INVOCATION
P In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
INTROIT Psalm 84
Behold our shield, O God; look on the face of your anointed!
For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere.
How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts!
My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord.
Blessèd are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise!
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
The Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Behold our shield, O God; look on the face of your anointed!
For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere.
COLLECT OF THE DAY
O Lord, keep Your Church with Your perpetual mercy; and because of our frailty we cannot but fall, keep us ever by Your help from all things hurtful and lead us to all things profitable to our salvation; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
913 O HOLY SPIRIT, ENTER IN
1 O Holy Spirit, enter in,
And in our hearts Your work begin,
Your dwelling place now make us.
Sun of the soul, O Light divine,
Around and in us brightly shine,
To joy and gladness wake us
That we may be
Truly living,
To You giving
Prayer unceasing
And in love be still increasing.
2 Give to Your Word impressive pow’r,
That in our hearts from this good hour
As fire it may be glowing,
That in true Christian unity
We faithful witnesses may be,
Your glory ever showing.
Hear us, cheer us
By Your teaching;
Let our preaching
And our labor
Praise You, Lord, and serve our neighbor.
3 O mighty Rock, O Source of life,
Let Your dear Word, in doubt and strife,
In us be strongly burning
That we be faithful unto death
And live in love and holy faith,
From You true wisdom learning.
Your grace and peace
On us shower;
By Your power
Christ confessing,
Let us see our Savior’s blessing.
Text: Public domain
EPISTLE Galatians 5:16–24
16But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
A This is the Word of the Lord.
HOLY GOSPEL
P The Holy Gospel according to St. Luke, the seventeenth chapter.
11On the way to Jerusalem [Jesus] was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. 12And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance 13and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” 14When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. 15Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; 16and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. 17Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? 18Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”
P This is the Gospel of the Lord.
APOSTLES’ CREED
C I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried.
He descended into hell.
The third day He rose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.
From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy Christian Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
SERMON
Throughout those few years that our Lord Jesus walked across the dirt of this earth, he touched countless thousands of lives. Every once in a while there was an encounter that was especially noteworthy and so it was recorded in the Gospels of the New Testament at the direction and guidance of the Holy Spirit. These things were written that we may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and that by believing we may have life in his name.
In Luke 17, Jesus heals ten men from their leprosy and the healing is described in terms of salvation, mercy, faith and worship. This is for us to learn more about our Savior and Lord and to see our own healing and salvation.
So starting at the beginning of this little story about one event in Jesus life, we read, “On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. [12] And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance [13] and lifted up their voices, saying, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us."”
“Have mercy on us.” This has become the prayer for countless people throughout the ages. Sick, poor, miserable, helpless people continually cry to the Master to have Mercy. The Christian Church has incorporated this into our liturgy because it is the best and most basic prayer the sinner can make when seeking help for his sins.
Leprosy is a nasty disease. Curable now, back then it took a very special miracle. And such miracles were rare. So Leprosy ruined your life. It ultimately ended your life.
These lepers stood at a distance and lifted up their voices to holler for help. That was the way it had to be. To keep the sick from infecting the healthy, they had to stay at a social distance from everyone not infected. This meant isolation from friends, family, co-workers and here even at a distance from the one they knew as Jesus, Master -- The one who could have mercy and help them.
They had nothing else. No jobs, no health, almost no life. They had no opportunity for anything better. What else is there to say than to repeat the prayer of so many others who realize they are in a hopeless situation. “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.”
That is the first and best step of faith, to cry out to the one who can help us, the one who has mercy to give. To give up trying to fix all your problems on your own. To admit that you need the Lord’s mercy. Indeed, this ought to be our continuous prayer, as long as we remain in this earthly broken life.
Usually when we start to think about all of our problems, we don’t realize that our problems are actually much worse than we realize.
We have a sickness, a leprosy of sin, inherited from our forefathers, multiplied by our own weaknesses and bad choices.
This disease of sin has lots of symptoms. When we complain about our problems, usually we are just talking about the symptoms: hurt feelings in relationships, failures in work, finances and life, pains of the body and anguish of the mind, disease disability and death – these are all results of the bigger problem that we must acknowledge and address. Sin
Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.
Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, is the one who has just the kind of mercy we are looking for. By His death on the cross, He conquered the dreaded deadly disease of sin. Now He lives on high and gives out His mercy on those who cry to Him for help and mercy.
When we look to him for help for that problem, we begin anew the path to salvation and faith mapped out for us in the leper’s story here in Luke 17
Jesus told the lepers. "Go and show yourselves to the priests." And as they went they were cleansed.
Cleansed -- I’d like to suggest that this could be applied to us as well. When Jesus sent them to the Priests, He was sending them to the temple in Jerusalem, to the service of God’s house. There the Priests were trained to give a diagnosis of skin disorders, which were contagious and called for mitigation. Which were passable. And so the priests could declare these lepers healed and allow them to return to their families, their work, their lives.
