God is so good!
Commentary
"God is so good, God is so good, God is so good, God's so good to me." So go the words to a popular praise song and one of my favorites. In fact, I often find myself beginning each day singing it. It is a way of reminding me of the tremendous blessings God has poured into my life, my need to be thankful, and also to be generous in my sharing of the blessings God has given me with those in need.
I have been blessed to have many wonderful teachers in my life. My first one, in Sunday school, taught me lessons I will never forget. One of them is always to be thankful to God. She said that each day she picks one of her blessings and all day whenever she thinks about it she says a prayer of thanks to God for that blessing. That is a practice I, too, have tried to continue, and it has helped me to realize constantly just how good God is to me.
I don't know about others, but one thing I try to do, especially when preparing for worship on Sunday morning, is sit quietly and just count my blessings. I find that nothing places me in a better mood or frame of mind to worship than that -- naming God's blessings, remembering God's goodness.
Our readings today could easily be under the title of "God Is So Good." In Deuteronomy 8:7-18, Moses reminds the people to sing that same song each day, so that they might stay thankful to God. The reading from 2 Corinthians 9 is Paul's teachings about being generous because God has been so generous to us, and that in such giving, we receive blessings. In the gospel reading from Luke 17 about the 10 lepers, we see the one who returned to give thanks as a model for us of gratitude for all God has done for us.
Deuteronomy 8:7-18
A friend of mine told me that before he left for college, his parents sat down and told him, "Remember who you are." That could be a good title for the Book of Deuteronomy, for in it, Moses, trying to prepare the people for the new land and life ahead of them, in essence says, "Remember who you are and whose you are." Today's passage continues that very theme.
Verses 7-18 should really be seen in light of verses 1-6. There Moses reminds the people of Israel of the wilderness wanderings they have just endured. It was a time of testing, of want and need. Yet, God provided for them all they needed (see Exodus 12:37--17:16). Moses sees this time as a kind of disciplining, like that of a parent and child. The lessons were that God could be trusted and that they needed to depend on God. They were taught that God was faithful, whether or not they kept faith with him and whether or not they observed his commandments. Moses doesn't say it here, but the wilderness period was largely a time of faithlessness on the people's part. In fact, they were wandering because of their disobedience. We know the rest of the story -- that their sojourn in the Promised Land, in spite of all Moses tells them here, is often also one of disobedience and unfaithfulness.
Now, in verses 7-18, Moses tells them they will face another time of testing. But unlike the time in the wilderness when the issue was a lack of food and water (which God provided), the coming test would be one of abundance, of blessings. The test simply was, "Will you continue to trust in and obey God, giving God thanks and credit, or will you grow haughty and proud, as if you were the sole reasons for your blessings?" Moses raises the theme here that times of plenty and blessings are as much a test as are times of famine and scarcity.
Verses 7-10 describe some of the blessings that await the people in the Promised Land. Moses seems to be describing paradise. Indeed, it was paradise compared to where they had been. What he chooses to mention first are the simple, everyday blessings -- land that is fruitful, plenty of water, good crops, ample materials for making tools and all the people needed, bread always on the table. For them, this must have sounded too good to be true. These things had never been in abundance for the generations that had grown up in the wilderness. They would now be able to plant wheat, barley, vineyards, and be assured of a variety of food (not just manna and quails). Yes, they will have to earn them by the sweat of their brows, but these things are actually the gifts of a loving God.
As I write this, we are in the midst of a serious drought in many places in America. That has caused many of us to think about and give thanks more for this simple, yet profound, gift of water that God so graciously gives. For we, like these ancient Hebrews, are every bit as dependant still on God's goodness.
In verses 11-18, Moses warns his people to make sure in the midst of their prosperity to keep on loving, serving, and giving thanks to God; for there are dangers in being prosperous. Moses plainly tells them that they are going to become so prosperous that they have land and food and all they need. The danger is that they will forget God, that they will, in fact, begin to believe that they have earned these things, that they are not the gifts of a good God to them. In fact, Moses once again reminds them of them of all God has done for them, of the tough times God had seen them through. It's only because God did that and kept his promises made long ago to Abraham that they will be enjoying such prosperity. Far from causing them to stand in haughty pride, their blessings should keep them on their knees in praise and thanksgiving.
2 Corinthians 9:6-15
In Paul's letter to the Galatians (2:6-10) we read of how the leaders in Jerusalem recognized and blessed the ministry of Paul and Barnabas to the Gentiles, but they asked that Paul, in his work among the Gentiles, remember the poor there in Jerusalem. Paul latched onto this idea and put much effort into it. Why? It was the right and Christian thing to do to be generous. Also, it might help bring the Gentiles and Jewish Christians closer together. They had been suspicious of one another, especially Jewish Christians toward the Gentiles, who were not keeping the Law as they themselves did. So, Paul encourages all the Gentile churches to be generous in their giving for the poor. He intends that this be collected and taken to Jerusalem as soon as possible.
This is not the first time Paul speaks to the Corinthians about the collection. He does so in 1 Corinthians 16:1-4 as a reminder, and no doubt had first shared it with them when he had visited them. 2 Corinthians 8 also deals with the collection. In fact, it seems that Paul begins again about the collection in chapter 9, which has led some scholars to suggest that this passage may be part of another letter.
