Scripture Readings: Jeremiah 14:7–10, 19–22 | Psalm 84 | 2 Timothy 4:6–8, 16–18 | Luke 18:9–14

“But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ (Luke 18:13).
 
In this passage from the Gospel of St. Luke we heard another parable of Jesus, a story about two people who draw near to the holy Temple of God: a Pharisee and a tax collector.
 
This parable, even though it might seem simple, has a pretty pointed message for us today… confronting and correcting those “who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt.”
 
This seems to be a very serious problem for us these days. Not just those of us here in this room, of course. I mean it’s a problem for our whole society. We’re currently living in a world where finding fault with others seems to have become a whole way of life: where we can’t really admit our own mistakes and failures without running the risk of being cancelled, or worse… and we’re constantly being bombarded with hard-hearted messages intent on demonizing anyone who disagrees with us.

So many today are frightened, and angry, and constantly looking for someone else to shame and blame. And it can be so tempting when we feel like this… when we feel insecure and anxious… to focus on the faults and missteps of others… comparing ourselves to them to make ourselves feel more significant or secure… convinced that we alone are on the right track… and hoping that all our own shortcomings will somehow be forgotten.
 
I believe that this parable speaks powerfully to us today in our deeply divided world. And through this simple but profound story, I believe Jesus the Risen Lord is inviting us to let go of the dangerous impulse to look at others with contempt. Even if we never express these self-righteous feelings out loud… even if our pride and contempt remains a secret between myself and the Almighty… our Saviour knows that contempt is a deadly poison that erodes our ability to truly live God’s way… to love the Living God with all that we are, and to love all our neighbours as ourselves. 
  
Like many of Jesus’ parables, this story holds up two contrasting examples. First of all, we’re introduced to a Pharisee… someone that would have been seen in those days as a model person of faith: morally upright, diligent, and deeply concerned with discerning and doing what is right.
 
And then we have the tax collector… someone who would have been seen as a traitor to their own community. Tax collectors in those days were despised and hated not only because they served the interests of the Emperor in Rome, collecting the money that would be used to pay for the soldiers occupying their land… but also because they would cut their own paychecks by charging their neighbours extra… a massive opportunity for corruption and exploitation that many of them made use of.
 
So when we first look at these two very different people from the outside, it might seem pretty obvious who’s on the right path. Everything that the Pharisee was up to would be recognized as upright and good. And everything that the tax collector stood for would be suspect, and seen as deeply compromised.

And for this parable to have its intended effect, we need to ask ourselves this question: Who do we think fits into these categories in our own lives today?
 
In other words, who do we think is more or less getting things right? And who are we convinced is getting it completely wrong? What are the ‘obvious’ moral opposites at work in our hearts and minds?
 
We can easily make this a conversation about politics. Or global tensions. Or even religion. And all those things matter. But what about our interpersonal relationships? The tensions that exist within the communities we are actively a part of? Our families? Our workplaces? Our neighbourhoods? And so on.
 
Who are you and I most tempted to look down on with contempt? Who do we think we are better than? These are the dangerous and divisive assumptions that Christ’s parable draws into the light.
 
“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.’
 
But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Luke 18:10-14).
 
Notice that Jesus doesn’t take issue with the Pharisee’s actions. And He doesn’t commend or excuse all the tax collector does either. But what He does do is bring to light the deadly pride and contempt of the one, and highlight the humble plea for forgiveness by the other.
 
And for Jesus, it really seems to matter how we hold others in our hearts… the way we see, and understand, and relate to our neighbours… especially the ones we have real problems with… and when we look down on others with contempt, and spend our time comparing ourselves to them, we’re actively fighting against the work of God both inside and all around us… preventing us from truly living God’s way, and letting His holy love rule in our lives.
 
But in Jesus, we see another way. In Him, we see God’s way being lived out right before our eyes. Instead of looking down on our divided and compromised world in contempt, Jesus humbled Himself, and came alongside sinners and drew near to those on the completely wrong track. And instead of scolding us, or patronizing us to make Himself seem superior, Jesus bound Himself to us, sharing our daily life, witnessing our heartbreaks and brokenness first-hand… all in order to turn us around, guiding us all back together into the Living God’s loving arms.
 
