Sermon - 2013-08-25 - Final Sermon Norman Davenport

Isaiah 58:9b-14

9Then 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, 10if 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. 11The 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. 12Your 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.

13If you refrain from trampling the sabbath, from pursuing your own interests on my holy day; if you call the sabbath a delight and the holy day of the Lord honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, serving your own interests, or pursuing your own affairs; 14then you shall take delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride upon the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of your ancestor Jacob, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

Psalm 103

1Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name.

2Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits—

3who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases,

4who redeems your life from the Pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,

5who satisfies you with good as long as you live so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

6The Lord works vindication and justice for all who are oppressed.

7He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel.

8The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

Hebrews 12:18-29;

18You have not come to something that can be touched, a blazing fire, and darkness, and gloom, and a tempest, 19and the sound of a trumpet, and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that not another word be spoken to them. 20(For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even an animal touches the mountain, it shall be stoned to death.” 21Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.”) 22But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, 23and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. 25See that you do not refuse the one who is speaking; for if they did not escape when they refused the one who warned them on earth, how much less will we escape if we reject the one who warns from heaven! 26At that time his voice shook the earth; but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heaven.” 27This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of what is shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain. 28Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us give thanks, by which we offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe; 29for indeed our God is a consuming fire.

Luke 13:10-17

10Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. 11And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. 12When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Woman, you are set free from your ailment.” 13When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. 14But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, “There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day.” 15But the Lord answered him and said, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? 16And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?” 17When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing.

Today’s Gospel is not an easy one.  When you spend time dwelling in that word of this account of Jesus’ ministry.  Several questions can come to mind.  Why did God allow the evil spirit to enter into the woman in the first place?  Why didn’t someone help her?  Or after eighteen years, how amazing is her faith in God that she still came to God at the Temple?  Week in and week out, she came to pray, to worship, bearing this evil spirit.  Sometimes waking up and showing up is all you can do.  The woman could have easily given up hope and perhaps she had.  Perhaps she had assumed that God’s answer to her prayer was no.  That for the rest of her days she would be hunched over and crippled. But still she would not abandon God.  For God was the reason that she was able to enjoy the new day, and so she gave thanks for what God had given to her and did not focus on what God had not given to her.  Yet the gift that Jesus gave to this woman was one that she had been wanting for a long time.  

It is also a reminder for each and every one of us.  The church is not a place for perfect people or people who have it all together.  The church is a place where we experience God and wrestle with the tough questions. It is a place where you are welcome to share your voice, share in the gospel and hear of God’s mercy and grace.  The church is where you hear God speaking to you through the Bible, hymns and prayers.  If you come to Norman and Davenport, my sense would be that you have had someone invite you, or drag you kicking and screaming, but you have heard God’s love, God’s mercy, and God sending you back into the world to share the Gospel that you have heard here. That you not only grew up Lutheran, but have enjoyed the teachings and understandings that made you love Christ and thus live a Godly life.  

Yet as you may have noticed, life is not easy.  There are times that you can not predict what will happen, there are things that you wish would never happen, and other times that you simply need strength to get through the day.  Yet this is precisely how many of us receive our faith.  Your faith is a gift, not one that you must open up or even show up to receive, but it is given to you.  Even without your asking. One day when you least expect it, God gives you the greatest gift.  One that you have been asking for all of your life. No I am not talking about riches, wealth, or anything else that we value in this world but faith and peace knowing that God is with you, God is caring for you and You are God’s very own.  

It is here that we find ourselves today. Searching for God within the world, seeking healing, understanding and even comfort.  God brings to us even more than we have asked for.  Though we ask for simple things like more money, more time and more energy to get more things done.  We should also stop and think of all the ways that God has already blessed us.  

Since this is my final sermon to share with you today, I did stop and think of all the ways that God has blessed us. How God has brought us together.  The Sunday mornings, Confirmation, weddings, funerals, potlucks, and Baptisms. And one last time, I will remind you of the solid foundation that God has claimed you as God’s very own and also given you the gift of salvation. Nothing that you have done, but purely what God has done for you.  In your Baptism, God called and gathered you.  It was here within the water and God’s Word that this miraculous gift was bestowed upon you.  And so you would see and know to the very extent that God was willing to go for you.  The love that God held for you, God sent his son, Jesus Christ to be placed upon the cross and die.  Yes, God is willing to go to hell and back for you.  But then God cleanses you, gives you new and sends you back to enjoy the rich blessings that God has bestowed upon you.  Yet I wonder, do you realize it?  Do you stop to think about them? Do share them with others? To what extent are you willing to go for God?  For the final words that Jesus gave to his disciples was to: “Go, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”  That gift has been given to you, it is time to share that gift with others.  

May the love and peace that surpasses all understanding, bless you now and forever. May God lead you and guide you in all that you do. Amen.