Sermon - 2013-10-13

Have you ever noticed that small words can have a big impact upon a person’s life? Some of these words that Jesus shares with others are: “You are loved.  You are healed, your faith has made you well.”  These are some of the words that Jesus speaks within people’s lives that change their life.  

Think about it when a person says that you are healed, they are freeing you from the ailment and struggles that have been holding you back within your life. When a person says that You are loved, they are saying that they approve of all that you are, all that you are going to be, and they want to share life with you.  They want you to know you are treasured.  Above all, when a person reminds another person that their faith has made them well, we are reminded that it is the work of God that has truly done the work that you could not do.  

These words are spoken to you when you least expect it. When they are spoken to you, you can truly believe them and don’t have to wonder if they are actually true.  For the truth is, that they are true and they carry a meaning that surprises you.  It is your duty to understand the whole meaning of these words.   For only by understanding the full meaning of these words, can you realize the full impact they have upon your very life. When they are spoken directly to you, you realize just how great an impact upon your life these words are.

When I was a kid growing up, my mother would always remind me of three words that were important.  Please and Thank You.  It was good manners to share these words with others.  Yet the meanings of these words took me years to realize and understand.  Please reminds us that the things we are asking for are gifts.  They are things that we need to have or would like to have.  It is a request in hopes that we may receive it.  Thank you is an acknowledgement.  You are glad to receive this, and this gift is treasured.  A relationship is formed in which one gives and one receives, but also that each in this relationship needs the other.

Perhaps it is when we actually experience this within our life, that we should really be thinking about how this applies.  When I was young and at church, there was a woman who would only make it a few pews into the church.  Each week should would make sure that she brought her grandchildren with her.  However, she was different.  She was someone who had scars on the right side of her face, she walked with a limp and could not use her right hand.  As I was leaving worship one Sunday, I asked my mom, what’s wrong with that lady?   “What’s wrong with that lady?” my young self could not figure out a better way of asking the question. My mom shared with me the story.  This woman and her husband had their son, his wife and her two grandchildren living with them. One night there was a fire within the home and it started within the room of the son and his wife.  The house filled with smoke and soon the smoke detectors went off.  Her husband went to break out the window and when he turned around, his wife was not with him.  He went out the window.  She had gone into the room where her grandchildren were sleeping and now crying for help.  Her husband had realized this and broke the window from the outside.  She handed out the grandchildren through the window.  After passing out the second grandchild, a beam from the roof broke through the ceiling and hit her on her right side.  Breaking her arm and leg and with heat of the fire, burned her with scars that would mark her for the rest of her life.  Her son and his wife died within the fire.  Everyday she bore of the scars of her love for her grandchildren but when they looked upon their grandma, they saw someone who loved them so much that she would be there with them no matter what.  As others spoke about her and would stare, they would love her and be glad that they were able to share time together.  

We often need to stop and hear the full meaning so that we can understand and appreciate all that we have within our life. Jesus is that outside person who helps us understand and reexamine our life.  So we do not continue to harm others. So we stop and actually care for them, call them, and make them sisters and brothers within our own life. Now please understand, I am not talking about the fighting, the arguing, or the sibling rivalry that we may remember with sisters and brothers.   The fact is that we should care for a person regardless of what they have done. That is grace., That is mercy.  That truly is forgiveness. Is not that what we are given from God.  

We experience these words and concepts within our life everyday. Like the lepers, only a few of us realize it.  Today, I ask that you stop and remember the moments in your life, where you have experienced these moments and realize how they are impacting your life.  Not only realize them, but how you can share those same moments with others within your life. It feels as if we do not hear and experience these words enough within our lives.  So we often need to be reminded of these great words and their impact upon our life.  May you never forget the promise and Word of God that is shared everyday.