Verses 6-7: Paul lays down some principles for giving.
First, it is a lesson from nature itself that the farmer who sows sparingly also reaps sparingly. No farmer is going to sow just a few seeds and then expect a large harvest. The same is true in the spiritual realm. We tend to reap what we sow. Life has a way of balancing out things. The point Paul is making is not so much that they need to sow so they can reap, but that giving is good for them.
Second, giving is a personal matter, a matter of conscience. Each person should give this careful consideration (first part of v. 7). The point is that they should not have to be compelled to give. It should come freely from their hearts.
Third, Paul, quoting perhaps Proverbs 22:9 and Deuteronomy 15:7-11, says that God loves a cheerful giver. If one has to give grudgingly or because someone had forced them to, it is better not to give at all. God sees the heart of the giver. A heart given to God and neighbor first of all is a heart that is cheerful and joyous at any opportunity to help others.
Verses 8-10: Just as Paul uses the self-giving of Jesus on the cross as an example of generosity (see 2 Corinthians 8:8ff), so now Paul uses the giving goodness of God as their model. God has abundantly blessed them all. They have more than they need, due to the goodness and love of God, for God is the greatest cheerful giver of all. And one reason God gives so much is that they too, might be such givers. Be as cheerful and generous as God has been to you.
Verses 11-13: Paul seems to be saying here that not only is giving good for us and others, it is also good for God. Why? Because it leads others to be thankful to God and to glorify God. "Just think of the joy, thanksgiving, and praise those in Jerusalem will render to God when they receive your generous gift," Paul tells them. Of course, the Christians in Jerusalem will also feel kindly toward the Corinthians as well and even sing their praises. But for Paul, the highest goal of all is always that praise and thanksgiving be given to God from whom all blessings flow.
Verses 14-15: Here Paul reminds them once again of the incredible goodness of God on their behalf. He does this by talking about "grace," a topic never far from his heart and mind. This grace is God's greatest gift. When it is truly understood and received for what it is, God's unmerited favor and acceptance through the cross of Christ, then one of the results of that is a generous, giving people.
Luke 17:11-19
Jesus is on his last journey to Jerusalem. He is near Samaria, probably not too far from the Jordan River. Samaria, as we know, was a land hated by the Jews. No Jew would pass through it, lest he become contaminated by the soil itself. Jews and Samaritans had hated one another for a long time.
As Jesus neared a village, he was confronted by lepers. In the Bible, "leprosy" covers a number of skin ailments. The classic leprosy is called "Hansen's Disease." It slowly but surely maims and disfigures until a person ceases to look like or feel like a human being. Lepers had strict laws they had to follow (see Leviticus 13, 14). For example, lest someone walk up on them, they had to cover their upper lip and cry out, "Unclean! Unclean!" They were outcasts, cut off from their families, their community, the worshiping community, and even, many thought, from God. They were the walking dead. Indeed, a common saying among the rabbis was that it was "easier to raise the dead than cure a leper."
So, this group of lepers, 10 in number, call out to Jesus. Leper colonies were all too common. They craved fellowship, community so that they found it only in one another. But, perhaps hearing about Jesus, they cry out to him to "have mercy" on them.
Verse 14 is wonderful in that it says that Jesus "saw them." Most people ignored lepers or fled from them. Not Jesus. They had not ceased to become persons for him, individuals of worth and value. He heard them. He knew their pain at every level, especially their feeling so abandoned and separated from God and the community.
Jesus simply tells them to go show themselves to the priests. According to Leviticus 14, lepers had to be under the care of priests who would verify if a leper had been cured, thus being able to be restored to the community. Is Jesus telling them that they are none of his affair but that of the priests? Is he dismissing them? I think not. Maybe Jesus is seeing if they will have the faith to do what he asks of them, knowing that they cannot be fully healed, fully restored until the priests confirm it.
They do as Jesus directs and discover on the way that they have, in fact, been cured. Most continue to the priests to do as Jesus had said. But one, a Samaritan, returns on bended knee to give thanks to God who he sees being present in Jesus. This strongly suggests that the others were Jews. Their disease had brought them together, Jews and Samaritans, in a way that nothing else had been able to. They had found a common bond greater than their past differences. This Samaritan, a member of a group usually hated and avoided by Jews, would be unclean even if he didn't have leprosy. But now he becomes a model of faith and thankfulness (as does one in the parable Jesus tells about the Good Samaritan). A "foreigner," a man from a despised land, becomes the model of appreciation and thanks, gaining in his humble response a blessing from Jesus even greater than his healing. His faith, not just expressed in his cry for help, but more so in his recognition of gratitude for God's mercy, brings him an inner spiritual healing.
Application
Recently I was eating with my wife in a popular restaurant in Harrisonburg, Virginia. I had not eaten there in a long time. It has changed a lot -- for the better. There was a line out the door already and it wasn't even noon. When we finally did get inside and were seated, the waitress brought us some plates, as they served food buffet style. I must say, I have never seen a larger buffet. There were at least five different sections. I had a terrible time just deciding what I wanted!
Over to the left was all the bread -- bread of every kind.
Next to it were the veggies -- every veggie you have heard of and some you haven't.
