Dear Friends,
Welcome to the Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost. Whenever the passage from Luke appears telling the story of the 10 lepers being healed by Jesus and only one returning to be give thanks, I start to think about all the times that I have failed to give thanks and to say thank you to people who do so much. I know that I will miss many people by trying to list them, but I would like to extend a huge THANK YOU to all of you who do so much for our congregation and community. Many of you work quietly without thought of reward or recognition. Thank you for all that you do and for being who you are! Thank you to God who loves us and give us so much, THANK YOU God!
If you would like a home visit, conversation, or home communion, please call me at 573-437-2779 (church) or 573-832-2475 (cell).
Announcements:
- Thank you to everyone who helped with the Gasconade County Bible Society meeting last Sunday! The cookies were delicious!
- Thank you to everyone who turned in their Time and Talent Sheets and their Pledge Cards!
- Gasconade County CROP Walk on Sunday, October 9 at 2pm
Please take a CROP Walker envelope table in the back of the sanctuary and sign up to walk. 25% of the money raised by the CROP remains in our community. - We still have apple butter for sale!
- The Youth are selling butter braids and more! Order before Sunday, 10/16/22! Orders will be delivered to church on Tues., 10/25/22 at 5:00 PM
- Hand Bell Choir at 4:15 on Wednesday.
- Wednesday Confirmation Class Wednesday at 6:30
- Choir Practice on Wednesday at 7pm.
- Celebration of Life for Porter on Sunday, October 16 at 11am
Prayers and Blessings,
Pastor Stephanie DeLong
Scripture Lessons:
Habakkuk Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7, Psalm 66:1-12. 2 Timothy 2:8-15, Luke 17:11-19
Sermon: Mercy and Faith
Jesus has been preaching and teaching and now he is on his way to Jerusalem. The text says that Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. This border lay just south of Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth in the province of Galilee. In these border towns, a mixture of people would live in cooperation and in tension with one another.
Have you ever crossed a border? Around us lie the borders to different counties such as Osage, Franklin, Crawford and Maries counties. County borders may not seem too important until you realize the laws and regulations are different in each county. Franklin County enforces different building codes than Gasconade County. Helping Hands Outreach Center of Gasconade County receives funding specifically for residents of Gasconade County regarding commodities distributions. This may not seem all that important until someone from another county comes to Helping Hands requestion assistance.
To an outsider the border between Galilee and Samaria may seem negligible until you ask the locals about their relationships with one another. Then you would have had an earful. The Samaritans were the Jews from the Northern Kingdom of Israel which separated from the Southern Kingdom of Judea (ruled by Jerusalem) shortly after King Solomon died. The Samaritans worshiped at different altars in the mountains and heeded Jeremiah’s advice for the sons and daughters to take wives and husbands from among the Babylonians who conquered and exiled them. The Judean Jews held fast to worshipping at the temple in Jerusalem (rebuilt by Nehemiah and company after the return from exile). The Judean Jews made a practice of not intermarrying with their conquerors. Both sides regarded the other with deep suspicion.
As Jesus approached a town in this border land, he is greeted by another group that was regarded with deep suspicion, lepers. Lepers were people with a skin disease which by religious practice kept them from living among ordinary people. Lepers had to keep their distance from others for fear of infecting the general population spiritually and physically. Often the lepers would cry out for assistance from passers by who would cast food in their direction. But when they see Jesus they have another request, mercy.
“Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” (Luke 17:13, NRSV) they called out while keeping their distance. Mercy is just what Jesus gives to them. He speaks the words that would give them readmittance to normal society, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” (Luke 17:14). As the lepers walked away, they were physically cleansed of their leprosy and then rushed off to complete the ritual by which the priest would declare them clean. However, one of them ran back to Jesus while praising God, threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked Jesus. For the Judean Jews this healing had a real kicker, the one with the faith to recognize the authority of Jesus was a dreaded Samaritan.
It was the Samaritan who had the faith to recognize that it was Jesus’ mercy that would declare him clean. There was no need for a priest. The Samaritan has Jesus and gives praise to God. In this border land new ways of being faithful are taking place, even among the Samaritans.
We live in a borderland or liminal time. The Church universal is changing. As the old temple structures were pushed aside with Jesus’ loving mercy. What we have always known as church is adapting to an ever-changing world. As a church we are cared for by God’s mercy and continue to live in faith.
How will we live out that faith is changing as our older members pass on from this life to the next. St. Peter’s will need to find a new focus for being the church of mercy and faith in our community. As we walk upon this metaphorical border land, may we in faith and mercy look to accepting ideas and ways that may have been rejected in the past. May we reach out and repair personal and spiritual rifts along the border lands of mercy and faith.
Prayer: God, may we be continually thankful for your mercy and love. Increase our faith in you so that we may accept those whom you love, even the dreaded Samaritans of our personal creation. Open our hearts and minds to new ways of being your church. Amen.
Prayer list: All who have been on our list in the past and Elizabeth, Cheryl, Dave, David, Ken and Evelyn, Jason, Paulette, Jaqueline, Friends of Shelby, Bobby, Kevin, Jim, Darryl (doing better!), Marilee, Beverly, Jim, Jenny, Dixon’s daughter, Barbara, Melvin, Mitchell, Mahala, Maybelle and Mary, La Rae, Lynda, Bud, Bob, Ruth and for peace in troubled and war-torn places. Those who have been impacted by the recent hurricanes.