And Jesus humbled Himself to the extreme, sharing in the fate of us sinners… whether our sins are easily recognizable to those around us, or not… Jesus joined Himself to us to set us free from all of it! To save us from sin’s tyranny, and in God’s great mercy to bring us true forgiveness, and the New Life that comes from being welcomed into God’s family… not because we deserve it, but because of what Jesus has done for us all.
 
At the cross, Jesus took the terrible place of us sinners. And as He rose again from the dead, He paved the new way into God’s presence… so that, whether we started off near or far, we can share in His fellowship together and forever.
 
In the light of the cross and the empty tomb… the light of the Gospel, there is no room for contempt or pride… just for humility, and thankfulness, and deep compassion offered to one another, and all those around us. Because it’s here that we find Jesus holding all of us in His heart… inviting us to extend the great mercy and love of God that we have received with everyone else. And we simply cannot love someone when we lift ourselves up, and choose to hold them in contempt.

And so, instead of looking down on others… especially those we completely disagree with, and are tempted to dismiss or despise… one simple way forward is for us to pray for them. Not to pray against them… like, that they would smarten up, and become more like us in this or that way. Rather, let us pray for God’s mercy on them, remembering just how much we constantly need that mercy too! That it is only by the mercy of God, graciously offered to us all in Jesus Christ His Son, that any of us are able to be made right with God, and walk in His holy ways.
 
In a moment, we’re going to join together in praying something called the Great Litany… an extended and extensive prayer to help us take time to practice this humble stance before God, and for our world together.
 
During this time of prayer, we might find it helpful to envision ourselves as the tax collector of our story… not coming to God with our lists of accomplishments, but with a keen desire for His mercy… both for ourselves, and for our broken world… and for those that we are finding it the most challenging to hold with mercy today.
 
We’ll be moving through the prayers slowly. Try not to rush over them in your mind. And when you find yourself distracted, simply return your attention to God, and join in again. First, let us say together the Apostle’s Creed, and then let us say together the Great Litany (this can be found in our Morning Prayer service this week).
​

​Our service of Morning Prayer, Bulletin, & Sermon this week can be found here:

And our Songs for this week can be found here:

Scripture Readings: Jeremiah 31:27–34 | Psalm 119:97–104 | 2 Timothy 3:14–4:5 | ​Luke 18:1–8

“Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart.” (Luke 18:1).
 
It’s not always easy to trust those in charge, is it?
 
Even in the best of times… when we’re faced with big challenges and tense situations, it can be tempting to question how those in places of authority are making their decisions. But when we find ourselves in communities that are deeply divided… and when our leaders start to act in ways that lead us to believe they really don’t have our concerns or best interests at heart… trust naturally becomes that much harder for us to exercise.
 
And of course, some of this mistrust is definitely warranted. Both ancient and recent history is full of stories where people have said and done all sorts of things to get into positions of power. But then, as the old saying goes: “Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

In many ways, the questions of who we will trust are foundational for our lives, and it actively shapes how we will choose to engage with those living around us, and the actions we feel we must take.

As a recent example, just yesterday millions of Americans took part in the ‘No Kings’ protests… peaceful gatherings in cities across their country geared to give voice to the grave concerns many of their citizens now have about the current direction of the government of the United States… coming together in droves to declare their shared distrust for those wielding power.
 
While I know many Canadians may share their concerns, and would support their movement… it’s kind of strange for us given the fact that we actually do have a king. And yet, despite our different approaches to government, we Canadians still expect our leaders to act with integrity, justice, and mercy, or to be held accountable when they don’t. That’s not to say we don’t have our own issues around trusting our elected, appointed, and anointed leaders, and we too have to work hard to find ways to build both trust and trustworthiness into our own society.
 
In another recent example of how serious and divisive the lack of trust can be, a major divide between Anglicans around the world was announced this past week. On Thursday, leaders within the Global Anglican Future Conference, or GAFCON for short, a movement that involves a very large portion of the Anglican Communion, have declared that they are no longer in communion with, and reject the authority of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Church of England, no longer having faith in their leadership.
 
Serious tensions within the worldwide Anglican Communion are not new, and in recent decades there have been several serious disagreements, and disputes among different groups on matters of theology, the interpretation of Scripture, and what it means to be faithful to God’s ways today. And now, as the leaders of GAFCON no longer trust in the leadership of Canterbury, they are officially braking off ties and severing the bonds of fellowship between us.  
 
This news deeply grieves my heart… and I pray for a way forward for us all to move towards true reconciliation… however remote it may seem at the moment, and however long it may take… and I hope that you all will do the same.
 