In the middle were the meats -- from fish to roast beef, chicken -- you name it.
Beside it were the soups and salads -- clam chowder, vegetable, potato, and several others. The salad bar had everything on it you could possibly want.
Then came the dessert section. I can't even describe all they had there....
Boy, was I getting hungry!
We got our food and went back to the table. I noticed that the line had gotten longer and wasn't surprised. That line grew the whole time we were in there.
Then we bowed our heads to say the blessing, and something happened in my heart.
That blessing became a lot more than just a mealtime ritual that day. From somewhere in the depths of my heart I felt this tremendous surge of gratitude, of thanksgiving. It so overwhelmed me that I felt tears coming into my eyes.
For, you see, the thought came to me that all this food, in such abundance and variety, came from the good earth God has given to us all. I watched as the line of people got longer, but there was always more than enough food for all who came.
And the thought came to me that this was but one group of people in one tiny restaurant. There are thousands of other restaurants also serving food, and millions of homes where day after day families sit and eat.
I became aware that day as I never have before of just how blessed I was, we all are especially in this country. But we often take it all for granted as if we deserve them or earn them. And we keep saying or praying, "God bless America," when we should be far more often on our knees thanking God for all the blessings we have already been given!
Another aspect of this is that most often God gives blessings in order to become a blessing. We would be hard pressed to find a country with more blessings than America. "To whom much is given much is required." There are so many places in the world with people in the most desperate of need. Surely one of the reasons we are so blessed in this country is so that we can share those blessings with others.
Sharing them also is a way of showing that we are grateful to God for them. Although we are doing much around the world, there is still much to be done.
This might be a good week to identify a cause, a need somewhere in the world and lead your church in helping address it. Also, it's a good time to celebrate and share with the people the things your church and/or denomination's already doing at home and around the world to share the blessings of the Lord.
Alternative Applications
1) 2 Corinthians 9:6-15. A minister is preaching to his new congregation about his vision of the church. "With the help of God Almighty, there will come a day when this church will no longer crawl, but will stand up and walk!"
"Make it walk, Rev, make it walk," responded the congregation.
"And when this church has learned how to walk, God Almighty will cause this church to leap up and run!"
"Make it run, Rev, make it run!"
"And when this church has learned to run the race set before it, God Almighty will cause this church to take off and fly!"
"Make it fly, Rev, make it fly!"
"And for God Almighty to be able to make this church fly, it's going to take a lot of money!"
"Let it crawl, Rev, let it crawl!"
Paul knew that if the Corinthian Church was ever going to truly "fly," it was going to have to give more. But money was only part of it. What he was most wanting from them and what they needed were cheerful hearts, generous spirits. Had they had these, many of the problems among them would not have arisen or would have been resolved. Paul knew that the church never soared higher or closer to Christ than when it reached out in generous giving to those in need.
2) Luke 17:11-19. When the lepers appealed to Jesus, they kept their distance, as the law required. But when Jesus responded to them, he bridged several "distances," including social distance, emotional distance, moral distance, and the distances caused by hatreds, traditions, and taboos. Jesus still bridges those distances today.
First Lesson Focus
Deuteronomy 8:7-18
From the Book of Deuteronomy we have the rare privilege of hearing from that great forbear of our faith, Moses. As the book is now preserved for us, it contains three long addresses by Moses (1:1--4:43; 4:44--11:32; 12:1--26:19) that he delivered to the people of Israel in the land of Moab, shortly before they crossed over the River Jordan into the Promised Land in the 13th century B.C. Following the addresses are the accounts of Israel's renewal of its covenant with the Lord (27:1--30:20) and of preparation for the entrance into Canaan after Moses' death in Moab (31:1--34:12).
The conception of Deuteronomy is that while Moses received all of God's commandments at Mount Sinai, he passed on to the people only the laws of the Ten Commandments. But now, shortly before his death, Moses tells all of the rest of the laws to the people, and those laws are the commandments now found in Deuteronomy. They became for the people of Israel their canon of law up until the time of the Babylonian exile, when they were supplemented with priestly legislation. And from the account in 2 Kings 22-23, we know that they formed the basis of a religious reform instigated by King Josiah of Judah in 621 B.C. Indeed, most scholars hold that the bulk of Deuteronomy dates not from the 13th century B.C., but from the eighth, and that its core in chapters 12-26 was written by reformers in northern Israel in a time of religious, social, and judicial crisis, using the setting and figure of Moses as the ultimate authority. After northern Israel fell to Assyria in 721 B.C., the book was carried to the southern kingdom of Judah and deposited in the Temple, to be found there when Josiah ordered renovations of that sacred building.
At the heart of Deuteronomy is the command to love God. "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might" (Deuteronomy 6:5). At least 11 times that commandment is repeated in the book, in one form or another, and of course when Jesus quotes the most important command, he repeats that call for love for God (Mark 12:30). Further, love for God is spelled out in Deuteronomy's laws in terms of love and concern for one's neighbor (cf. Mark 12:31), as well as for the natural world. Thus, the tone of the book is not legalistic but gracious, because it commands love out of Israel's heart in gratitude for all of the good that God has lavished upon his covenant people.
