St Luke 17:11-19/Deuteronomy 8:1-10/1 Timothy 2:1-4
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
The Church transcends all ethnic, national, and social boundaries. America is not the Zion of the Lord. The Church is; that is to say, the “one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.” That’s why we removed the flags from the chancel; why we do not sing the Star Spangled Banner on July 4th, or the Marine Corps Hymn on Veteran’s Day. The Church is not nationalistic; she comes from all nations.
Though she is not of the world, she still exists in the world. She reacts to current events. She is given to speak the everlasting Word of the Lord in the face of contemporary challenges; charged to be every faithful, every vigilant, ever courageous.
Thus is it meet, right, and salutary that we gather on this Eve of the National Day of Thanksgiving. No, it is not a church holiday, even in America. Yet it is written, Everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the Word of God and prayer (1 Tim 4:4-5).
Today then is, properly speaking, a “hol-i-day” a “holy day.” A day on which we gather to hear God’s Word, call upon Him in prayer and thanksgiving, and receive from Him true rest. A real holiday.
Recall the Third Commandment: Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. “What is meant by ‘keeping it holy?’” Dr Luther had this to say in his Large Catechism: “Nothing else than devoting it to holy words, holy works, and holy living. The day itself does not need to be made holy, for it was created holy. But God wants it to be holy for you. So it becomes holy or unholy on your account, depending on whether you spend it doing something holy or unholy. How does such sanctifying take place? Not when we sit behind the stove and refrain from hard work, or place a garland on our head and dress up in our best clothes, but, as has been said, when we make use of God’s Word and exercise ourselves in it.”
“Truly, we Christians ought to make very day such a holy day and devote ourselves only to holy things, that is, to occupy ourselves daily with God’s Word and carry it in our hearts and on our lips.” (KW 398:87-89)
Which is exactly what Moses reminded the people in the Old Testament reading. Remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wildness. You shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God by walking in His ways and by fearing Him. The Lord provided His people with all that is meant by daily bread – everything that has to do with the support and need of the body. He brought them to a good land; but along the way He takes the time to instruct them, to give them that primary sustenance – the catechesis of His nourishing Word. Man does not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God.
God certainly gives daily bread to everyone without our prayers, even to all evil people. Pagans and unbelievers and Christians alike will dine tomorrow on turkey and stuffing and pie, enjoying the fruit of the vine and the company of friends and loved ones, the freedoms of our land, wonderful children, and dear spouses. Jesus said, Take care and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions (Lk 12:15). And it is written, Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food – and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body (1 Cor 6:13).
What is meant by daily bread, all First Article gifts, are but penultimate. Ultimately it is as St Paul wrote, God desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. Receive your daily bread with thanksgiving and realize by faith that nothing comes apart from Christ. All things were made through Him and without Him was not anything made that was made (Jn 1:3). He is your Life. And all that is necessary for life is received through Him.
The difference, then, between the believer and the unbeliever is not the “stuff” received. Both receive life on account of the bloody sacrifice of Christ, our Passover Lamb. The difference is that between the Samaritan leper and the other nine in our Gospel reading – faith in Christ.
Apart from the thankfulness of the Samaritan leper, I’m not really sure why this text is assigned for Thanksgiving Day. One of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving Him thanks. That is not to say the other nine were not thankful. Each of the ten, as they followed Jesus’ command to show themselves to the priest must have marveled that their scaly, rotten flesh, and self-amputating limbs were restored like those of a newborn.
Nicodemus ridiculously asked, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born? (Jn 3:4). In this account, it is actually coming true. The account of the healed Samaritan leper is not an Old Testament Day of Thanksgiving, but a New Testament day of rebirth and regeneration!
All ten were beginning life anew. Just as God provides daily bread to everyone, even to unbelievers, the Samaritan leper received the same physical healing; but greater still was the spiritual healing he received by faith. Jesus said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has healed you.” He was born to a living hope in Christ Jesus. The God who had regenerated his body had also converted his soul. He knew what it meant to be baptized into Christ.
The ingratitude of the nine lepers is not the major theme. But neither is the emphasis on the one who “gave thanks.” Admonitions to be thankful today, or any day, seem no more than a matter of etiquette raised to a religious level. Something like a mother harping at her children to thank grandma and grandpa for their birthday presents.
At the center here is Jesus. Always Jesus. And the blessed second article gifts that He mercifully gives to the Samaritan. Jesus is the New Temple. He is the Great High Priest. In returning to Him the Samaritan was confessing this reality. And his confession saved him. It is written, If your confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved (Rm 10:9-10). Your faith has saved you is really saying, “Your Jesus has saved you.”
He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for our only but for the sins of the whole world (1 Jn 2:2). The God who feeds the godly and the ungodly, sent His Son to die not only for the elect, but also for those who would reject Him! And this is the ultimate reality on which everything stands; the mercy of God Incarnate. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already (Jn 3:17-18).
For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing His riches on all who call on Him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the Gospel!” So faith comes by hearing, and hearing through the Word of Christ (Rm 10:11-15, 17).
And so we are again at the Third Commandment and the Holy Day, always dependant on the Word, which is Christ, for our life and salvation. This is the way of faith, ever returning, glorifying Him for what He has given. You who fear and love God, do not despise preaching and His Word by absenting yourself from the Divine Service, for it is your very Life. By His grace, through faith, hold His Word sacred, gladly hear it and learn it.
And receive Him who comes to you in the Holy Eucharist – the true Thanksgiving Meal. For here is the Word made flesh, who puts Himself under those first article gifts of bread and wine, in order that He may bestow upon you His righteousness, innocence, and blessedness. Here you shall eat and be full and you shall bless the Lord your God for the cleansing He has given you.