And I know that a lot of people are grieving that the Christian Church and the nations of the world are so deeply divided, and that mutual trust and trustworthiness seems to be so hard to find and hold onto these days.
 
And so, I think it’s very timely that our Gospel reading today presents us with a clear invitation to practice trust… specifically, to place our trust in the Living God, our Heavenly Father to do what is right in our lives and in our world… and then do our best to act accordingly. 
 
Our passage today is a parable… a short story meant to drive home a particular point… involving two people at the very opposite ends of the power spectrum: on the one hand we have a judge, and in the other we have a widow.
 
Now in the context of this story, judges are kind of like government officials: representatives of a higher authority, and responsible for upholding justice for the sake of their communities.
 
But in this story, Jesus points out a big problem: this judge is an unjust judge. Jesus says that this judge “neither feared God nor had respect for people.” (Luke 18:2). In other words, they were unmoved by any sense of accountability… and instead of feeling duty-bound to do what is right, they just wanted to do… what they wanted to do. They are a prime example of someone entrusted with power, but who is not at all trustworthy to use it.
 
And on the other hand, we have this widow… this person with next to no power of her own, and who was now in a very vulnerable situation… counted among those who had lost a large part of their social network, and support system.
 
Sadly, our world knows a lot about this kind of scenario… powerful people who couldn’t care less about the plights of those who find themselves living on the margins.
 
But even so, we’re told that this widow does something important: she persists in pursuing justice. She keeps on petitioning the judge over and over… apparently not held back by their own seemingly powerless position… and eventually the unjust judge gives in!

Not because they care about justice, or the widow’s case… but just so that she’ll leave him alone. It’s purely an act of self interest for him. But for the widow, it’s a real win.
 
Against all odds, her persistence and perseverance pays off, and her cries for justice were finally answered. Case closed. And we can safely move on, knowing that all we need to do to get what we want is to not give up… right?
 
Well, that’s not really what St. Luke tells us this parable is about. It’s not about you and I getting what we want. And it’s not even about the power of patience and persistence. This is a parable about learning to trust God… about our “need to pray always and not to lose heart.” (Luke 18:1).
 
In fact, were in danger of misunderstanding the whole thing if we think the point of the story is that we need to lobby God relentlessly so He will step in and do something for us… as if the only way to ensure we get His attention and concern is through pestering him. 
 
No, this parable is far more concerned with helping us come to believe that our prayers and concerns matter to God… and that we can trust Him… even when He seems to be silent… relying on Him even when we’re really tempted to lose heart.
 
And the crucial point that makes this all clear… the premise that often gets missed when we hear this story… is that the Living God is NOTHING LIKE the unjust judge! 
 
This is a story of contrasts! Of highlighting how much more trustworthy our Heavenly Father is… and inviting us to lean on His great mercy, and compassion, and justice, and holy, life-changing love… practicing persistence in prayer… in the way we engage every single day with our true Saviour King.
 
In this short story, Jesus makes the case that if persistent engagement is worthwhile even with a human judge who is completely untrustworthy… HOW MUCH MORE is it worthwhile when dealing with the Living God, who unlike so many of us really can be trusted to do what is right?
 
And this story also asks us to explore the very nature of what it means to trust… challenging some of the popular assumptions we might have, and offering us another way forward.  
 
First of all, it shows us that trust… that faith is not abdication… just sitting back and doing nothing, while hoping it will all work out. The widow certainly doesn’t do nothing… she keeps getting up and doing something very difficult. Her faith pushes her to take action, and not to give up just because it gets hard.
 
Second of all, this parable can help us to see that trust… that faith is not meant to be a form of manipulation… some sort of influence, or magic we can make use of to make others, or the universe, or even God give us what we want just because we believe it enough… or pester Him enough. Despite his annoyance, the unjust judge is not forced into answering the widows petitions… he chooses to act in ways that are completely consistent with his own interests and character… that is, he acts out of his own selfishness and deep desire to be left alone.
 
So then, if faith and trust are not about abdication or manipulation, what are they about? What does faith look like?
It looks like a life of persistent engagement… an ongoing relationship that actively relies upon the other to be trustworthy… that is, to do what is right. It means even when things don’t go the way that we had hoped or expected… even when we’re hit hard by life’s big challenges… even when it seems like the one we’re trying to trust is not listening… we still do not give up… because we trust that despite it all they truly care about us, and that in the end, they will not let us down.
 