Certainly that tone forms the background of our text from Deuteronomy 8 for this Thanksgiving Day. We are being addressed by Moses in this text as God's covenant people, whose primary task is to love our Lord with all our hearts and minds and strength.
As God's people of the new covenant in Jesus Christ, our situation is very much like that of Israel's in Deuteronomy, isn't it? We too are underway, as Israel was underway, on a journey toward the Promised Land, which, in our terminology, is called the kingdom of God. And a long road lies behind us, as it lay behind those journeying Israelites. Like them, we were redeemed out of slavery, long before we deserved it. Israel was redeemed from bondage in Egypt; we were redeemed from sin and death by the cross and resurrection of Christ. Like Israel, we were brought to the table of covenant, Israel at Mount Sinai, we at the Lord's supper table. Like Israel, we were given the Ten Commandments as the basic laws for our life with God and with one another (cf. Mark 10:17-21). Like Israel, we were continually forgiven, guided, strengthened in our journey through all of the wildernesses of our lives. And now we, a redeemed, forgiven, guided, covenant people stand on the banks of our own Jordans, looking over into the promised land of the future. And Moses, therefore, addresses the church and you and me and instructs us how to continue. On this Thanksgiving Day, to what of his words should we especially pay heed?
Three principal notes sound forth from our passage. First of all, we are to see anew the grace of God with which we have been surrounded in our world. Israel is told that she will be given a good land, with brooks and springs, with grain and vines and fruit trees, with natural resources in abundance that will provide for all her physical wants. And it is no different with us, is it? We are surrounded by a world of nature that is simply wondrous in its provision and beauty. Even evil persons are provided with sunshine every morning, and even unjust souls receive the rain (cf. Matthew 5:45). Every one of us is given the stars and moon at night, and trees and wildflowers and animals. God's creation almost explodes with his goodness toward his creatures, and for that we can be always thankful.
But secondly, all of us in the church have inherited a wondrous history. Israel could look back on the exodus and the guidance through the wilderness, when God caused water to flow from a rock and fed them day by day with manna. And you and I can look back on a history with God stretching back into centuries -- of prophets and apostles, of martyrs and saints, of churches begun against all odds; of scriptures faithfully preserved through the years by scribes and monks in frigid monasteries; of reformers who started the Protestant church and of hymn writers who gave us the words to sing; of faithful pastors nourishing their flocks and scholars opening to us the Bible; and that is not to mention those loved ones who told us and taught us about Jesus Christ. What a long history of grace God has worked by his Spirit in the church, until today you and I can sit in our sanctuaries and know who it is whom we believe. Is our thanks not owed to God for preserving his church through the ages? And cannot we be exceedingly grateful to the Lord that we can worship him this day?
But then our passage from Deuteronomy provides us with one more reminder. "Remember the Lord your God," it says, who has lavished on us such grace. "Take heed," it says, "lest you forget the Lord your God" and begin to think that you have done it all yourselves. "Beware lest you say in your heart, 'My power and the might of my hand' " are responsible for all the gifts of God poured out upon me and his people. For we know a simply magnificent God, do we not, whose love has always been immeasurable? We worship a simply incredible Lord whose mercy is new every morning, whose love and justice are unsearchable, and whose power can raise the dead. Surely, surely our only response to him this day and every day can only be gratitude shown in all our living! Surely, it is not hard to love such a God in return for his amazing love!
Preaching The Psalm
Psalm 65
I've been unable to learn who first coined the phrase "the groaning board," with its implication of a table so loaded with food that it threatens to topple, but it comes to mind every time I read Psalm 65. This is especially so when I read it in the RSV. In that version, verse 11 speaks of the tracks of the Lord's chariot that "drip with fatness," and verse 12 says that the wilderness pastures also "drip." The NRSV renditions, that "your wagon tracks overflow with richness" and "the pastures of the wilderness also overflow" just don't carry the same punch.
In any case, the imagery is one of bounty, of a planet upon which the Creator has lavished great resources in great abundance. Thus, it is not difficult to see why the Lectionary committee designated this psalm for Thanksgiving. If God's material blessings is to be your subject, verses 9-13 are certainly your text.
The whole psalm, however, is the designated reading, and in its entirety it speaks of more than a profusion of provisions. Verses 1-4 remind us that praise is due to God, which calls into question whether a single day a year is sufficient to render such "payment." (It's not, of course.) A life lived in gratitude to the God who "forgives our transgressions" and satisfies us "with the goodness of your house" is more like it.
Verses 5-9 praise God for the gift of life itself. God makes "the gateways of the morning and the evening shout for joy." These two times bracket the days of our lives, days that are God's gift to us.
In Yuma, Arizona, one of the hotels carries a sign over its veranda that reads, "Free board every day the sun doesn't shine." A new arrival, checking in during a downpour, often hopes to capitalize on that. But the proprietor doesn't worry. He has lived in Yuma many years and always during some part of the day the sun appears, even if only for a few moments. So far, no one has been able to get a free day's board at the hotel. Life tends to be like that too. It never rains all the time, and when we think about our lives, we are likely to see some blessings there as well, even amidst pain.
As a preacher, though, I always find it hard to use verses referring to God's bounty. That's because I am haunted by pictures of starving children in other parts of the world, people who have none of that bounty. But in the end, of course, thanksgiving isn't about how many blessings we have received, but about who God is. This psalm, by refusing to look only at the bounty of the earth, reminds us that praise is indeed due to God for who he is, not for how much we have.
