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shadows remember when the pandemic started and we endured the big shadow of toilet paper and paper towel shortages i still have no idea what a run on paper goods rolled on cardboard tubes had to do with covid but there it was that big shadow one anonymous source tried to calculate just what makes people anxious according to that source 40 of the average person s anxieties focus on things that never happen 30 of a person s anxieties focus on things of the past things that cannot be changed 12 of one s anxieties are over criticisms which are mostly untrue 10 of a person s anxieties are over health issues and those health issues only get worse with stress and only 8 of the average person s anxieties are about real problems we fallen creatures seem to relish giving small things a big shadow or how about this picture for your worries and anxieties worry is like a rocking chair it may give you something to do but it gets you nowhere our lord knows this he also knows how his disciples both then and now are so very prone to anxious worry so he invites us to learn from the little birds and the tiny lily he woos and invites us to be liberated from our anxious worry first jesus gives us an either or lesson for looking at the world just before our text he said where your treasure is there your heart will be also mt 6 21 then with his first words in our gospel he says no one can serve two masters for either he will hate the one and love the other or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other you cannot serve god and money you cannot divide your loyalties you cannot simultaneously serve god and money you cannot simultaneously serve god and anxious worry there is only room in your heart for one lord and master will it be god or will it be your anxious worry as luther said the confidence and faith of the heart alone make both god and an idol w hatever you set your heart on and put your trust in is truly your god lc i 2 3 next jesus gives us his wonderfully simple object lessons of the little birds and the tiny lily what can we learn from the little birds one time martin luther was overwhelmed by the vast variety of birds in god s creation he pondered how much it might cost god to feed them all with so many different kinds of seeds and berries wouldn t a few standard types of birds be more economical luther wondered there are robins ravens jackdaws crows canaries cardinals wrens finches and so many more yet god knows each and every one of them and no petite hummingbird falls to the ground dead without god knowing it they neither grow nor harvest their own crops nor store their food in barns yet jesus says your heavenly father feeds them so who among you people of god people more valuable than those little birds people bought back with the blood of christ who among you can add a mere 18 inches to your long distance marathon of life after all you live your lives under the father s care you live your lives with the son s cross won forgiveness why be anxious why worry about a new disease that we now know has a 99 survivability rate why worry about destructive riots and devastating wildfires oh i know many in the media and some of our leaders keep stoking the fires of fear and anxiety but they cannot overrule your father s promises in jesus as proverbs reminds you anxiety in a man s heart weighs him down but a good word makes him glad 12 25 that good word is your father s love through christ crucified for anxious sinners the psalmist also reminds you it is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest eating the bread of anxious toil for he gives to his beloved sleep ps 127 2 you may rest safe and secure in your father s care what can we learn from the tiny lily now this is not the splendid fragrant easter lily tall and proud no this is the tiny little flower you see growing in bunches in the grass along the roadside this tiny lily grows as a creature of god this miniature flower does not make itself grow but god makes this lily grow it is entirely dependent upon his goodness and provision so it waits on god for its growth and strength and it accepts god s good design it knows it is not a mighty oak tree the tiny lily is not impatient it has no hurry or fluster it has a deep quiet and a strong peace we might think also of mary s baby quiet hidden in her womb for nine months and growing as god provided then after he was born he grew into a young boy he would go to school play help around the house and perhaps play with the tiny lilies without a care in the world remember this when you get flustered impatient and overshadowed with anxious worry remember the tiny lily especially remember the lily of the valleys your lord jesus who came from mary the rose of sharon songs 2 1 not only is this tiny lily in jesus object lesson a creature of god it also lives solely to god it has no anxious toil for security and safety in life it does not spin or store up in banks or retirement funds it does not worry about where to get clothing food drink or toilet paper it simply finds its fulfillment in living with the design and purpose given by god even its appearance and beauty is a gift from god that s what makes it more splendid and beautiful than solomon in his luxurious glory but notice what else jesus says about the tiny lily today it s alive and tomorrow it s thrown into the oven the lily can die quietly and without complaint in death as in life the lily lives only by god s design and only with god s purpose so too the lily of the valleys our lord jesus he came into this sin cursed world this creation that groans under the weight of sin and death to live god s purpose of rescue and healing he was crushed by the curse and thrown into the oven of crucifixion he died without complaint as he died for you and your salvation and you know the rest of the story he also rose again his resurrection means your resurrection his life restored means your life restored and creation restored for all eternity when it s your time to die you may die quietly and without complaint this is true whether you die from natural causes from covid in the path of a riot or a wildfire or a hurricane or from something else no need to be anxious because your father cares for you jesus is drawing and wooing and inviting you to be free from all anxious worry over all of your needs how can you do this seek first the reign of god and his righteousness receive his blessing and his calling that come only through jesus keep seeking jesus where he promises to be found keep seeking his gracious rule in the forgiveness of sins you seek his reign when you seek his gospel in the scriptures and the sacraments you seek his reign with your brothers and sisters in christ together you are joined to jesus in your baptism together you gather to hear his word of life that makes anxiety dissipate together you receive his body and blood for forgiveness life and salvation if then you have been raised with christ seek the things that are above where christ is seated at the right hand of god set your minds on things that are above not on things that are on earth for you have died and your life is hidden with christ in god col 3 1 3 amen posted by randy asburry at 9 44 am no comments email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest labels anxiety gospel homilies preaching worry 15 september 2020 homily for trinity 14 lepers cleansed luke 