from you.” (Ruth 1:16-17)

We can say that Ruth was heading to Bethlehem as a foreigner, without a husband, without children, and without preparation for what lay ahead of her. She went there without any of these things and without any earthly assurance that things would work out okay.

But Ruth was not WITHOUT God. Her God was Naomi's God, the God of Abraham, of Issac, and of Jacob. Ruth was not WITHOUT faith. Ruth was not WITHOUT a future, because by God’s grace, she would later be the great-grandmother of King David. She clung to her mother-in-law, Naomi, as tightly as she clung to these powerful words: “your people shall be my people and your God, my God.”

Our Father in heaven seeks to reach the hearts of people through His Son and through His word, that we might come to believe and be saved (John 3:16). The Psalm this morning exclaims: “He makes his marvelous works to be remembered; The Lord is gracious and full of compassion.” (Psalm 111:4)

Indeed, He has given us His word–The Holy Scriptures so that we might know, study, and meditate on His works of faithfulness from Genesis to Revelation that we might see His works of faithfulness through his people, like Naomi and Ruth, or Paul and Timothy, and His only Son, Jesus.

He has given us a word that cannot be bound or chained, as Paul says, but one that breathes life and strengthens and must be taught and shared. It is a word that gives understanding into everything.

It is a word that communicates to us a God who is merciful and gracious, that He has given his only Son to die for us and to take our sins to the cross, that for those who repent and believe, there is salvation. He has sent Jesus, who is the light of the world, among us, so “that all the works of God might be displayed in him.” (John 9:3b)

Just like in today's Gospel lesson, Jesus demonstrates God’s mercy in a few words by healing ten lepers. As the ten were a distance away from Jesus, He didn't need to lay His hands on them or be close to them. He has the power in His word alone to accomplish everything for which the Word is purposed.

By His words, He restores those who are far off and call out to Him in faith.

Through the power of His word, Jesus transforms despair and hopelessness into faith, praise, and thanksgiving to God. This includes the ones who seem most estranged, as in the case of the Samaritan.

And Jesus made no demand on him before speaking his word, healing his body, calling him to faith and a new, restored life.

Jesus found the man as he was, but did not leave him as he was.

The same is true for each of you. Jesus pours out His grace to you, offering daily forgiveness to all who seek it, and restores you as a new creature in faith.

By means of grace, He takes common elements like bread, wine, water, and when his word is spoken over them, institutes forgiveness, mercy, and salvation, and life for you!

He gives us nourishment in body, mind, and spirit so that we would grow strong and endure until the end.

In Christ Jesus, we have absolute assurance of victory! He has done it for you.

And Jesus has unlocked the place for you, after your long daily run and grueling daily practices are over, bidding you come in and stay a little longer, to find sanctuary.

Come inside and be strengthened by the preached word, and in the public reading of the scriptures, that you would be filled and be satisfied.

Jesus has opened the door for you to come closer to Him in Sunday school, and what is passed down in our lessons–that the Word may be entrusted to you so that you can share it with others.

Jesus has made a way to come in and be renewed and filled with the Holy Spirit and with mercy, that you would lift up your voice in thanks and praise to our Lord who has accomplished all things for you.

We place no confidence in our own flesh and in our own works, but in Jesus and the power of His Word, and in the Power of his resurrection. Jesus has guaranteed victory over our greatest adversary, sin, death, and the devil.

He opens the door so that you may come in and be equipped, so that when you face complex challenges and seemingly all is against you, you will be reminded of what Jesus has already done and cling to His grace forever - Amen

Our Gospel Hymn is Now thank we all our God Number 50

Grace and peace to all of you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Growing up, I played a lot of different sports. I played baseball for our parks and recs league in my hometown, and tried my hand at basketball, although that was very short-lived.

Later, I would play a little football, but I really found my home on the wrestling mat, and that stuck with me through junior high and high school, as well as a small club at Eastern Oregon University, where I attended college.

Like all sports, it was rigorous and demanding; if I wanted to achieve anything at all, I would have to put in the hours and the hard work. Early morning long-distance runs, in all conditions; heavy rains, snowfall, strong winds at my face pushing against me with each passing mile, zapping my strength without mercy.

Practices in the late afternoons consisted of relearning and drilling techniques and fundamentals, over and over again, until they became ingrained in my muscle memory, and I no longer needed to think, but could react with speed and confidence.

When later afternoon practice was over, my beloved High School coach, a former Gold Glove boxer, Coach Pruitt, would unlock the weight room, and before dismissing us from the mat room, he would say, “No deposit, no return.” He kept the weight room open an hour after each practice and gave us the option to go home, shower, eat, and rest, or put in another hour, an additional deposit that might yield a return in our ability to compete.

Coach could not offer guarantees; all he could offer was an opportunity. An opportunity that had to be taken without any absolute assurance of the outcomes for all this work. It was by no means a guarantee of victory but a way to confront the uncertainty that constantly looms in competition.