But beside this, the priests also offered up prayers for the people, sang the Psalms of hope and promise and carried out the sacrifices that brought people forgiveness and favor from God.
In our times, the service of God’s house, the Liturgy, Word and Sacraments, likewise bring us the forgiveness and favor of God. Through the Word of God, sung in hymns, and read and preached, and through the Sacrament, as through means, God blesses His people, saves them, cures them from the nasty and terminal disease of sin.
For those 10 lepers, Luke writes, “As they went they were cleansed.”
What a great miracle for these 10 men. Our cleansing is an even greater miracle. Cleansed by baptism, you have a salvation that is eternal. You have a new and glorious life.
So the 10 lepers called out for mercy and help, Jesus healed them. Happy ending? Not quite.
“Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; [16] and he fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. [17] Then Jesus answered, "Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? [18] Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?"
Only one was worshipping Jesus, thanking Jesus.
Imagine what it must have looked like, this Samaritan man, rushing with the others to get to the temple and get the clean bill of health and the ticket back to society. He must have looked back over his shoulder. Remembering Jesus, he has a pause, asks himself, maybe I should have said something. This will only take a moment.
That there is a second miracle. Even greater than the healing. He believed Jesus was his Savior. In faith, he worshipped Jesus. Faith is a miracle. We shouldn’t be surprised when we see people reject the Lord and refuse His Word. That’s natural. We should be happily surprised every time we see someone pray, someone give thanks and praise the Lord. That’s extraordinary. That’s a miracle that can only come from the Holy Spirit of God.
We keep praying to our heavenly Father that His kingdom would come -- His kingdom of faith. We pray that people would have their attention turned around to see that their only help is in the name of the Lord and that they, and each of us, would turn to Jesus and worship Him now and forever. Amen.
PRAYER OF THE CHURCH
P Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.
Almighty God, we give You thanks for the innumerable blessings You have bestowed on us, especially for the revelation of Your will and grace in Jesus Christ, Your Son. Preserve for Your Church the pure doctrine of Your saving Word, raise up pastors to preach repentance and the forgiveness of sins in Christ’s name, and fill all Your baptized children with Your Spirit and His fruits. Lord, in Your mercy,
C hear our prayer.
P In Your mercy, remember the enemies of Your Church. Grant them repentance and amendment of life, that they would know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and be joined to the communion of Your saints. Lord, in Your mercy,
C hear our prayer.
P To all those who have returned to school, give diligence in their studies, respect toward their teachers, and a desire to grow in knowledge. Keep students, teachers and staff safe from every danger. Bless especially the schools, universities and seminaries of our Synod. Lord, in Your mercy,
C hear our prayer.
P We give thanks for our president, for our national and state governments, and for our judges, and we pray that they would defend and protect life from the womb to the grave. We give thanks also for all those whose duty it is to protect and serve in our communities. Watch over them as they carry out their duties, and protect them — and us — from violence and every ill. Lord, in Your mercy,
C hear our prayer.
P We implore You to visit the sick, the suffering, the homebound, the grieving and all who stand in need. Whatever their trials, have mercy on them, and comfort them with the knowledge that nothing can separate them from the love You have for them in Christ. Lord, in Your mercy,
C hear our prayer.
P Although we are worthy of none of the things for which we pray, we ask that You would grant them all to us by grace; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C Amen.
LORD’S PRAYER
C Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be Thy name,
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done on earth
as it is in heaven;
give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those
who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the kingdom
and the power and the glory
forever and ever. Amen.
BENEDICAMUS
A Bless we the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
BENEDICTION
P The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious unto you.
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.
C Amen.
790 PRAISE TO THE LORD, THE ALMIGHTY
1 Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!
O my soul, praise Him, for He is your health and salvation!
Let all who hear
Now to His temple draw near,
Joining in glad adoration!
2 Praise to the Lord, who o’er all things is wondrously reigning
And, as on wings of an eagle, uplifting, sustaining.
Have you not seen
All that is needful has been
Sent by His gracious ordaining?
3 Praise to the Lord, who has fearfully, wondrously, made you,
Health has bestowed and, when heedlessly falling, has stayed you.
What need or grief
Ever has failed of relief?
Wings of His mercy did shade you.
4 Praise to the Lord, who will prosper your work and defend you;
Surely His goodness and mercy shall daily attend you.
Ponder anew
What the Almighty can do
As with His love He befriends you.
5 Praise to the Lord! O let all that is in me adore Him!
All that has life and breath, come now with praises before Him!
Let the Amen
Sound from His people again;
Gladly forever adore Him!
Text: Public domain
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Created by Lutheran Service Builder © 2018 Concordia Publishing House.
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