I have been blessed to have many wonderful teachers in my life. My first one, in Sunday school, taught me lessons I will never forget. One of them is always to be thankful to God. She said that each day she picks one of her blessings and all day whenever she thinks about it she says a prayer of thanks to God for that blessing. That is a practice I, too, have tried to continue, and it has helped me to realize constantly just how good God is to me.
I don't know about others, but one thing I try to do, especially when preparing for worship on Sunday morning, is sit quietly and just count my blessings. I find that nothing places me in a better mood or frame of mind to worship than that -- naming God's blessings, remembering God's goodness.
Our readings today could easily be under the title of "God Is So Good." In Deuteronomy 8:7-18, Moses reminds the people to sing that same song each day, so that they might stay thankful to God. The reading from 2 Corinthians 9 is Paul's teachings about being generous because God has been so generous to us, and that in such giving, we receive blessings. In the gospel reading from Luke 17 about the 10 lepers, we see the one who returned to give thanks as a model for us of gratitude for all God has done for us.
Deuteronomy 8:7-18
A friend of mine told me that before he left for college, his parents sat down and told him, "Remember who you are." That could be a good title for the Book of Deuteronomy, for in it, Moses, trying to prepare the people for the new land and life ahead of them, in essence says, "Remember who you are and whose you are." Today's passage continues that very theme.
Verses 7-18 should really be seen in light of verses 1-6. There Moses reminds the people of Israel of the wilderness wanderings they have just endured. It was a time of testing, of want and need. Yet, God provided for them all they needed (see Exodus 12:37--17:16). Moses sees this time as a kind of disciplining, like that of a parent and child. The lessons were that God could be trusted and that they needed to depend on God. They were taught that God was faithful, whether or not they kept faith with him and whether or not they observed his commandments. Moses doesn't say it here, but the wilderness period was largely a time of faithlessness on the people's part. In fact, they were wandering because of their disobedience. We know the rest of the story -- that their sojourn in the Promised Land, in spite of all Moses tells them here, is often also one of disobedience and unfaithfulness.
Now, in verses 7-18, Moses tells them they will face another time of testing. But unlike the time in the wilderness when the issue was a lack of food and water (which God provided), the coming test would be one of abundance, of blessings. The test simply was, "Will you continue to trust in and obey God, giving God thanks and credit, or will you grow haughty and proud, as if you were the sole reasons for your blessings?" Moses raises the theme here that times of plenty and blessings are as much a test as are times of famine and scarcity.
Verses 7-10 describe some of the blessings that await the people in the Promised Land. Moses seems to be describing paradise. Indeed, it was paradise compared to where they had been. What he chooses to mention first are the simple, everyday blessings -- land that is fruitful, plenty of water, good crops, ample materials for making tools and all the people needed, bread always on the table. For them, this must have sounded too good to be true. These things had never been in abundance for the generations that had grown up in the wilderness. They would now be able to plant wheat, barley, vineyards, and be assured of a variety of food (not just manna and quails). Yes, they will have to earn them by the sweat of their brows, but these things are actually the gifts of a loving God.
As I write this, we are in the midst of a serious drought in many places in America. That has caused many of us to think about and give thanks more for this simple, yet profound, gift of water that God so graciously gives. For we, like these ancient Hebrews, are every bit as dependant still on God's goodness.
In verses 11-18, Moses warns his people to make sure in the midst of their prosperity to keep on loving, serving, and giving thanks to God; for there are dangers in being prosperous. Moses plainly tells them that they are going to become so prosperous that they have land and food and all they need. The danger is that they will forget God, that they will, in fact, begin to believe that they have earned these things, that they are not the gifts of a good God to them. In fact, Moses once again reminds them of them of all God has done for them, of the tough times God had seen them through. It's only because God did that and kept his promises made long ago to Abraham that they will be enjoying such prosperity. Far from causing them to stand in haughty pride, their blessings should keep them on their knees in praise and thanksgiving.
2 Corinthians 9:6-15
In Paul's letter to the Galatians (2:6-10) we read of how the leaders in Jerusalem recognized and blessed the ministry of Paul and Barnabas to the Gentiles, but they asked that Paul, in his work among the Gentiles, remember the poor there in Jerusalem. Paul latched onto this idea and put much effort into it. Why? It was the right and Christian thing to do to be generous. Also, it might help bring the Gentiles and Jewish Christians closer together. They had been suspicious of one another, especially Jewish Christians toward the Gentiles, who were not keeping the Law as they themselves did. So, Paul encourages all the Gentile churches to be generous in their giving for the poor. He intends that this be collected and taken to Jerusalem as soon as possible.
This is not the first time Paul speaks to the Corinthians about the collection. He does so in 1 Corinthians 16:1-4 as a reminder, and no doubt had first shared it with them when he had visited them. 2 Corinthians 8 also deals with the collection. In fact, it seems that Paul begins again about the collection in chapter 9, which has led some scholars to suggest that this passage may be part of another letter.
Verses 6-7: Paul lays down some principles for giving.
