NOTE: I am putting my weekly sermons on the church website. It will be on for two weeks (usually posted on Friday) and then placed in the Archives area by date. You can download in a matter of seconds.

Let me know what you think. The church Email is: SLUMC@att.net, Phone: 480.895.8766

Sunday, November 23, 2003
Sermon: "Leper NO. 10"
Scripture Lesson: Luke 17:11-19
Reverend Larry Gerber

UPDATE ON STATE OF THE CHURCH

As a lead in to the message today, I want to take some time to update you on The State of the Church. A couple of weeks ago, I gave a state of the church address, thanking you for another great year. Yes, giving is about $23,000 behind what we had anticipated, but spending is also down. We are operating in the black, but we are used to a comfortable 45 days reserve. We have had to dip into our reserves this fall, but, the Finance Committee is anticipating that you will help us to rebuild our reserve, by catching up on your pledge, or by giving a little extra. If we each gave an extra weeks offering, by years end, our deficit would be wiped out, and our reserves restored.

Secondly, we have a mortgage payment of $6,000 per month. That is in our budget. You are pledging to the Building Fund beyond that payment, so that we have been able to bring our mortgage of a year and a half ago from $1.4million, down to under $500,000. Our regular payment, along with your giving to the Building Fund is saving us thousands of dollars in interest each year.

As part of the Desert Southwest Annual Conference in 2000, we were asked to raise $130,000 for New Church Starts and rebuilding of our 3 conference camps. Over a three year period, 115 family units from our church, along with The Mens Group, and The Krafters, responded with $103,000, of which a good share stayed in our neighborhood. We directed $50,000 to Ocotillo Springs UMC to the north of us; we used $8,000 toward the Riggs Road Ministry of Presence, which includes 3 Vacation Bible Schools, outreach on the Gila River Reservation,led by Laura and helpers; salary for a part time Pastor, in the name of Tony Yim, so that Pastor Laura could begin to develop that ministry; and $2,000 for The Song of Life Church on Sossoman Road. We sent $30,000 to camp restructuring, and we have $15,000 in an account to be used for New Church Starts, which is earmarked for church work to the east of us. I want to thank Laura for her time and energy that went into The Riggs Road Ministry.

We, as Sun Lakes UMC, have officially withdrawn from that area, as The Song of Life and Ocotillo Springs churches begin to work in that area. We will use the remaining $15,000 to assist them, as need arises. We have officially finished our 3 year campaign by raising 80% of our goal. Not too bad considering what the economy has been during these past 3 years. Those who wish, can still direct monies toward Riggs Road Ministry if you so desire.

Meanwhile, we are rapidly approaching the end of the year 2003, the Finance Committee is trusting that you will do all you can to help rebuild our reserves.

As we look toward the year 2004, we are anticipating about a 2% increase in the budget. With over 600 giving units in our church, none of us needs to increase our giving by very much. If each unit increased their giving in 2004 by $1 per week, that would generate an additional $31,200 for the year. Some of us can't, and some will have to decrease their giving, based on their situation, but some of us are in a position to do even more. Jane and I will increase our giving by $5 per week for the coming year. We thank you for your continued support. It is not how much you give that counts, it is what you give in proportion to what you have. Thank you for your pledges of your time, your talent, your gifts, and your service.

In our scripture lesson for today, he was of another race, region and religion. But of a group of 10 who were healed by Jesus, he was the only one who really knew how to live.

A well known personality of our day and age also knows how to live. He started off in Ace Ventura, Pet Detective. Then he was The Riddler, a lying lawyer, Andy Kaufman and The Grinch. Finally, last summer, he was Bruce Almighty.

You know the actor: the one with the rubbery face. The ER of Dumber-er. He's a comedian/actor who went from playing dumb to playing God. Not too shabby.

The name - Jim Carrey.

The film Bruce Almighty shows what happens when an ambitious TV reporter is temporarily given God's powers. Hilarity ensues, including scenes of canine toilet- training, but in the end the movie delivers a serious message. It's all about "not seeing your blessings," said Jim Carrey to USA Today, a problem that is "a common thing for a lot of people." Although Carrey is no longer almighty, he still knows the power of counting his blessings. In fact, he reports that he is in the habit of making lists of things that he's grateful for. In words you don't expect from an A-list Hollywood actor, he says, "I would challenge anybody in their darkest moment to write what they're grateful for, even stupid little things like the green grass that made them feel good, the friendly conversation they had with somebody on an elevator. You start to realize how rich you are."

Count your blessings. Remember to be grateful. Realize how rich you are. Take the time, especially at Thanksgiving, to give thanks for everything you have been given. Jim Carrey does it. And so does Leper No. 10.

