A State of Mind

The Rev. Dr. Skip Ferguson

Manassas Presbyterian Church

Manassas, Virginia

October 18, 2015

A State of Mind

1 Chronicles 16:8-36

(selected verses)

“O give thanks to the Lord, call on his name,

make known his deeds among the peoples.

Sing to him, sing praises to him,

tell of all his wonderful works.

Glory in his holy name;

let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.”

In Jesus’ day the laws were clear:

they were to live outside the town’s border.

They were considered to be ritually unclean;

the law required them to shout, “Unclean, Unclean”

if anyone approached them.

They were severely deformed,

hideous to look at:

men and women afflicted with leprosy,

a disease that attacked the skin.

Those with the disease literally wasted away

until they died a painful death,

alone,

outcasts from family, friends,

the entire community.

Lepers were allowed to come to

the edge of town each day to beg,

beg for a few coins,

beg for a crust of bread to eat.

But when the sun set, they had to leave,

had to go back outside of town,

back to the camp where lepers lived;

cut off from family,

from community,

because they were unclean…unclean.

So when Jesus first approached a leper,

even his disciples were alarmed.

As the leper spoke to Jesus,

the disciples watched warily,

keeping their own distance,

even as they heard the man say to Jesus,

“Lord, if you choose you can make me clean.”

Jesus’ followers watched in shock,

terrified, as Jesus reached out his hand

and touched the man,

saying to him so gently,

“Be made clean”.

(Luke 5:12ff)

Not long after that first encounter with a leper

Jesus and his followers were walking south,

heading from Galilee to Jerusalem,

passing through the region known as Samaria.

A group of lepers approached,

each hideous to look at,

their foul smell sickening the disciples.

They couldn’t pass the lepers quickly enough.

But then, to their horror,

the lepers – ten of them –

walked directly toward Jesus,

shouting not, “unclean, unclean,”

as they were supposed to,

but, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”

Jesus’ response to them was again so simple,

so gentle:

“Go and show yourselves to the priests”,

for the Levitical Code was clear:

it was up to the priests to decide

whether a person was clean or unclean,

whether a person had leprosy

or was free of the disease

and could return to family,

to community.

The men turned away in response to

Jesus’ instructions.

They knew the law,

and so they headed for where

they knew they’d find the priest.

“And as they went,

they were made clean.”

Each man could feel something happening,

happening to his body,

happening to his skin.

Excitement gripped the men

and they picked up their pace,

hurrying to get to the priest,

eager to stand before the priest,

eager to hear him pronounce them clean.

But one of the ten stopped,

stopped and looked at his hands,

and then reached up and touched his cheeks,

ran his fingers across his forehead,

gripped the bridge of his nose,

traced the skin around the back of his neck,

pulled on his earlobes.

He lifted up his filthy, foul robe

and looked at his feet,

his ankles,

his calves.

The skin was clean,

healthy,

whole.

The others, 9 of them, ran on,

but this man turned,

turned and ran back,

ran back to where Jesus still stood.

And when he got to Jesus

he dropped to the ground, prostrate,

his face down in the dirt and stones,

but his voice lifted up to the heavens in joy,

raising God,

and thanking Jesus.

Jesus watched and listened, quietly,

as this man,

a Samaritan,

praised God.

And then Jesus reached out his hand

to help the man stand back up on healthy feet,

healthy legs,

As the man stood,

Jesus said to him,

and said to all those gathered around him,

“Were not ten made clean?

But the other nine, where are they?

Was none of them found to return

and give praise to God

except this foreigner?”

(Luke 17:11-19)

“O give thanks to the Lord, call on his name,

make known his deeds among the peoples.

Sing to him, sing praises to him,

tell of all his wonderful works.

Glory in his holy name;

let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.

… Sing to the Lord, all the earth.

Tell of his salvation from day to day.

Declare his glory among the nations,

his marvelous works among all the peoples.

For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;

… O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;

for his steadfast love endures forever.”

Gratitude is a state of mind.

Thankfulness is a state of mind.

It is acknowledgement,

it is recognition,

it is seeing,

seeing beyond ourselves,

seeing all the way back to the source,

the source of blessings.

                                   

“O give thanks to the Lord,

call on his name,
make known his deeds among the peoples.

Sing to him, sing praises to him,
tell of all his wonderful works.”

These are King David’s words of

gratitude and thanksgiving,

words spoken 3,000 years ago,

words that reflected his state of mind.

                 

There he was, David,

at the height of his power,

king over a united Judah and Israel,

established in Jerusalem,

the Philistines finally defeated,

the Ark of the Covenant settled in Jerusalem

in a Holy Tabernacle

How easy it would have been

for David to have celebrated himself,

his triumphs,

his countless triumphs.

But David’s state of mind was one of gratitude,

grounded in humility.

He knew that but for God,

he would have had no triumphs;

he knew that but for God,

he’d have spent his life as a shepherd.

“O give thanks to the Lord,

call on his name,

make known his deeds among the peoples.

Sing to him,

sing praises to him,

tell of all his wonderful works.”

Alone among the ten healed lepers,

the Samaritan understood this;

alone among the ten,

the Samaritan sang God’s praise

and expressed his deepest gratitude to Jesus.

                          

The others, the nine,

perhaps were too giddy,

caught up in the excitement of having been healed,

eager to hear the words of the priest

pronouncing them officially clean.

But still, why didn’t they see God

at work in their lives?

How well do we, you and I,

see God at work in our lives?

We are taught from the moment

we draw our first breath

to achieve, to excel,

and when success comes our way,

we celebrate ourselves,

our hard work, our diligence.

But who graces us with ability?

Who graces us with health and energy?

Who blesses us and guides us

and sees to our needs,

even giving us this day our daily bread

“Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,

ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.

Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;”

What are you thankful for?

Truly thankful.

Family? Of course.

Friends? Of course.

Good health? Of course.

Your home? Of course.

Vocation? Of course.

Then thank God!

Sing with David:

“give thanks to the Lord,

call on his name,…

Sing to him, sing praises to him.”

“Praise God from whom

all blessings flow.”

See God’s blessings in your life,

every part of it,

including your life here in this church,

this church to which God called you.

                          

“Seek the Lord and his strength,

seek his presence continually.

Remember the wonderful works he has done…
Honor and majesty are before him;

strength and joy are in his place.

Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,

ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.

Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
    

Bring an offering, and come before him.
…Worship the Lord in holy splendor;

…Let the heavens be glad,

and let the earth rejoice,

and let them say among the nations,

“The Lord is king!”

Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
let the field exult, and everything in it.

Then shall the trees of the forest

sing for joy before the Lord, …

O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever….

Give thanks to the Lord,

for he is good;

his steadfast love endures forever….

Let all God’s children praise the Lord!

AMEN