First, it is a lesson from nature itself that the farmer who sows sparingly also reaps sparingly. No farmer is going to sow just a few seeds and then expect a large harvest. The same is true in the spiritual realm. We tend to reap what we sow. Life has a way of balancing out things. The point Paul is making is not so much that they need to sow so they can reap, but that giving is good for them.
Second, giving is a personal matter, a matter of conscience. Each person should give this careful consideration (first part of v. 7). The point is that they should not have to be compelled to give. It should come freely from their hearts.
Third, Paul, quoting perhaps Proverbs 22:9 and Deuteronomy 15:7-11, says that God loves a cheerful giver. If one has to give grudgingly or because someone had forced them to, it is better not to give at all. God sees the heart of the giver. A heart given to God and neighbor first of all is a heart that is cheerful and joyous at any opportunity to help others.
Verses 8-10: Just as Paul uses the self-giving of Jesus on the cross as an example of generosity (see 2 Corinthians 8:8ff), so now Paul uses the giving goodness of God as their model. God has abundantly blessed them all. They have more than they need, due to the goodness and love of God, for God is the greatest cheerful giver of all. And one reason God gives so much is that they too, might be such givers. Be as cheerful and generous as God has been to you.
Verses 11-13: Paul seems to be saying here that not only is giving good for us and others, it is also good for God. Why? Because it leads others to be thankful to God and to glorify God. "Just think of the joy, thanksgiving, and praise those in Jerusalem will render to God when they receive your generous gift," Paul tells them. Of course, the Christians in Jerusalem will also feel kindly toward the Corinthians as well and even sing their praises. But for Paul, the highest goal of all is always that praise and thanksgiving be given to God from whom all blessings flow.
Verses 14-15: Here Paul reminds them once again of the incredible goodness of God on their behalf. He does this by talking about "grace," a topic never far from his heart and mind. This grace is God's greatest gift. When it is truly understood and received for what it is, God's unmerited favor and acceptance through the cross of Christ, then one of the results of that is a generous, giving people.
Luke 17:11-19
Jesus is on his last journey to Jerusalem. He is near Samaria, probably not too far from the Jordan River. Samaria, as we know, was a land hated by the Jews. No Jew would pass through it, lest he become contaminated by the soil itself. Jews and Samaritans had hated one another for a long time.
As Jesus neared a village, he was confronted by lepers. In the Bible, "leprosy" covers a number of skin ailments. The classic leprosy is called "Hansen's Disease." It slowly but surely maims and disfigures until a person ceases to look like or feel like a human being. Lepers had strict laws they had to follow (see Leviticus 13, 14). For example, lest someone walk up on them, they had to cover their upper lip and cry out, "Unclean! Unclean!" They were outcasts, cut off from their families, their community, the worshiping community, and even, many thought, from God. They were the walking dead. Indeed, a common saying among the rabbis was that it was "easier to raise the dead than cure a leper."
So, this group of lepers, 10 in number, call out to Jesus. Leper colonies were all too common. They craved fellowship, community so that they found it only in one another. But, perhaps hearing about Jesus, they cry out to him to "have mercy" on them.
Verse 14 is wonderful in that it says that Jesus "saw them." Most people ignored lepers or fled from them. Not Jesus. They had not ceased to become persons for him, individuals of worth and value. He heard them. He knew their pain at every level, especially their feeling so abandoned and separated from God and the community.
Jesus simply tells them to go show themselves to the priests. According to Leviticus 14, lepers had to be under the care of priests who would verify if a leper had been cured, thus being able to be restored to the community. Is Jesus telling them that they are none of his affair but that of the priests? Is he dismissing them? I think not. Maybe Jesus is seeing if they will have the faith to do what he asks of them, knowing that they cannot be fully healed, fully restored until the priests confirm it.
They do as Jesus directs and discover on the way that they have, in fact, been cured. Most continue to the priests to do as Jesus had said. But one, a Samaritan, returns on bended knee to give thanks to God who he sees being present in Jesus. This strongly suggests that the others were Jews. Their disease had brought them together, Jews and Samaritans, in a way that nothing else had been able to. They had found a common bond greater than their past differences. This Samaritan, a member of a group usually hated and avoided by Jews, would be unclean even if he didn't have leprosy. But now he becomes a model of faith and thankfulness (as does one in the parable Jesus tells about the Good Samaritan). A "foreigner," a man from a despised land, becomes the model of appreciation and thanks, gaining in his humble response a blessing from Jesus even greater than his healing. His faith, not just expressed in his cry for help, but more so in his recognition of gratitude for God's mercy, brings him an inner spiritual healing.
Application
Recently I was eating with my wife in a popular restaurant in Harrisonburg, Virginia. I had not eaten there in a long time. It has changed a lot -- for the better. There was a line out the door already and it wasn't even noon. When we finally did get inside and were seated, the waitress brought us some plates, as they served food buffet style. I must say, I have never seen a larger buffet. There were at least five different sections. I had a terrible time just deciding what I wanted!
Over to the left was all the bread -- bread of every kind.
Next to it were the veggies -- every veggie you have heard of and some you haven't.
In the middle were the meats -- from fish to roast beef, chicken -- you name it.
Beside it were the soups and salads -- clam chowder, vegetable, potato, and several others. The salad bar had everything on it you could possibly want.