That’s what faith looks like. That’s what Jesus is inviting us to practice… not abdication, or manipulation, but a commitment to persistent engagement with the Living God… seeking to grow closer to Him, and to understand more and more of His holy ways… and to not give up when things get really hard, and we face times of deep discouragement… leaning on the hope we have received, and the sustaining power of His love.
 
I know that it seems like so many things are flying off the rails in our world right now. It seemed that way on Good Friday too… and yet we know that Easter Sunday came all the same. 

And the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ the Risen Lord calls us not to give up on the Living God! It invites us to trust Him to do what is right, to trust in His steadfast love right to the end. And for our part, it calls us to persistently engage with Him through prayer, and learning together to walk in the ways He has taught us. 
 
We can trust God for so many good reasons… too many to list right now. But the most important reason we can trust God is because He has already shown us His heart… His deepest desires and plans… His whole agenda for us and our world… revealing it once and for all time in the life, and death, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord.
 
In Jesus, we see that God did not come among us to be served but to serve! To restore and transform our broken lives, our broken fellowship, and our broken world.
 
And He came not to play favourites or pick sides… but seeking out and welcoming in the lost… inviting everyone to come to Him and find rest… especially all of us who are weary and heavy laden.
 
And He came, not out of selfish ambitions, but in complete self-giving love… laying down His life to spare and to save the very ones who betrayed Him, and hated Him… turning His enemies into beloved brothers and sisters, not through coercion or fear, but through the  shedding of His own blood, enduring the cross and rising again for them… for us… and for us all.
 
We can trust God persistently, engaging with Him even when it’s hard and we’re tempted to give up and lose heart because in Jesus, we have come face to face with God’s unfailing grace, and steadfast love.
 
And so, when this God who loves us and gave His life for us calls us to trust Him, and follow Him, will we?
 
When He calls us to not give up praying for, and seeking, and working towards justice, and mercy, and real reconciliation…
 
When He invites us to come to Him with all of our burdens and heavy hearts… with our frustrations and anger, and with our cries for help…

When He challenges our selfishness and calls us out for being complacent about the plight of those suffering around us… will we respond as those who believe that everything He does flows from His great love for us all?
 
A love far more powerful than any ruler or authority or movement… a love far more enduring than our deepest divisions… and far more persistent than our deepest griefs and pain… the same love that conquered death itself when Jesus our Lord rose again from the grave… and which is now able to work within us through the gift of His Holy Spirit.
 
So, like the widow in the parable: may we never give up on God and lose heart. May God’s own Spirit empower us to pray always because we trust in the Good News of Jesus Christ our Saviour King… that in Him we have come to know that the Living God truly loves us and our world, and that in the end, He really will do what is right. Amen. 

​And our Songs for this week can be found here:

Scripture Readings: Jeremiah 29:1, 4–7 | Psalm 66 | 2 Timothy 2:8–15 | ​Luke 17:11–19

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved by him, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly explaining the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15).
 
There’s lots of things that we can be grateful for today.
 
Yes, there are still many ways that our world is broken… that we need real healing, and help, and hope… for ourselves and our loved ones… and also as a whole… as the worldwide human family.
 
But all the difficulties and troubles that we face don’t need to make us forget all of the good things that we have been given, and all the wonderful blessings that we’ve received.
 
What can you and I be thankful for today?

How about the beauty of an autumn day here in New Brunswick? What about the chance to gather with friends and neighbours? Maybe even sharing a delicious meal?

What about something as simple as our next breath? The gift of another day? A moment of stillness and peace?

On that note, what about the hopeful signs this week of a ceasefire in Gaza, and at least a pause in the terrible hostilities that have turned so many lives upside down?
 
There really are many things that we can be grateful for today. But what then? What do we do with that feeling?
How do we tend to express our gratefulness?
 
Thinking about those times when someone in our lives has been really gracious with us, do we tend to take some kind of concrete action… taking time to say a heartfelt thanks… to write a card… or maybe even offer them a small gift of appreciation? Or do we tend to simply let the moment and feelings pass us by?
 
Now I have to confess that I’m not the best at expressing gratefulness. It’s not that I don’t feel thankful in the moment when people are kind and gracious to me. I really do. But I’ve noticed that I seem to struggled with how to show it more… with turning my inward experience into an outward expression of thanks… that is, with how to practice a life of gratitude… and not just settle for feeling it.
 