We face uncertainty in many ways throughout life. We try to prepare ourselves to protect against it so we can improve our chances of success, as I mentioned with respect to sports. We make plans to mitigate risks, protecting ourselves and the things we work for through insurance policies and other measures.

We try to keep our distance from disasters as much as possible, but no matter what we do or how well we plan and prepare, troubles do arise that overpower even our best attempts to fortify ourselves.

Sometimes when these things happen, we might think that the hand of the Lord has gone against us. Naomi certainly did in our first reading.

Losing a husband and two sons is catastrophic! The level of grief that is associated with that kind of loss –the loss of your family– is unimaginable.

Yet even amid her suffering and grief, Naomi encourages her foreign daughters-in-law to leave her with God’s blessing, saying, “Go, return each of you to your mother's house, and may the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. The Lord grant that you may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband!” (Ruth 1:8-9)

Perhaps by her own wisdom, Naomi thought it would be easier on the younger widows to return to their own land, to their own families, to places and things that were much more familiar to them, that they might have a chance to start over and remarry and build a future for themselves. That kind of thinking seems totally reasonable!

But Ruth acts contrary to sound reason. She acts in faithfulness to Naomi, and instead of kissing her goodbye, she clings to her mother-in-law in confident hope, saying, “Do not urge me from following you, where you go, I will go, your people will be my people, your God, my God. May the Lord do so to me and more also, if anything but death parts me from you.” (Ruth 1:16-17)

We can say that Ruth was heading to Bethlehem as a foreigner, without a husband, without children, and without preparation for what lay ahead of her. She went there without any of these things and without any earthly assurance that things would work out okay.

But Ruth was not WITHOUT God. Her God was Naomi's God, the God of Abraham, of Issac, and of Jacob. Ruth was not WITHOUT faith. Ruth was not WITHOUT a future, because by God’s grace, she would later be the grandmother of King David. She clung to her mother-in-law, Naomi, as tightly as she clung to these powerful words: “your people shall be my people and your God, my God.”

Our Father in heaven seeks to reach the hearts of his people through His Son and through His word, that we might come to believe and be saved (John 3:16). The Psalm this morning exclaims: “He makes his marvelous works to be remembered; The Lord is gracious and full of compassion.” (Psalm 111:4) Indeed, He has given us His word–The Holy Scriptures so that we might know, study and meditate on His works of faithfulness from Genesis to Revelation.

He has given us a word that cannot be bound or chained, as Paul says, but one that breathes life and strengthens and must be taught and shared. It is a word that gives understanding into everything.

It is a word that communicates to us a God who is merciful and gracious, that He has given his only Son to die for us and to take our sins to the cross, that for those who repent and believe, there is salvation. He has sent Jesus, who is the light of the world, among us, “that all the works of God might be displayed in him.” (John 9:3b)

Just like in today's Gospel lesson, Jesus demonstrates God’s mercy in a few words by healing ten lepers. As the ten were a distance away from Jesus, He didn't need to lay His hands on them or be close to them. He has the power in His word alone to accomplish everything for which the Word is purposed.

By His words, He restores those who are far off and call out to Him in faith. Through the power of His word, Jesus transforms despair and hopelessness into faith, praise, and thanksgiving to God. This includes the ones who seem most estranged, as in the case of the Samaritan.

Jesus made no demand on him before speaking his word, healing his body, calling him to faith and a new, restored life. Jesus found the man as he was, but did not leave him as he was. The same is true for each of you. Jesus pours out His grace to you, offering daily forgiveness to all who seek it, and restores you as a new creature in faith.

By means of grace, He takes common elements like bread, wine, water, and when his word is spoken over them, institutes forgiveness, mercy, and salvation, and life for you! He gives us nourishment in body, mind, and spirit so that we would grow strong and endure until the end.

Jesus has unlocked the place for you, after your long daily run and grueling daily practices are over, and bids you come in and stay a little longer.

Come inside and be strengthened by the preached word, and in the public reading of the scriptures, that you would be filled and be satisfied.

Jesus has opened the door for you to come closer to Him in Sunday school, and what is passed down in our lessons–that the Word may be entrusted to you so that you can share it with others.

Jesus has made a way to come in and be renewed and filled with the Holy Spirit and with mercy, that you would lift up your voice in thanks and praise to our Lord who has accomplished all things for us.

We place no confidence in our own flesh and in our own works, but in Jesus and the power of His Word, and in the Power of his resurrection. Jesus has guaranteed victory over our greatest adversary, sin, death, and the devil.

He opens the door so that you may come in and be equipped, so that when you face complex challenges and seemingly all is against you, you will be reminded of what Jesus has already done and cling to His grace forever - Amen

Our Gospel Hymn is Now thank we all our God Number 50