17 11 19 the ten lepers are us and we are the ten lepers they suffered from physical leprosy that ravaged their bodies we and all people suffer from spiritual leprosy that ravages both body and soul these ten lepers give us a picture of the human race infected with the leprosy of sin when we hear the term leprosy we usually think of hansen s disease a bacterial infection that can affect nerves skin and eyes and then lead to a loss of feeling and even paralysis in the bible leprosy certainly included that but it probably also included illnesses such as eczema a skin rash and dermatitis scaly flaking skin and itchiness our sin is like leprosy in several respects leprosy affects and destroys the whole body sin totally infects affects and destroys our strength in both body and soul nothing sound from head to toe leprosy is a disease that spreads so does sin coming into the world through one man and spreading to us all st paul calls it the works of the flesh with all those nasty symptoms of sexual immorality impurity sensuality idolatry sorcery enmity strife jealousy fits of anger and so on all those symptoms that even present themselves in us leprosy cannot be healed by man s efforts today treatments may prevent the disease from getting worse but they cannot reverse the damage and remember the story of naaman he sought healing from the king of israel but the king of israel cried out am i god to kill and to make alive 2 kgs 5 7 sin absolutely cannot be healed by human means not by doctors paramedics or politicians after all those desires of the flesh are against the spirit leprosy is a viral disease that spreads to others who are healthy modern medicine may quibble with just how it spreads sin itself does spread its contamination consider the many ways our fallen world infects us all in thought word and deed to think speak and act in ways that go against god s word ways that lead us to distrust god and be unloving to our neighbor rivalries dissensions divisions envy drunkenness orgies and things like these and leprosy once it takes hold eats its way more and more through the body likewise sin because of this infection we all have one sin leads to another and that one easily to yet another first the desire then the misdeed then the excuse then the cover up then the lie and so on if it weren t for our leprosy of sin we would not need police officers laws penalties or rulings of law courts if it weren t for our leprosy of sin we would not have to endure racial tensions injustices pandemics or destructive rioting in the old testament god instructed his people on how to deal with lepers lepers had to separate themselves from everyone else because their diseases of infected decaying rotting flesh could infect others when healthy people walked by the lepers were supposed to warn them by crying out unclean when a person was infected with leprosy he had to show himself to the priest the priest would pronounce him unclean and the person would have to quarantine in the leper colony outside the city social distancing bible style when a leper was healed of his leprosy he would again show himself to the priest the priest would offer the appropriate sacrifices and then pronounce him clean in leviticus 14 cleansing of lepers happened first by killing a bird in an earthen vessel over fresh living water next a live bird a piece of cedarwood and a scarlet yarn were dipped in that water mixed with blood then the priest using the live bird wet with blood and water would sprinkle it seven times on him who is to be cleansed of the leprous disease lev 14 7 as god said thus the priest shall make atonement for the leper and he shall be clean lev 14 20 so let s imitate the ten lepers as jesus comes passing along between the samaria and galilee of our lives let s lift up our voices and cry out jesus master have mercy on us and let s listen to and heed him when he bids us to show ourselves to the priest no not those priests at the jerusalem temple but jesus our great high priest who has passed through the heavens heb 2 14 for we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are yet without sin heb 2 15 how can we be healed and saved from our spiritual leprosy only by finding our way to jesus the sole physician for the soul let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need heb 2 16 offered was he for greatest and for least himself the victim and himself the priest lsb 637 1 not only is jesus both victim and priest for you he is also the dead bird and the living bird for you he is the one who cleanses you by the washing of water with his word so that he might present you to himself in splendor eph 5 26 27 cleansed of your leprosy of sin actually we don t have to find our way to him he has found his way to us just as the ten lepers were cleansed before they found their way to the priests not by their own reason or strength nor by their decision or will we are cleansed in the bath of our baptism not by our own reason strength decision or will our baptismal bath sprinkles us with the very blood and water that flowed from the side of christ crucified he is the one who was crucified outside the city he is the one who comes by water and blood not by the water only but by the water and the blood 1 jn 5 6 now let s put ourselves in the shoes of the one cleansed leper who returned to jesus let s take our cue from him on how to live all of life in our baptism i m sure the other nine former lepers were generically thankful as civic courtesy and politeness would dictate but they went on to live their lives apart from jesus the samaritan however turned back praising god with a loud voice and he fell on his face at jesus feet giving him thanks he did more than just give thanks he gave praise to god he returned to the giver of the gift of cleansing he was not merely content to enjoy the gift he wanted to enjoy and be with the giver that s living your baptismal life not just a generic thankfulness for a quick healing not just a slight nod and a mental note that something special happened a long time ago but then getting back to real life no the baptismal life is about living all of life in jesus with jesus and in the presence of jesus daily contrition and repentance drowning that old adam in you making him die with all sins and evil desires every day and then thank the lord and sing his praise emerging and arising every day to live before god in righteousness and purity forever your one time baptismal cleansing becomes your daily hygiene routine not a burdensome routine but a joyful living in the blood and water that continually heals and cleanses we all wrestle with sin every day that leprous disease keeps flaring up even in us who are cleansed by jesus blood and water we will keep wrestling with our leprous sin until jesus returns on the last day it s not a matter of jesus healing not fully doing its job it has it s a matter of living in faith continually receiving his cleansing and thus praising him as did the samaritan martin luther confessed this in the face of those who deny that sin remains after baptism the fact that sin remains after baptism undercuts every notion of perfectionism that is thinking you can be free of sin or attain a sin free life this side of heaven it also topples any notion of once saved always saved while the healing for that samaritan and the other nine was instantaneous jesus chooses to 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