Maybe you’re like me in this respect, and expressing gratitude doesn’t come all that easily. And if that’s the case, then that’s great! Because God’s word has some good things to say to us this morning to help us grow even more. And in our Gospel reading today, we are all being called to consider the important role that gratefulness plays both in our faith… and in our daily lives.
 
As we heard just a few moments ago, Jesus was once approached by a group of ten lepers… begging Him from a distance to have mercy upon them… to bring them some hope, and help… and perhaps most of all, some healing.
 
Back in those days, all sorts of different skin diseases were called leprosy, but without access to the kinds of more or less precise medical diagnoses that we are accustomed to, everyone with these kinds of skin diseases went through the same treatment plan: that is, after a time of examination by a priest, if they determined that the symptoms fit the criteria, then the patient would become an outcast, unable to live near others in order to avoid spreading the illness.

Here’s what the book of Leviticus Chapter 13:45-46 says must be done when this dreaded diagnosis was made.
 “The person who has the leprous disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head be disheveled; and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean.’  He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease; he is unclean. He shall live alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp.”
 
Now I know that our medical system may not be perfect, but I think we’ve just found yet another thing to be thankful for. I mean, this made sense at that time as a way to preserve the health of the whole community in the face of an unknown illness… but I’m really glad that we have very different kinds of treatment plans these days.
 
But the instructions from Leviticus Chapter 13 about leprosy sheds some light on why Jesus sends these ten people to visit the priests, and that’s because the priests were the ones responsible for determining if someone was leprous or not. Unless a priest officially signed off on someone’s recovery, they would be considered unclean forever. And so, Jesus sends the ten lepers to go see the official experts to get their clean bill of health certified.
 
But notice the order of events here: Jesus tells the group to visit the priests before they are healed! No miracle took place before all ten of them first choose to take Jesus at His word… trusting Him and doing what He said. They only experienced His healing power on the way… once they had already put their trust into action.
 
This in itself is a remarkable story, especially as there was no known cure for leprosy. And so, when Jesus heals them, He gave them a truly life-changing gift. A chance to return to their families… and friends… to begin life again instead of facing unending days of isolation and pain. 
 
So it’s really no surprise then that they just rush ahead to see the priests, as Jesus told them to… so they could get the green light to return to their loved ones, and the lives that they had to put on hold as soon as possible.
 
Which makes it all the more amazing that one of the healed men stops before seeing the priests. He puts the return to his old life on hold for a moment, and takes the time to return to Jesus and to give thanks to God for all that He has done for him.

And it’s even more amazing when we hear that this lone one who returns is an outsider. A Samaritan, the distant and estranged relatives of the Judeans, who traced their lineage back to the Northern Ten Tribes of Israel, and who were often looked down upon by their Jewish neighbours as corrupt and heretical… completely cut off from the true traditions and teachings of God… and distanced from His holy ways. And yet, it’s only the Samaritan who actually comes back… drawing near to Jesus to give thanks.
 
At this point, we see that this is the real focus of this story: the disparity between the nine who were healed and then went on their way, and the one outsider who returned and drew near with a heart full of thanks and praise.
 
And the implications of this story seem to be that the one who returned showed signs of a depth of faith that the others did not. The other nine missed something in their miraculous healing experience that made expressing their gratitude directly to Jesus somehow less important. 
 
Now of course, they probably deeply appreciated it! It was a life changing event that they must have remembered for the rest of their lives. I mean, how could they not? And yet, they still quickly went back to their old lives… missing out on the opportunity they had just been given to express their gratitude up close and personally to God by drawing close to their Saviour, His Son.
 
And yes, all ten were healed. All ten received a new lease on life. All ten experienced God’s mercy and grace. But only the grateful Samaritan the outsider was told: “Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.” (Luke 17:19).
 
This story invites us to think about the deep connections between our faith in God and gratitude… about how the two of them are intertwined… supporting and nurturing one another.
 
It is our faith that keeps the gifts of God in focus… reminding us, again and again, of all that the Living God has done for us and our world. How in self-giving love, God sent His Son Jesus Christ to rescue us and set our broken world free, laying down His life at the cross to cleans us all from our sins, and from everything that keeps us cut off from God and one another.

When the reality of this… of our faith sinks in… when we are able to receive into our hearts and minds and lives what God has so graciously given to us… it inspires a response. It lights a fire of gratefulness inside us… a fire that can then begin to grow stronger.
 
