Sunday October 12th, 2025 Worship

This past week, a majority of ELCA Bishops signed and shared a letter affirming the commitment that the Gospel gives us to stand against Christian Nationalism, racism, violence, and oppression. That’s a very brief summary of their letter, but it was an important reminder of what we as Christians are called to when it comes to our hearing of and the proclamation of the Gospel. It comes at a time when there is even more division, hatred, and mistrust of others, especially those from whom we differ. Instead of seeing others as Beloved children of God, we are being told our God is one of hatred, not love. It is antithetical to the teachings of the Gospel as we understand them. This is what our Bishops are writing to remind us. It matters not only that they said it, but that we, the Church, hear it and take it to heart. This is catalyst for action, not just words that we pass around on the internet so that we feel good. It is intended to continue to shape our theology, ask us the challenging questions, and connect our faith to the world in an even deeper way.
Now, I know that there will be people who respond to this letter from the bishops, and even the fact that I’m talking about it, by saying that they are being too “political.” It is a fine line that leaders have walked throughout history. Yet, as I’ll remind us, the Good News of the Gospel is inherently political because it had a profound impact on the lives of the people and was turning the ways of society on their heads. However, the Gospel is not partisan to an American political party that didn’t develop for over 1500 years after the Gospel was recorded.
What is true, though, is that Christians throughout history have had to figure out to what lengths they were willing to go to defend and proclaim the Gospel of God’s love, grace, and mercy that exists for all people, not a select few. Our commemoration of the Reformation in just two weeks is a good reminder of that history in the Lutheran tradition, even though Martin Luther didn’t always get it right either. But, we also have Paul as an example yet again this week, as he writes from prison, because the Word he was preaching was seen as too dangerous by the people in power who had everything to lose if his message spread (2 Timothy 2: 9). The Gospel was Good News, not to those in power, but to those who were most in need of hearing about God’s unending and far-reaching love.
For millennia, we have been arguing about who is included in God’s love, who is right and who is wrong. The Gospel was never meant to be contain by one small faction, arguing that God loves them and only them. Every time that happens in Scripture, God breaks down that narrative to include those who were considered least worthy of being included, much to the dismay of the people who wanted to keep it for themselves.
To jump into our Scripture readings for today, I want to look at the story of Naaman in our first reading, because we see this situation in which Naaman, an Aramean, is sent to Israel to be healed by the prophet Elisha (2 Kings 5: 9). I want to add some more context to this story, however, because the part that is left out makes it unclear exactly what is happening here and why the king of Israel has the response that he does. Because Aram, this king who is Naaman’s commander, sends the request to the king of Israel, and the king of Israel thinks that he is personally being asked to heal Naaman (2 Kings 5: 7). He doesn’t realize that this is a serious request for the healing of Naaman, but originally perceives it to be a mockery and an excuse to be attacked yet again when he, himself, cannot heal Naaman (2 King 5: 7c). In this request for healing, it is taken as a challenge; it seems inconceivable that this so-called enemy would be asking for help, right? Clearly it must be an excuse for violence.
But, even Naaman shows this distrust of the prophet Elisha and dislike of the kingdom of Israel during this story. We hear Naaman questioning Elisha about why he has to go in the Jordan river, surely the rivers through his land are better and would be just as effective at healing! From his experience of religion and healing rituals, he is expecting Elisha to come proclaim healing over him and it would have the feel of a magic trick. A wave of a hand here, a strong voice there, and flash…leprosy gone! He doesn’t understand how Elisha, and through him, God, are working in the world. It is through this experience that Naaman comes to understand how the God of Israel works differently than he expected, and he becomes a follower. I don’t think he originally thought he would be healed, but believes he is being sent off in this odd fashion by the prophet Elisha. I’m sure he was wondering why he traveled all this way to go wash in the river, or maybe he even felt that washing in the river would make him more vulnerable to being attacked. After all, he is an important leader in the Aramean army. Regardless of the reasons, this story shows us one of the ways that God was working outside of just the Israelites.
In continuing the theme of healing those with leprosy, we get the Gospel reading this week in which Jesus heals ten people who have leprosy. But, this story goes beyond the healing act itself, setting up this dichotomy of those who seemingly expected to be healed, the nine presumably Galileans, and the one Samaritan that responded with gratitude and humility (Luke 17: 15-18). This is a story that is supposed to shake up the Israelites, and our own, understanding of what it means to be loved by God.
It may just seem like another story to us, but this healing of a Samaritan, and the faith of that Samaritan being recognized in response would have been scandalous. Remember, even today, our stories are labeled in such a way that want us to believe there weren’t many good or worthy Samaritans, yet a positive Israelite view of the Samaritans doesn’t seem to be a precursor for Jesus’ grace and healing. This story reminds us that if we make God to be like us, then God will do whatever we want or all of our actions are ordained by God, as opposed to us being shaped by who God is and what God is doing. This reading is meant to expand our understanding of who is included in the love and grace of God; and sometimes that can be a real challenge for us. It’s hard for us to talk about the love of God when it extends to people that we don’t like or that we don’t think deserve it.
As the Psalm proclaims, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom…” (Psalm 111: 10a). This isn’t fear in the way that we think of it with trembling but relates to a sense of awe and otherness that is ascribed to God, recognizing that God is not just like us. So, given these stories, if healing is about the restoration of wholeness, what does this tell us about God when supposed “outsiders” are included? These stories directly address the reality that God’s love, grace, and mercy extend beyond human boundaries and labels. That none are excluded from this love of God, even the ones that leaders want to label as the enemies. This beginning of wisdom comes from humbling ourselves before God, to let God be God, instead of elevating humanity to the level of God, attempting to decide who is in and who is out.
Through the embodied life of Jesus, God intimately understands what it means to be dismissed, looked down upon, seen as a threat, and executed by an Empire who saw his work and teachings as endangering their control too much. When Paul writes about the Gospel not being chained (2 Timothy 2: 9b), this is a plea to not let ourselves be caught up in controlling the Word of God so that it is only Good News for us and the people we like. The love of God breaks down divisions and recognizes the dignity and humanity of the people we want to dismiss and vilify. Let us break the chains that are wrapped around the Gospel every time someone tries to tell us otherwise, not for our sake alone, but for the wellbeing of all of creation.