Thanks bring freedom
The work of Martin Luther King has always interested me and on holiday one year we had the chance to visit the very spot from where he delivered his famous ‘I have a dream’ speech. I’m not about to talk at length about my holiday or even threaten to show you some of the many photos but I do want to think this morning about that speech.
The speech revolves around the dream of a better, more equal, more just society – in the speech Martin Luther King speaks about the dreams he has for a better time – time and time again he repeats the words ‘I have a dream’ – 9 times in total. But he also uses another phrase the same number of times – ‘let freedom ring…’
And as we think about the gospel reading we have heard this morning (Luke 17:11-19) I think we have an example of freedom for some but not for others…. In the reading 10 lepers were healed by Jesus – 9 went on their way presumably rejoicing at their new found health, but one turned back praising God – the others may have been healed but it was this one that was told ‘your faith has made you well’.
I think Martin Luther King’s famous speech should be known as the ‘Let Freedom Ring’ speech rather than ‘I have a dream’ because ‘I have a dream’ speaks of the distant future whereas ‘let freedom ring’ calls for a time when those dreams are met, a time when there is no need to dream any more.
These lepers in the gospel reading must all have dreamed of getting better – although they probably believed they never would. Healing was a distant dream but now they had met the healer in the form of Jesus…
But sent on their way which of them I wonder found true freedom – which one of them could stand and say that they had found freedom – which one no longer needed to dream… it is the one who recognised where the healing came from – the one who turned back and praised God, the one who allowed his whole life to be transformed…
For the 9 others their lives would be different without doubt. Their lives may well be better. But they had not found freedom because they had not recognised where their healing came from… ‘Let Freedom Ring’ is a cry that is meant to be shouted. It is a cry that speaks of a huge transformation, but a cry that recognises freedom has won a huge victory.
In failing to recognise the source of their healing though, these former lepers were going back to their old lives without being transformed by the miracle of healing. They had failed to find freedom from all that separated them from God because they had failed to approach him…
The only one that found freedom and significantly the only one that Jesus said had been made ‘well’ was the one who came back to him – the Samaritan who fell at his feet. His life would never be the same because he had allowed God to change him inside as well as outside.
And in the Eucharist service there are some parallels to this story as well. Every time we enter a Eucharist service we are doing something incredibly special. Different people have different views over exactly what happens in the service, but for this discussion that doesn’t matter – it is special because we remember in our time together what Jesus has done for us – we remember the body ripped apart, the blood seeping from the wounds – and we remember the words of love spoken by Jesus on the cross for those who put him there – Father forgive them for they know not what they do.
And those words are for us all – in the Eucharist service we are asking God to continually transform us from the inside out – we are asking God to forgive us, to cleanse us from all that is wrong in our lives and to empower us to go out and live as he wants us to live…
But we, like those 10 lepers are faced with choices… Like the 9 lepers we can join in the Eucharist service, accept the gifts we are given in the form of bread and wine, even accept the fact that Jesus sacrificed so much for us, but then go out and live without truly thanking Him because it makes little difference in our lives…
Or we can be like the 1 leper who came back – the one who praised God and fell at the feet of Jesus… I’m not suggesting that we literally fall down at the feet of Jesus, because it may take some of us a while to get back up, but we can go out from here praising God, and recognising that what has happened here is not just something we do on a regular basis but something that is truly life changing for us…
The word Eucharist literally means Thanksgiving – and that is what we are called to do… we are called to be like the 1 former leper who would never again forget the gift he had received and who would never again forget from whom he received it…
Like the 9 former lepers we can go out from here trusting in our own strength, trusting that God has given us enough to ‘get by’ by ourselves… and we will probably be fine – but to know true freedom, to know that God has transformed us and is continuing to do so whenever we allow him to, we need to be like the 1 former leper who knew that his own strength would never be enough to provide him with perfect freedom – he would only find that by falling at the feet of Jesus – it was when he did that that he was told ‘Your faith has made you well’.
Martin Luther King spoke about his dream – and he spoke of the future… but then he spoke of Freedom and he spoke of a time when people would know the peace in their lives that is the wish of God for all people…
I don’t think Jesus wants us to speak of a dream where we will know peace and hope and love and joy somewhere in the future; he wants us to know the freedom that those things bring to us here and now…
We all have the choice – to be dreamers living for something in the future, perhaps walking out of here as if nothing is different, just like the 9 former lepers who went away without saying thank you… or we can taste and know freedom by praising God, thanking him for all his gifts and above all, his love, falling at his feet, and being told ‘get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well,’ or as we will say at the end of the Eucharist service, ‘Go in peace to love and serve the Lord – in the name of Christ’
A story to finish ! The Scottish minister Alexander Whyte was known for his uplifting prayers in the pulpit. He always found something for which to be grateful. One Sunday morning the weather was so gloomy that one church member thought to himself, "Certainly the preacher won't think of anything for which to thank the Lord on a wretched day like this." Much to his surprise, however, Whyte began by praying, "We thank Thee, O God, that it is not always like this."