And we can choose not to act on it… and let this positive feeling this fire slowly fade away without expressing it. Or we can choose to do something with it… to find some way to let this fire shine… to communicate our thanks, and try and embody the gratefulness that we feel… drawing us even closer to the Lord by offering Him more of our hearts and our minds and our daily lives.
 
As Christians, we believe that we have already received so much good from the hands of God! Jesus our Saviour King has already reached into our lives and brought God’s healing, and help, and hope to us in so many ways. 
 
We have received the gift of Creation itself… all the beauty and blessings that exist all around us. A world full of wonderful sights, and sounds, and sensations, and smells… and great foods to savour.

In Christ, we have received the great gift of salvation… of God’s mercy and forgiveness… and freedom from our fears and shame. And the renewed life, the reconciliation Jesus achieved for us at the cross… turning our lives around by sharing His New Life with us, once and for all. 
 
And we have received the gift of this new worldwide family of fellow believers… brothers and sisters to share all our joys and our struggles with… a family made up of all sorts of strange, and inspiring, and wonderful outsiders… learning together how to live and love God’s way, and how to share God’s love with, and lift up those around us. 
 
And last but not least, we have received the gift of God’s Holy Spirit at work inside and among us… to draw us deeper and deeper into God’s fellowship, remaking us in the image of Jesus, our great Saviour King… and equipping us to do God’s will in our world… especially when it seems the most broken and in need of His healing, help, and hope. 

What would be the best way to say thanks to God? How can we not only receive these great gifts, but respond in a way that shows that we are thankful for all God has done?
 
Well, we can start by following the example of the thankful Samaritan, and take time to intentionally draw close to Jesus, and bring our thanks directly to Him! We do this intentionally in our worship… in our words of prayer, and praise… lifting up our voices and hearts to the Lord… especially when we gather to celebrate Eucharist together around Christ’s Table in remembrance of Him.
 
But as important as our Sunday gatherings are, worship is not limited to them, or to our private times of prayer. Every day, everywhere, and in everything that we do, we can worship the Lord and express our gratitude to Him… drawing near by offering Him our hearts and minds and actions… with lives being shaped by the Good News of Jesus, and committing to walking in His good ways.
 
In our second reading today, St. Paul commends St. Timothy and those in his community not to simply go about their lives heedless of God’s grace, bickering over words… but to live as those bound by love to their Lord.
 
He tells Timothy to take his faith in Jesus Christ seriously… to explore it, to invest in understanding it, and in putting this Good News into practice. 
 
He says to him, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved by him, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly explaining the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15). And although we are not all called like Timothy to be the leader of a Christian Church (although some of us here might be!), we can all heed St. Paul’s words as a way to give thanks to God: to set aside time to regularly draw near to His Son, Jesus… alone, and with others… in order  to do our best to learn His good ways, and to diligently serve the work of His good Kingdom.
 
So then, whenever we receive something good… and whenever we notice the many blessings around us… which are even there to be found in the midst of truly difficult times… it is an invitation for us to pause… to take a moment, and to draw near to Jesus our Saviour in faith, and to offer Him again our hearts and minds and daily lives as a gift of love and thankfulness. Amen. 

​And our Songs for this week can be found here:

Scripture Readings: Habakkuk 1:1–4, 2:1–4 | Psalm 137 | 2 Timothy 1:1–14 | ​Luke 17:5–10

“Hold to the standard of sound teaching that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Guard the good treasure entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us.” (2 Timothy 1:13-14).
 
Have you ever stepped into a group conversation part way through, and thought to yourself: “What in the world are these people talking about?”
 
I’ve had my fair share of those moments. Sometimes it can lead to a good round of laughter. Other times, it leads to a much more serious conversation. But either way, if we really want to know what’s going on, we need to at least be given a sense of the rest of the conversation. Otherwise, we’ll just be left in our confusion and misinformation.
 
And so today, if after hearing our Gospel passage from Luke Chapter 17, you’re feeling a little bit confused… and unsure how we go from Christ’s disciples asking for more faith, to an image of trees being thrown into the sea, and then straight to the image of slaves dutifully waiting tables for their master… there’s a good reason for that.

It’s because our Church’s lectionary… the three year cyclical schedule that guides our Scripture readings each Sunday… has only given us the second half of a longer conversation about God’s great concern for righteousness… keeping ourselves and those around us on the right path … alongside our need… our obligation to practice forgiveness.
 
