This sermon was preached at Glenwood and Canoe Ridge Lutheran Churches, Decorah, Iowa, on November 18, 2018. It’s based on Isaiah 58:6-12, Psalm 65, 2 Corinthians 9:6-15 and Luke 17:11-19. These texts were chosen as part of our Thankoffering worship service today, a service in which we collect a special offering to express our gratitude to God for the blessings in our lives and to support the work of Women of the ELCA. If you’d prefer to listen to this sermon, find it at https://soundcloud.com/stacey-nalean-carlson.
Isaiah 58:6-12
6 Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? 7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin? 8 Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; your vindicator shall go before you, the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. 9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am. If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil, 10 if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday. 11 The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail. 12 Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in.
Psalm: Psalm 65
Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion; and to you shall vows be performed, 2O you who answer prayer! To you all flesh shall come. 3 When deeds of iniquity overwhelm us, you forgive our transgressions. 4 Happy are those whom you choose and bring near to live in your courts. We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, your holy temple. 5 By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance, O God of our salvation; you are the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas. 6 By your strength you established the mountains; you are girded with might. 7 You silence the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples. 8 Those who live at earth’s farthest bounds are awed by your signs; you make the gateways of the morning and the evening shout for joy. 9 You visit the earth and water it,you greatly enrich it;the river of God is full of water; you provide the people with grain, for so you have prepared it. 10 You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth. 11 You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with richness. 12 The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy, 13 the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy.
Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 9:6-15
6 The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work. 9 As it is written, “He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.” 10 He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be enriched in every way for your great generosity, which will produce thanksgiving to God through us; 12 for the rendering of this ministry not only supplies the needs of the saints but also overflows with many thanksgivings to God. 13 Through the testing of this ministry you glorify God by your obedience to the confession of the gospel of Christ and by the generosity of your sharing with them and with all others, 14 while they long for you and pray for you because of the surpassing grace of God that he has given you. 15 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!
Gospel Reading: Luke 17:11-19
11On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. 12As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, 13they called out, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” 14When he saw them, he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were made clean. 15Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. 16He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. 17Then Jesus asked, “Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? 18Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19Then he said to him, “Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.”
You shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in.
I have a vivid memory—after the 2016 election—of listening to Carrie Newcomer’s song, Sanctuary1, with new ears. In a state of true believers, on streets called us and them, it’s gonna take some time ‘til the world feels safe again. Our country felt divided in a way I had never before experienced. Now, in the wake of another election, that division seems just as prominent, though perhaps I’ve become a bit numb to just how sharp the lines are between us and them.
Imagine what it would mean—how it would feel—what it would look like—for God to say to us, You shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in. Through you, these divisions will be mended, and your streets will no longer be called us and them. Through you, the world will feel safe again.
I can hardly imagine. Can you?
This portion of Isaiah was directed to a people struggling to rebuild their lives, their nation, following a time of complete devastation. One commentator describes the scene this way: Leadership within the community was contested. Divisions and violent quarreling hindered progress in both physical and social restoration.2
Into this scene, God presents a way forward: share your bread with the hungry, don’t hide yourself from your own kin, stop pointing your fingers and speaking evil of one another; satisfy the needs of the afflicted. Then, your light will rise. Then, God will make you strong. Then, you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in.
If this is true, then perhaps the inverse is also true. Don’t share your bread with the hungry, hide yourselves from your own kin, keep on pointing your fingers and speaking evil of one another, forget about the needs of the afflicted, and you will remain in disrepair—divided, wounded, violent, weak. Your streets will continue to be called us and them.
It seems like it must be easier said than done. Because if it were only a matter of will, if it were only a matter of knowing the way forward and then just doing it, we would do it, right? We would hear God’s word and take it to heart. We want to be the restorers of streets to live in, don’t we?
What prevents us from answering God’s call?
Isaiah paints a portrait of a people who seek God, but cannot see God. Look, God says, you serve your own interest and oppress all your workers. Look, God says, you fast only to quarrel and to fight. Look! But they can’t see. Their sins have hidden God’s face from them. They’ve turned away from following their God. We wait for justice, they say, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far from us. For our transgressions before you are many, and our sins testify against us (Isaiah 58:3-4, 59:2, 11-12).
Enter the witness of the psalmist: When deeds of iniquity overwhelm us, O God, you forgive our transgressions. God does not leave us to bear the burden of our sin alone, to be convicted by the testimony of our failings and our faults. The Word of God draws near, and in response to our pleas for mercy, brings healing with a word.
Like the ten lepers in that village between Samaria and Galilee, we are healed, cleansed, forgiven, freed by Jesus. Will we give praise to God? Will we be not only healed, but made well? Will our faith, marked by gratitude, impact our lives? Our community? Our nation? Our world?
By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance, O God of our salvation; you are the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas.
You, O God, silence the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples. What looks as though it can’t be redeemed, can’t be solved, can’t be corrected, can’t be healed…what looks like impossible, is possible with you, O God of our salvation.
Use us, your grateful people, to restore our streets, to mend the divisions that destroy us, to make the world feel safe again.
Use us, your grateful people, to testify to your power and mercy, your compassion, your heart for your beloved creation.
Let our light rise. Make us strong. Help us to rename our streets—not us and them—but yours. Yours, O God. There is no us and them, only all the world held in your loving embrace, all the ends of the earth and the farthest seas finding their hope in you.
Settle our ridges of fear and distrust. Soften us with showers of grace. Bless our growth in empathy and generosity. Make us repairers of the breach, restorers of streets to live in. Amen.
1 Listen to Sanctuary here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjOioWTVAl4
2 Read Brian Jones’ commentary on Isaiah here: https://www.workingpreacher.org.