In today's passage from Luke, Jesus is on a road trip, moving between Samaria and Galilee on his way to Jerusalem. As he enters a village, 10 lepers approach him and call out from a distance, raising their voices in unison, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" (Luke 17:13). They are desperate for healing, but as unclean people they don't dare rush up to Jesus. They know that they are supposed to keep their distance, and live outside the community. Jesus sees them and feels a desire to be merciful toward them. Then he gives them a rather unusual command: "Go and show yourselves to the priests" (v. 14).

To us, these words sound odd, but in the time of Jesus a leper who was fortunate enough to be healed had to show himself to a priest. Only a priest could certify that a person was truly clean and able to return to the community.

Something is going on here, something wonderful and mysterious and tingling with the healing power of God. As the lepers make their way toward the priests, they are miraculously cleansed, and one of them, Leper No. 10, turns on his heels and races back to Jesus, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrates himself at Jesus' feet and thanks him profusely (vv. 14-16). Only one gives thanks.

One out of 10. "Were not ten made clean?" asks Jesus, sounding miffed. "But the other nine, where are they?" (v. 17). Only one takes the time to count his blessings.

Only one bothers to come back to Jesus and say thanks. A 10 percent return. That's pretty pathetic. But are we doing any better today? Keep in mind that the other nine lepers did exactly what Jesus told them to do. They were obedient. They followed instructions. They were doing the will of God. Can't fault them for that. But gratitude and thanksgiving move us beyond the standard, the acceptable, the ordinary. A gracious attitude and lifestyle make one extraordinary, unusual, blessed, a cut above the rest.

New research is showing that people who count their blessings may find themselves sleeping better, exercising more and caring more about others. People who remind themselves of the things they are grateful for — people who count their blessings one by one, consciously, every day — show significant improvements in mental health, and even in some aspects of physical health. And these results appear to be true whether you are a healthy college student or an older person with an incurable disease, according to research published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

You may be a leper on your last leg, but you are going to benefit from counting your blessings. Here's how the study was performed: College students were asked to fill out a weekly report of five things for which they were grateful. They listed such things as "the generosity of friends" and "the Rolling Stones." Another group, made up of adults with incurable diseases such as polio, were asked to write down a list of things that made them thankful.

Comparable groups were asked to count their hassles, instead of their blessings. They listed aggravations such as "hard to find parking" and "finances depleting quickly." Instead of focusing on how rich they were, members of these groups focused on their poverty.

The results were predictable. In the end, the grateful groups felt better about their lives and more optimistic about their prospects. The thankful college students exercised more, and the chronically ill adults who focused on blessings reported sleeping longer and waking up refreshed. The members of the grateful groups were also nicer to neighbors and more willing to help people with personal problems, leading the researchers to conclude that gratitude can serve as a "moral motivator."

Being thankful is good for your physical, mental and moral health. It doesn't seem to matter what you are grateful for, as long as you count your blessings. You can be appreciative of green grass, or generous friends, or loving family members, or pleasant elevator conversations. You can even thank God for the Rolling Stones.

In the story of the 10 lepers, the biggest surprise is that Leper No. 10 is revealed to be a Samaritan. This comes as a shock to most of Jesus' followers, because they see Samaritans as low-life losers, second-class citizens, members of the wrong race, region and religion. The Samaritan is not a respectable member of the community at all. He is the only one to count his blessings. And that, according to Jesus, makes all the difference.

It showed Jesus that while the others had experienced the healing of their bodies, this fellow had found healing in his soul. "Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" asks Jesus. Then he says to the Samaritan, "Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well" (vv. 18-19).

Jesus slams the nine perfectly respectable lepers who went on their way without so much as a thank-you, the nine ungrateful lepers who felt that they somehow deserved to be healed, the nine self-centered lepers who had so much to do that they couldn't take a nanosecond to return to Jesus and express their gratitude. "Your faith has made you well," says Jesus to Leper No. 10. Jesus gives him a fistbump and a high five not so much for the faith that asked for healing, but for the faith that returned to give thanks. After all, it's a grateful faith — not a gimme faith — that saves us.

Leper No. 10 wanted some soul-healing, and it's no doubt what most of us need today, and we're not going to find it until we're able to count our blessings. So, what have you forgotten to say "thank-you" for today?

In this time of Thanksgiving, our challenge is to count our blessings — large and small, significant and stupid — and to be grateful to the One who is the source of every good and gracious gift. We don't deserve a thing, whether it's green grass or mischievous kids or caring co-workers or healthy hearts, so our attitude toward each day should be absolutely thick with thanksgiving.

If we can remember to be grateful, we'll find ourselves even healthier in body, mind and spirit. We'll feel better about our lives, more optimistic about our prospects and more helpful toward people around us. After all, Jesus proclaimed it, and modern research confirms it — a grateful faith can make us well. Thank God for the riches that roll our way.

Let me know what you think. The church Email is: SLUMC@att.net, Phone: 480.895.8766