May we be people known for our gratitude to God, living with the freedom and peace he wants for us. AMEN
The speech revolves around the dream of a better, more equal, more just society – in the speech Martin Luther King speaks about the dreams he has for a better time – time and time again he repeats the words ‘I have a dream’ – 9 times in total. But he also uses another phrase the same number of times – ‘let freedom ring…’
And as we think about the gospel reading we have heard this morning (Luke 17:11-19) I think we have an example of freedom for some but not for others…. In the reading 10 lepers were healed by Jesus – 9 went on their way presumably rejoicing at their new found health, but one turned back praising God – the others may have been healed but it was this one that was told ‘your faith has made you well’.
I think Martin Luther King’s famous speech should be known as the ‘Let Freedom Ring’ speech rather than ‘I have a dream’ because ‘I have a dream’ speaks of the distant future whereas ‘let freedom ring’ calls for a time when those dreams are met, a time when there is no need to dream any more.
These lepers in the gospel reading must all have dreamed of getting better – although they probably believed they never would. Healing was a distant dream but now they had met the healer in the form of Jesus…
But sent on their way which of them I wonder found true freedom – which one of them could stand and say that they had found freedom – which one no longer needed to dream… it is the one who recognised where the healing came from – the one who turned back and praised God, the one who allowed his whole life to be transformed…
For the 9 others their lives would be different without doubt. Their lives may well be better. But they had not found freedom because they had not recognised where their healing came from… ‘Let Freedom Ring’ is a cry that is meant to be shouted. It is a cry that speaks of a huge transformation, but a cry that recognises freedom has won a huge victory.
In failing to recognise the source of their healing though, these former lepers were going back to their old lives without being transformed by the miracle of healing. They had failed to find freedom from all that separated them from God because they had failed to approach him…
The only one that found freedom and significantly the only one that Jesus said had been made ‘well’ was the one who came back to him – the Samaritan who fell at his feet. His life would never be the same because he had allowed God to change him inside as well as outside.
And in the Eucharist service there are some parallels to this story as well. Every time we enter a Eucharist service we are doing something incredibly special. Different people have different views over exactly what happens in the service, but for this discussion that doesn’t matter – it is special because we remember in our time together what Jesus has done for us – we remember the body ripped apart, the blood seeping from the wounds – and we remember the words of love spoken by Jesus on the cross for those who put him there – Father forgive them for they know not what they do.
And those words are for us all – in the Eucharist service we are asking God to continually transform us from the inside out – we are asking God to forgive us, to cleanse us from all that is wrong in our lives and to empower us to go out and live as he wants us to live…
But we, like those 10 lepers are faced with choices… Like the 9 lepers we can join in the Eucharist service, accept the gifts we are given in the form of bread and wine, even accept the fact that Jesus sacrificed so much for us, but then go out and live without truly thanking Him because it makes little difference in our lives…
Or we can be like the 1 leper who came back – the one who praised God and fell at the feet of Jesus… I’m not suggesting that we literally fall down at the feet of Jesus, because it may take some of us a while to get back up, but we can go out from here praising God, and recognising that what has happened here is not just something we do on a regular basis but something that is truly life changing for us…
The word Eucharist literally means Thanksgiving – and that is what we are called to do… we are called to be like the 1 former leper who would never again forget the gift he had received and who would never again forget from whom he received it…
Like the 9 former lepers we can go out from here trusting in our own strength, trusting that God has given us enough to ‘get by’ by ourselves… and we will probably be fine – but to know true freedom, to know that God has transformed us and is continuing to do so whenever we allow him to, we need to be like the 1 former leper who knew that his own strength would never be enough to provide him with perfect freedom – he would only find that by falling at the feet of Jesus – it was when he did that that he was told ‘Your faith has made you well’.
Martin Luther King spoke about his dream – and he spoke of the future… but then he spoke of Freedom and he spoke of a time when people would know the peace in their lives that is the wish of God for all people…
I don’t think Jesus wants us to speak of a dream where we will know peace and hope and love and joy somewhere in the future; he wants us to know the freedom that those things bring to us here and now…
We all have the choice – to be dreamers living for something in the future, perhaps walking out of here as if nothing is different, just like the 9 former lepers who went away without saying thank you… or we can taste and know freedom by praising God, thanking him for all his gifts and above all, his love, falling at his feet, and being told ‘get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well,’ or as we will say at the end of the Eucharist service, ‘Go in peace to love and serve the Lord – in the name of Christ’
A story to finish ! The Scottish minister Alexander Whyte was known for his uplifting prayers in the pulpit. He always found something for which to be grateful. One Sunday morning the weather was so gloomy that one church member thought to himself, "Certainly the preacher won't think of anything for which to thank the Lord on a wretched day like this." Much to his surprise, however, Whyte began by praying, "We thank Thee, O God, that it is not always like this."
May we be people known for our gratitude to God, living with the freedom and peace he wants for us. AMEN
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