Then came the dessert section. I can't even describe all they had there....
Boy, was I getting hungry!
We got our food and went back to the table. I noticed that the line had gotten longer and wasn't surprised. That line grew the whole time we were in there.
Then we bowed our heads to say the blessing, and something happened in my heart.
That blessing became a lot more than just a mealtime ritual that day. From somewhere in the depths of my heart I felt this tremendous surge of gratitude, of thanksgiving. It so overwhelmed me that I felt tears coming into my eyes.
For, you see, the thought came to me that all this food, in such abundance and variety, came from the good earth God has given to us all. I watched as the line of people got longer, but there was always more than enough food for all who came.
And the thought came to me that this was but one group of people in one tiny restaurant. There are thousands of other restaurants also serving food, and millions of homes where day after day families sit and eat.
I became aware that day as I never have before of just how blessed I was, we all are especially in this country. But we often take it all for granted as if we deserve them or earn them. And we keep saying or praying, "God bless America," when we should be far more often on our knees thanking God for all the blessings we have already been given!
Another aspect of this is that most often God gives blessings in order to become a blessing. We would be hard pressed to find a country with more blessings than America. "To whom much is given much is required." There are so many places in the world with people in the most desperate of need. Surely one of the reasons we are so blessed in this country is so that we can share those blessings with others.
Sharing them also is a way of showing that we are grateful to God for them. Although we are doing much around the world, there is still much to be done.
This might be a good week to identify a cause, a need somewhere in the world and lead your church in helping address it. Also, it's a good time to celebrate and share with the people the things your church and/or denomination's already doing at home and around the world to share the blessings of the Lord.
Alternative Applications
1) 2 Corinthians 9:6-15. A minister is preaching to his new congregation about his vision of the church. "With the help of God Almighty, there will come a day when this church will no longer crawl, but will stand up and walk!"
"Make it walk, Rev, make it walk," responded the congregation.
"And when this church has learned how to walk, God Almighty will cause this church to leap up and run!"
"Make it run, Rev, make it run!"
"And when this church has learned to run the race set before it, God Almighty will cause this church to take off and fly!"
"Make it fly, Rev, make it fly!"
"And for God Almighty to be able to make this church fly, it's going to take a lot of money!"
"Let it crawl, Rev, let it crawl!"
Paul knew that if the Corinthian Church was ever going to truly "fly," it was going to have to give more. But money was only part of it. What he was most wanting from them and what they needed were cheerful hearts, generous spirits. Had they had these, many of the problems among them would not have arisen or would have been resolved. Paul knew that the church never soared higher or closer to Christ than when it reached out in generous giving to those in need.
2) Luke 17:11-19. When the lepers appealed to Jesus, they kept their distance, as the law required. But when Jesus responded to them, he bridged several "distances," including social distance, emotional distance, moral distance, and the distances caused by hatreds, traditions, and taboos. Jesus still bridges those distances today.
First Lesson Focus
Deuteronomy 8:7-18
From the Book of Deuteronomy we have the rare privilege of hearing from that great forbear of our faith, Moses. As the book is now preserved for us, it contains three long addresses by Moses (1:1--4:43; 4:44--11:32; 12:1--26:19) that he delivered to the people of Israel in the land of Moab, shortly before they crossed over the River Jordan into the Promised Land in the 13th century B.C. Following the addresses are the accounts of Israel's renewal of its covenant with the Lord (27:1--30:20) and of preparation for the entrance into Canaan after Moses' death in Moab (31:1--34:12).
The conception of Deuteronomy is that while Moses received all of God's commandments at Mount Sinai, he passed on to the people only the laws of the Ten Commandments. But now, shortly before his death, Moses tells all of the rest of the laws to the people, and those laws are the commandments now found in Deuteronomy. They became for the people of Israel their canon of law up until the time of the Babylonian exile, when they were supplemented with priestly legislation. And from the account in 2 Kings 22-23, we know that they formed the basis of a religious reform instigated by King Josiah of Judah in 621 B.C. Indeed, most scholars hold that the bulk of Deuteronomy dates not from the 13th century B.C., but from the eighth, and that its core in chapters 12-26 was written by reformers in northern Israel in a time of religious, social, and judicial crisis, using the setting and figure of Moses as the ultimate authority. After northern Israel fell to Assyria in 721 B.C., the book was carried to the southern kingdom of Judah and deposited in the Temple, to be found there when Josiah ordered renovations of that sacred building.
At the heart of Deuteronomy is the command to love God. "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might" (Deuteronomy 6:5). At least 11 times that commandment is repeated in the book, in one form or another, and of course when Jesus quotes the most important command, he repeats that call for love for God (Mark 12:30). Further, love for God is spelled out in Deuteronomy's laws in terms of love and concern for one's neighbor (cf. Mark 12:31), as well as for the natural world. Thus, the tone of the book is not legalistic but gracious, because it commands love out of Israel's heart in gratitude for all of the good that God has lavished upon his covenant people.
Certainly that tone forms the background of our text from Deuteronomy 8 for this Thanksgiving Day. We are being addressed by Moses in this text as God's covenant people, whose primary task is to love our Lord with all our hearts and minds and strength.