So before we go any further, let’s hear the first half of the conversation. Luke 17:1-4, “Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to anyone by whom they come!  It would be better for you if a millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea than for you to cause one of these little ones to stumble. Be on your guard! If another disciple sins, you must rebuke the offender, and if there is repentance, you must forgive. And if the same person sins against you seven times a day, and turns back to you seven times and says, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive.” 

How many of us would have been perfectly happy not to have heard the first half of this conversation? This is a pretty forceful message about truth-telling and forgiveness! Jesus is not messing around with us here. He says clearly that forgiveness is not an option for us… it’s the expectation.

There are lots of people today, even those who claim to be Christians, who find this message about forgiveness not simply challenging, (which it absolutely is!), but who reject it as completely unreasonable… impossible… and out of line with the times we’re living in.
  
Many today, including those who claim to be Christians, seem to think that forgiveness is a sign of weakness and gullibility… and that practicing it foolishly lets wrongdoers off the hook, and even risks ruining our society.
 
And people have lots of reasons why they want to reject the way of forgiveness. Many of us have been deeply hurt by others, and we understandably want to see something serious done about it in order to set things right again.
 
Others see forgiveness as an unwelcome obstacle to their preferred path of retribution and rage… which can often be channeled and stirred up in others to provide themselves with a powerful political platform. For these folks, the way forward is about seeking revenge, and the destruction of those who have sinned against us… bringing hatred to life in their hearts, and even their actions… akin to the violent imagery expressed in Psalm 137, the ancient prayer of grief and anguish that we just read together… a prayer laying bare before the LORD the depths of a people’s despair who have just had their whole world smashed to pieces.
 
Tragically, there are so many people today who have also had their whole world smashed to pieces. And the pain and anguish of all this evil and injustice is weighing so many of us down. It’s truly heartbreaking. And we do need to do something serious about it all.
 
And so, as we try to keep moving forward, a choice always lies before us about which path to follow: the path of forgiveness, or the path of vengeance.
 
There’s nothing new about this choice, and it’s what our Gospel reading today is about: Christ’s challenging call to reject the path of vengeance, and instead to follow Him in seeking both truth and forgiveness.
 
“Be on your guard!” Jesus says to us, “If another disciple sins, you must rebuke the offender, and if there is repentance, you must forgive. And if the same person sins against you seven times a day, and turns back to you seven times and says, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive.”
 
Christ’s people are called to be a community of forgiveness. Able to both call each other out when we mess up, but just as importantly, to extend real forgiveness again and again. It’s not a vision of ideal, perfect people looking down on those around them. It’s a vision of flawed and broken people learning together how to stay together! How to move forward towards righteousness, and justice, and beauty, and truth… even when we fail each other… learning both how to be accountable, and how to be merciful.
 
But Jesus’ teachings on forgiveness is by no means weak or lenient. It’s incredibly challenging! Which is why His first disciples thought it was well beyond their own abilities, crying out in response: ‘Give us more faith!’ In other words, ‘we don’t believe we can actually do this!’
 
Is that how we feel this morning? If so, we’re in good company. And thankfully, our Lord has some words for us.
In response to the disciples’ request for more faith, Jesus tells them that it’s not about the amount of faith we have… even a tiny amount, the size of a mustard seed would be enough. What we need more of is a willingness to use the faith we have! To choose to trust God’s ways and walk in them… to obey Him… to do what is necessary for the sake of God’s Kingdom, and God’s world!
 
A little faith, when put into practice, can have monumental results… because it’s God Himself who works in and through us to do what is impossible for us on our own. We don’t need more faith in ourselves… we need to trust in Jesus, and do what He says.
 
This is what the whole image of slaves hard at work is about. Once again, slavery was a common practice across the ancient world, and Jesus draws upon it as a familiar image, not to approve of it as a practice, but to illustrate a point about people simply doing what is expected of them.
 
In short, Jesus tells His disciples, back then and today, that there is nothing exceptional about having to practice forgiveness. As a follower of Christ, it’s simply what is expected of us, even if it’s very hard. After a long day of work, an ancient slave would still be required to serve their master, and not expect any special thanks or recognition as a result. And in the same way, even though the way of forgiveness is hard work, and it will at times challenge us to our core… it’s not an option we get to avoid. It’s the only option for us. Or in Christ’s words, it’s simply ‘what we ought to have done.’
 
