A LEPER | 2 Kings 7:3-20 with Philip Morrow

From the Fifth Sunday of Easter, this sermon draws parallels between Deuteronomy 4:32-40, John 15:1-8, and 1 John 4:7-21, emphasizing the profound significance of history and love in the context of faith in action–or faithfulness. Through Moses's words, listeners are urged to reflect on the unparalleled actions of God throughout history, contrasting His active involvement with the inactivity of false gods. The passage in John calls believers to abide in God's love, producing fruit that glorifies Him. Furthermore, 1 John stresses that love is the defining characteristic of a true disciple, intertwining with obedience to God's commandments. We should examine ourselves whether we truly abide in Him. Without love, we prove we aren’t truly among God’s disciples. But through God’s love acting in the world through us, we can show God to those around us. Readings: Deuteronomy 4:32-40; 1 John 4:7-21; John 15:1-8

At the very heart of the gospel is the story of Passover: that final night in Egypt when God completed His judgments against the rebellious Pharaoh and called His own people out into freedom. We often think of Christ's death through the lens of atonement for sins, but its coinciding with Passover tells us something else about the gospel–namely, that we are shielded from wrath and invited into peace with God if we participate in obedience to His command. Redemption, repentance, and the gospel itself are participatory and inclusive. So when we share the gospel with our neighbors, we invite them to participate in our same redemption, living out the story of Passover every day. Readings: Exodus 12:1-13; Acts 3:12-19; Luke 24:36-48

The image of shepherds and shepherding in the biblical text stands in sharp contrast to the romantic pictures of fat sheep on luxuriant, green hillsides that we see in popular Christian culture. The biblical image, best reflected in Psalm 23, is set in the dangerous Judean wilderness with wild animals, “the valley of the shadow of death”; sporadic grass and rain which (even today) can suddenly turn to perilous flash floods, "green pastures … still waters." When the Bible describes God as Shepherd, His sheep can say, “I shall not want” in this precarious world, and in the world to come, “I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.” In the Gospel of John, Jesus also describes Himself as the Good Shepherd who provides in this world (John 7-9) and for eternity. “I give them eternal life and they shall never perish.” (10) Readings: Ezekiel 34:1-16; Psalm 23; John 10:11

Our current age, like all others that came before, is one full of trauma and death. And though both are such common realities, neither of them feel "normal" to us. They can render us illogical and reveal significant gaps in our faith. We see this well in the story of Thomas. The same Thomas who had claimed readiness to die with Jesus (John 11:16) would later reject that Jesus had been raised from the dead (20:24). And yet, Jesus honors Thomas' need for assurance, and empowers him to more fully believe. This belief would eventually be carried to the shores of India, where Thomas died in faith. We, "who have not seen and yet believed," (20:29) count our faith a blessing, and yet should learn from Thomas that the Lord will meet us in the gaps of our faith, to strengthen it. Our challenge as disciples is to develop faith that strengthens us in the face of trauma and a resolute hope in the transitory nature of death for those who trust in Jesus. If you so choose, prayerfully fill out this self-assessment of your faith and see where you need the Lord to meet you. https://forms.gle/JAc3dnFP9CWhqm5F6 Readings: 1 John 1:1-2:3; Psalm 133; John 20:19-31

Of the four Gospel accounts of Jesus' Resurrection, Mark's is the most shocking. His "shorter ending" (Mark 16:1-8) does not end in an appearance of the risen Jesus, but only a proclamation of His Resurrection to the faithful women who went to his tomb. Still, their initial act is to withhold this message out of fear and confusion. Throughout Mark's gospel the reader is being called into the same challenges that faced those women at the tomb: will we choose faith over fear and allow the reality of the resurrection to conquer the things we most fear and turn our paralysis to faithfulness. Acts 10:34-43; Isaiah 25:6-9; Mark 16:1-8. --- Blessed by our teachings? Consider saying thank you with a small (or large) donation. www.christchurchjerusalem.org/donate/

How do lepers relate to their former and future communities? Leviticus 14 makes ample provision for declaring a leper clean, giving them a way to rejoin the people. 2 Kings 7 shows us the remarkable role that 4 lepers of Samaria played in saving the city. In a moment of conviction and charity, they chose to share good news of the LORD's miraculous salvation to a community that they themselves could not (yet) rejoin. Perhaps with this in mind, Luke 17 notices a key detail about the one grateful leper who came back praising God for his healing–he too was a leper of Samaria.

Purity in Leviticus finds its opposite most starkly in death itself, and leprosy is the disease most closely resembling death and decay. For this, stringent laws are given on how to handle leprosy, and to receive miraculous healing of it is exceptionally meaningful. This makes Naaman's healing in 2 Kings 5 all the more potent, as his turning from the gods of Rimmon to rather worship the LORD is just as much a life-saving act.

Holiness, for all its many benefits and credits, can be deadly. The sons of Aaron, Abihu and Nadab, would learn this firsthand after offering strange fire to the LORD. So would King David, seeing Uzzah die for reaching out to steady the Ark of the Covenant. This week, we review the importance of holiness in both extreme and (seemingly) mundane examples.

What is the purpose of sacrifice in the Bible? Leviticus makes it clear that there are actually very many purposes behind sacrifice, and understanding them is equally as important as giving them.

Readers and hearers of Leviticus will often come away confused about purity. On its face, purity seems to be a prerequisite for communion with God, one that we accomplish on our part before attempting to worship Him. But chapter 8 tells us something counterintuitive: purity itself is also a gift of God, given to us in anticipation of our communion with Him. Ezekiel 36 makes this quite clear, as God informs His people in exile that He Himself will purify them and bless them–not solely out of concern for them, but out of concern for His holy name that had been profaned among them. If God chooses to purify us before we even *want* to meet with Him, how might this change our response to His good grace? For Ezekiel, it ought to convict us of sin and exhort us to turn from it.