Scripture/Sermon of the Day.  October 9, 2022

Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7

The prophet Jeremiah sent a letter from Jerusalem to the few surviving elders among the exiles, to the priests and the prophets, and to all the people Nebuchadnezzar had taken to Babylon from Jerusalem.
4 The Lord of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims to all the exiles I have carried off from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 Build houses and settle down; cultivate gardens and eat what they produce. 6 Get married and have children; then help your sons find wives and your daughters find husbands in order that they too may have children. Increase in number there so that you don’t dwindle away. 7 Promote the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because your future depends on its welfare.

Luke 17:11-19

11-13 It happened that as he made his way toward Jerusalem, he crossed over the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten men, all lepers, met him. They kept their distance but raised their voices, calling out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”
14-16 Taking a good look at them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.”
They went, and while still on their way, became clean. One of them, when he realized that he was healed, turned around and came back, shouting his gratitude, glorifying God. He kneeled at Jesus’ feet, so grateful. He couldn’t thank him enough—and he was a Samaritan.
17-19 Jesus said, “Were not ten healed? Where are the nine? Can none be found to come back and give glory to God except this outsider?” Then he said to him, “Get up. On your way. Your faith has healed and saved you.”

Reflection/Sermon:
I.      A number of years ago — before March 2020, we met here on Wednesday nights for Bible Study.  Maybe the last book we studied was 1st Kings — did we start the 2nd Kings?

II.     First Kings started with King David old and dying.  There was a battle for succession between two of his sons, Adonijah and Solomon.  Solomon killed Adonijah and many of his supporters and became king.  God and the religious leaders — even God’s prophet, Nathan — were involved in this intrigue.

III.    All of the Books of the Prophets in the Bible occur during the reigns of the kings of Israel and Judah.  God used the prophets to try to keep the kings in line, but usually it didn’t work and the kings followed the devil.  Finally, God said, “Enough!” and used Babylon to defeat them and force the people into exile.

IV.     Jeremiah was the prophet of Judah then, from 627 BC until 586 BC.  He warned Judah to follow God and especially to take care of poor people, whether they were Jewish or foreign.  People didn’t listen so Jeremiah said God would use Babylon to defeat them and force everyone to leave Judah and live in Babylon.  The Babylonians destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem which Solomon built.  Some of the leaders of Judah told the people not to cooperate with the Babylonians, not to intermarry with them, not to eat their food or participate in any way with their culture and society.

V.      But Jeremiah told the people not to listen to those leaders who wanted to keep the people divided.  He said it was God’s will for people to participate in Babylonian society, become friends with the “foreigners” and even marry them.
“Promote the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because your future depends on its welfare.”

VI.     The Bible teaches us that we can’t separate politics and religion.  Sometimes the leaders listen to God, and usually they don’t.  In our reading today, we can see that God wills for people to work together, though they may be different.  God wills unity among people, not division; harmony and not violence.
Our well-being is tied to the well-being of others with whom we share this world.  Pray for everyone, said Jeremiah.  And be grateful, Jesus would say.  To say “thank you” in all situations is an act of faith.