As God's people of the new covenant in Jesus Christ, our situation is very much like that of Israel's in Deuteronomy, isn't it? We too are underway, as Israel was underway, on a journey toward the Promised Land, which, in our terminology, is called the kingdom of God. And a long road lies behind us, as it lay behind those journeying Israelites. Like them, we were redeemed out of slavery, long before we deserved it. Israel was redeemed from bondage in Egypt; we were redeemed from sin and death by the cross and resurrection of Christ. Like Israel, we were brought to the table of covenant, Israel at Mount Sinai, we at the Lord's supper table. Like Israel, we were given the Ten Commandments as the basic laws for our life with God and with one another (cf. Mark 10:17-21). Like Israel, we were continually forgiven, guided, strengthened in our journey through all of the wildernesses of our lives. And now we, a redeemed, forgiven, guided, covenant people stand on the banks of our own Jordans, looking over into the promised land of the future. And Moses, therefore, addresses the church and you and me and instructs us how to continue. On this Thanksgiving Day, to what of his words should we especially pay heed?
Three principal notes sound forth from our passage. First of all, we are to see anew the grace of God with which we have been surrounded in our world. Israel is told that she will be given a good land, with brooks and springs, with grain and vines and fruit trees, with natural resources in abundance that will provide for all her physical wants. And it is no different with us, is it? We are surrounded by a world of nature that is simply wondrous in its provision and beauty. Even evil persons are provided with sunshine every morning, and even unjust souls receive the rain (cf. Matthew 5:45). Every one of us is given the stars and moon at night, and trees and wildflowers and animals. God's creation almost explodes with his goodness toward his creatures, and for that we can be always thankful.
But secondly, all of us in the church have inherited a wondrous history. Israel could look back on the exodus and the guidance through the wilderness, when God caused water to flow from a rock and fed them day by day with manna. And you and I can look back on a history with God stretching back into centuries -- of prophets and apostles, of martyrs and saints, of churches begun against all odds; of scriptures faithfully preserved through the years by scribes and monks in frigid monasteries; of reformers who started the Protestant church and of hymn writers who gave us the words to sing; of faithful pastors nourishing their flocks and scholars opening to us the Bible; and that is not to mention those loved ones who told us and taught us about Jesus Christ. What a long history of grace God has worked by his Spirit in the church, until today you and I can sit in our sanctuaries and know who it is whom we believe. Is our thanks not owed to God for preserving his church through the ages? And cannot we be exceedingly grateful to the Lord that we can worship him this day?
But then our passage from Deuteronomy provides us with one more reminder. "Remember the Lord your God," it says, who has lavished on us such grace. "Take heed," it says, "lest you forget the Lord your God" and begin to think that you have done it all yourselves. "Beware lest you say in your heart, 'My power and the might of my hand' " are responsible for all the gifts of God poured out upon me and his people. For we know a simply magnificent God, do we not, whose love has always been immeasurable? We worship a simply incredible Lord whose mercy is new every morning, whose love and justice are unsearchable, and whose power can raise the dead. Surely, surely our only response to him this day and every day can only be gratitude shown in all our living! Surely, it is not hard to love such a God in return for his amazing love!
Preaching The Psalm
Psalm 65
I've been unable to learn who first coined the phrase "the groaning board," with its implication of a table so loaded with food that it threatens to topple, but it comes to mind every time I read Psalm 65. This is especially so when I read it in the RSV. In that version, verse 11 speaks of the tracks of the Lord's chariot that "drip with fatness," and verse 12 says that the wilderness pastures also "drip." The NRSV renditions, that "your wagon tracks overflow with richness" and "the pastures of the wilderness also overflow" just don't carry the same punch.
In any case, the imagery is one of bounty, of a planet upon which the Creator has lavished great resources in great abundance. Thus, it is not difficult to see why the Lectionary committee designated this psalm for Thanksgiving. If God's material blessings is to be your subject, verses 9-13 are certainly your text.
The whole psalm, however, is the designated reading, and in its entirety it speaks of more than a profusion of provisions. Verses 1-4 remind us that praise is due to God, which calls into question whether a single day a year is sufficient to render such "payment." (It's not, of course.) A life lived in gratitude to the God who "forgives our transgressions" and satisfies us "with the goodness of your house" is more like it.
Verses 5-9 praise God for the gift of life itself. God makes "the gateways of the morning and the evening shout for joy." These two times bracket the days of our lives, days that are God's gift to us.
In Yuma, Arizona, one of the hotels carries a sign over its veranda that reads, "Free board every day the sun doesn't shine." A new arrival, checking in during a downpour, often hopes to capitalize on that. But the proprietor doesn't worry. He has lived in Yuma many years and always during some part of the day the sun appears, even if only for a few moments. So far, no one has been able to get a free day's board at the hotel. Life tends to be like that too. It never rains all the time, and when we think about our lives, we are likely to see some blessings there as well, even amidst pain.
As a preacher, though, I always find it hard to use verses referring to God's bounty. That's because I am haunted by pictures of starving children in other parts of the world, people who have none of that bounty. But in the end, of course, thanksgiving isn't about how many blessings we have received, but about who God is. This psalm, by refusing to look only at the bounty of the earth, reminds us that praise is indeed due to God for who he is, not for how much we have.