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
The Church transcends all ethnic, national, and social boundaries. America is not the Zion of the Lord. The Church is; that is to say, the “one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.” That’s why we removed the flags from the chancel; why we do not sing the Star Spangled Banner on July 4th, or the Marine Corps Hymn on Veteran’s Day. The Church is not nationalistic; she comes from all nations.
Though she is not of the world, she still exists in the world. She reacts to current events. She is given to speak the everlasting Word of the Lord in the face of contemporary challenges; charged to be every faithful, every vigilant, ever courageous.
Thus is it meet, right, and salutary that we gather on this Eve of the National Day of Thanksgiving. No, it is not a church holiday, even in America. Yet it is written, Everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the Word of God and prayer (1 Tim 4:4-5).
Today then is, properly speaking, a “hol-i-day” a “holy day.” A day on which we gather to hear God’s Word, call upon Him in prayer and thanksgiving, and receive from Him true rest. A real holiday.
Recall the Third Commandment: Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. “What is meant by ‘keeping it holy?’” Dr Luther had this to say in his Large Catechism: “Nothing else than devoting it to holy words, holy works, and holy living. The day itself does not need to be made holy, for it was created holy. But God wants it to be holy for you. So it becomes holy or unholy on your account, depending on whether you spend it doing something holy or unholy. How does such sanctifying take place? Not when we sit behind the stove and refrain from hard work, or place a garland on our head and dress up in our best clothes, but, as has been said, when we make use of God’s Word and exercise ourselves in it.”
“Truly, we Christians ought to make very day such a holy day and devote ourselves only to holy things, that is, to occupy ourselves daily with God’s Word and carry it in our hearts and on our lips.” (KW 398:87-89)
Which is exactly what Moses reminded the people in the Old Testament reading. Remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wildness. You shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God by walking in His ways and by fearing Him. The Lord provided His people with all that is meant by daily bread – everything that has to do with the support and need of the body. He brought them to a good land; but along the way He takes the time to instruct them, to give them that primary sustenance – the catechesis of His nourishing Word. Man does not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God.
God certainly gives daily bread to everyone without our prayers, even to all evil people. Pagans and unbelievers and Christians alike will dine tomorrow on turkey and stuffing and pie, enjoying the fruit of the vine and the company of friends and loved ones, the freedoms of our land, wonderful children, and dear spouses. Jesus said, Take care and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions (Lk 12:15). And it is written, Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food – and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body (1 Cor 6:13).
What is meant by daily bread, all First Article gifts, are but penultimate. Ultimately it is as St Paul wrote, God desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. Receive your daily bread with thanksgiving and realize by faith that nothing comes apart from Christ. All things were made through Him and without Him was not anything made that was made (Jn 1:3). He is your Life. And all that is necessary for life is received through Him.
The difference, then, between the believer and the unbeliever is not the “stuff” received. Both receive life on account of the bloody sacrifice of Christ, our Passover Lamb. The difference is that between the Samaritan leper and the other nine in our Gospel reading – faith in Christ.
Apart from the thankfulness of the Samaritan leper, I’m not really sure why this text is assigned for Thanksgiving Day. One of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving Him thanks. That is not to say the other nine were not thankful. Each of the ten, as they followed Jesus’ command to show themselves to the priest must have marveled that their scaly, rotten flesh, and self-amputating limbs were restored like those of a newborn.
Nicodemus ridiculously asked, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born? (Jn 3:4). In this account, it is actually coming true. The account of the healed Samaritan leper is not an Old Testament Day of Thanksgiving, but a New Testament day of rebirth and regeneration!
All ten were beginning life anew. Just as God provides daily bread to everyone, even to unbelievers, the Samaritan leper received the same physical healing; but greater still was the spiritual healing he received by faith. Jesus said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has healed you.” He was born to a living hope in Christ Jesus. The God who had regenerated his body had also converted his soul. He knew what it meant to be baptized into Christ.
The ingratitude of the nine lepers is not the major theme. But neither is the emphasis on the one who “gave thanks.” Admonitions to be thankful today, or any day, seem no more than a matter of etiquette raised to a religious level. Something like a mother harping at her children to thank grandma and grandpa for their birthday presents.
At the center here is Jesus. Always Jesus. And the blessed second article gifts that He mercifully gives to the Samaritan. Jesus is the New Temple. He is the Great High Priest. In returning to Him the Samaritan was confessing this reality. And his confession saved him. It is written, If your confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved (Rm 10:9-10). Your faith has saved you is really saying, “Your Jesus has saved you.”
He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for our only but for the sins of the whole world (1 Jn 2:2). The God who feeds the godly and the ungodly, sent His Son to die not only for the elect, but also for those who would reject Him! And this is the ultimate reality on which everything stands; the mercy of God Incarnate. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already (Jn 3:17-18).
For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing His riches on all who call on Him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the Gospel!” So faith comes by hearing, and hearing through the Word of Christ (Rm 10:11-15, 17).
And so we are again at the Third Commandment and the Holy Day, always dependant on the Word, which is Christ, for our life and salvation. This is the way of faith, ever returning, glorifying Him for what He has given. You who fear and love God, do not despise preaching and His Word by absenting yourself from the Divine Service, for it is your very Life. By His grace, through faith, hold His Word sacred, gladly hear it and learn it.
And receive Him who comes to you in the Holy Eucharist – the true Thanksgiving Meal. For here is the Word made flesh, who puts Himself under those first article gifts of bread and wine, in order that He may bestow upon you His righteousness, innocence, and blessedness. Here you shall eat and be full and you shall bless the Lord your God for the cleansing He has given you.
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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