Forgiveness is so essential to what God’s Kingdom is about, and what God’s up to in our world, that if we think we can still follow Him without practicing it as a given, we’re completely out to lunch. It really is foundational for the people of God. And so, may our prayer request be: ‘Lord, help us to trust You, and help us live out our faith by following Your holy ways!’
 
But if we just stop there, we’re missing something essential about the whole message of forgiveness. Alongside of forgiveness, there is the real need to seek and speak the truth.
 
Jesus commands us not just to forgive, but to let others know when they have wronged us. Not out of a desire to get even or condemn them, but to help both them and us… to acknowledge the sad truth that something has been broken that now needs to be repaired and put back together… inviting those who have wronged us to turn around and help set things right.
 
This too takes courage, but telling the truth about what has been done to us opens up new possibilities for healing, and restoration. When forgiveness is partnered with truth, it’s not about ignoring or enabling evil at work in our world. It’s the only way to overcome it. 
 
This past Tuesday, we Canadians marked the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, solemnly acknowledging the many harms done against our First Nations, Metis, and Innuit neighbours, often in the name of God… and committing to turning around, making amends, and seeking to move forward together with humility and respect.
 
This journey of repentance, healing, and restoration is far from over. Like in all of our relationships, once trust and fellowship are broken, they take time and effort in order to mend. It is challenging work, but there are no alternatives if we are to move forward together.
 
And before Canada began this journey of Truth and Reconciliation, other nations around the world had been hard at work paving the way for us. The South African Anglican Archbishop, Desmond Tutu, was a key figure in his own country’s process of Truth and Reconciliation, seeking to help bring about healing and peace after the oppression and evils of apartheid came to an end. He had this to say in an article from 2004 called Truth and Reconciliation:
 
“Forgiving and being reconciled to our enemies or our loved ones are not about pretending that things are other than they are. It is not about patting one another on the back and turning a blind eye to the wrong. True reconciliation exposes the awfulness, the abuse, the pain, the hurt, the truth. It could even sometimes make things worse. It is a risky undertaking, but in the end it is worthwhile, because in the end only an honest confrontation with reality can bring real healing. Superficial reconciliation can bring only superficial healing.” 

He goes on to say, “…retribution wounds and divides us from one another. Only restoration can heal us and make us whole. And only forgiveness enables us to restore trust and compassion to our relationships. If peace is our goal, there can be no future without forgiveness.”[1]
 
I highly recommend reading the whole article, which you can find online for free. In it, he touches on lots of important aspects of forgiveness that we will not be able to cover together this morning, and he does so taking very seriously both the evil still at work in our world, and the hope that Christ Jesus offers us for healing and a way forward.
 
Jesus Christ our Lord not only commands us to forgive, He chose to forgive us, and to take on everything that goes with it. He refused to ignore the evil at work in and through us all, but instead of seeking our condemnation and destruction, He bore our sins and failures on His own shoulders… and shed His blood for our forgiveness at the cross… and opened up the way for our restoration through His death and resurrection.
 
And when we see Jesus at the cross, we know for sure that it was not easy for Him to forgive! And yet, He still chose to forgive us out of love… love for us all, and for His Heavenly Father… embodying God’s own heart as the true and faithful Son. 
 
The cross exposes the truth of our sin for all to see. It reminds us, that despite all the posturing and finger pointing going on, there is none righteous… no not one. But at the same time, the cross reveals the Living God’s holy love for sinners like us. This love and the forgiveness that springs from it are central to our faith as Christians. And what we have received from Jesus Christ our Lord, we are now called to give. 
 
For Christians today, expected as we are to walk in Christ’s holy ways… forgiveness is not an option. It is the foundation of our life, and the only way forward for our whole world. If we say that we believe in Jesus, one key way to show it is to keep moving towards forgiveness… trusting that the One to whom all hearts are open, all desires are known, and from whom no secrets are hid...  will do what is right to put our world back together in justice, mercy, and truth… and that He is capable of cleansing all of our hearts to make room for His perfect love.
 
With all this in mind, I’ll close now with the same words from St. Paul that I read to begin this sermon: “Hold to the standard of sound teaching that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Guard the good treasure entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us.” Amen.


[1] Desmond Tutu, Forgiveness (Online Article found here: https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/truth_and_reconciliation).