Reformation Sunday, Year C (2025)

Jeremiah 31: 31–34 / Psalm 46 / Romans 3: 19-28 / John 7: 31–36

This is the written version of the sermon given at Flohr’s Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELCA) in McKnightstown, Pennsylvania, on Sunday, October 26, 2025 by Fr. Gene Tucker, Interim Pastor.

 

“THE CHURCH AS GOD’S TOOL, GOD’S AGENT IN THE WORLD”

(Homily text: Romans 3: 19-28)

Ever think about how important tools are to living our lives, day in and day out?

For example, if a knife can’t cut, it’s usefulness is impaired. If a hammer’s handle is broken or cracked, it’d be best to get it fixed before trying to use it. If a yard stick is broken, it is useless for trying to measure something.

Without tools, we’d struggle to get things done. Try driving a nail without a hammer, and it doesn’t work very well. Try cutting something without a sharp and useful knife, and the result will be a the same.

OK, perhaps you get the idea.

Now, if we think about it, the Church is God’s tool, God’s agent in the world. It is one way[1] God chooses to make His Name known in the world, to give glory to God’s Name, to bear witness not only to our wayward human behaviors and inclinations, but also to God’s great mercy and love. The Church is an effective tool when it faithfully does these things. Put another way, the Church’s purpose is to connect God to people and people to God, and to nurture that relationship.

But in the time of the Renaissance, about 500 years ago, the Church was a broken tool.

Many people in Europe saw the lack of the Church’s usefulness to the ordinary person. (But, by contrast, the clergy and the monks were doing pretty well.) Some voices dared to raise their concerns, and many paid a heavy price for doing so. (Look up the account of Jan Huss’ witness and sacrifice, to cite but one example. Huss lived about 100 years before the Reformation took place.)

The Church, in that day and time, didn’t bear witness to God. It didn’t share the message that God is a holy, righteous and judging God, but also a loving, merciful and forgiving God. The Church’s message was one of harshness, absent any mention of God’s love.

The Church was in love with worldly power, prestige and wealth. It took the message that God would sit as judge of all humankind and turned that message into a money-making scheme, selling Indulgences in order to liberate sinful people from the horrors of Purgatory and Hell. The resulting inflow of money went to Rome in order to build St. Peter’s Basilica. (One account of the influx of money from European countries was that, in England, about one-quarter to one-third of the Gross Domestic Product was going to Rome each year!)

The Church in that time did little to educate people about the basics of the Christian faith. After all, their worship was in Latin, a language that, even in that day, few people understood.

What a sad state of affairs! What a testimony to the truth that, left to their own devices, human beings can make a royal mess out of things.

Into this mess, some courageous voices emerged. Martin Luther was one such voice. On October 31, 1517, he posted a series of things he wanted to talk about on the church door in Wittenberg, Germany. Posting such discussions points wasn’t at all unusual, for many in the seminary there routinely did the same. It was what Luther wanted to talk about that proved to be provocative.

Luther wanted to talk about God’s grace, not only about God’s judgment. We know that Luther struggled with his own sense of sinfulness and unrighteousness before God. But all of the Church’s remedies for that situation, in his day and time, didn’t offer any relief or sense that God had forgiven his shortcomings. Luther saw in Holy Scripture (the Bible) no basis for the selling of Indulgences, realizing that such an understanding had no basis at all in God’s truth.

So, we know that Luther’s understandings were greatly helped by reading and studying St. Paul’s Letter to the early churches in Rome. There – and perhaps in our reading, appointed for today in chapter three - Luther came to understand that there was nothing he could do on his own initiative to receive God’s forgiveness and God’s mercy and love. St. Paul’s explanation offered the reality and the truth that God’s forgiveness and mercy is God’s gift, pure and simple. It is God’s free gift, received by faith.

So, Luther came to see this formula: Scripture alone, Grace alone, Faith alone.

Thus began God’s plan to fix a broken Church, an impaired witness to God’s nature, completely understood.

The tenets of the Reformation were these:

1.  That the Church’s worship ought to be in a language that people could understand;

2. That the lay folk in the Church were the most important part of the Church, not the least important part; and

3. That people ought to be able read the Holy Scriptures for themselves.

There’s much more we could say about all these things. Perhaps, as we look back on the events that Luther (and others) set in motion, we could reflect on the values that these reformers maintained. In many ways, we continue to try to understand and to incorporate those Reformation values in the Church today.

For the continuing reality is that, in this age and in every age, the Church stands in need of fixing, of reform, in order that it might be God’s effective tool in the world, bearing witness to God’s nature and devoted to sharing the Good News (Gospel) of what a difference knowing God through Christ, personally and deeply, makes in people’s lives.

AMEN.

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[1]   To be sure, the Church isn’t the only way God can work in the world. And when the Church fails to faithfully carry out its mission and mandate from God, God can work around the Church. 

Pentecost 19, Year C (2025)

Genesis 32: 22–31 / Psalm 121 / II Timothy 3:14 – 4:5 / Luke 18: 1–8

 

This is the written version of the homily given at St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Carlisle, Pennsylvania on Saturday, October 18, 2025, and given at Flohr’s ELCA Church in McKnightstown, Pennsylvania on Sunday, October 19, 2025, by Fr. Gene Tucker, Interim Pastor at Flohr's.

 

“FAITH AND PRAYER: OUR TOOLS FOR EFFECTIVE CHRISTIAN LIVING”

(Homily text: Luke 18: 1–8)

We begin with some humor…

It is Sunday morning, and the pastor is scurrying around, getting ready for the service. He notices (with some interest) that Charlie is sitting in the back pew. The pastor is a bit baffled, but interested in Charlie’s presence, because Charlie isn’t a regular attendee at church, and Charlie doesn’t seem to be especially spiritual.

However, the pastor notices that Charlie seems to be engaged in intense prayer. Indeed, the pastor is correct. Charlie is engaged in intense prayer. If the pastor could hear Charlie’s prayer, he would hear this: “O God, I really need to win the lottery this week. The grand prize is really big. I’m counting on you to come through for me. Thank you, God. Amen”.

Charlie goes through the service, shakes hands with the pastor on his way out the door (something that I call “running the clergy gauntlet”), and makes his way through the week.

But there is no winning lottery ticket for Charlie.

The next Sunday, Charlie is present again, and just like the previous Sunday, he is there quite a bit before service time. He is, again, engaged in intense prayer, the same prayer as last week.

But there is no winning lottery ticket for Charlie that week, either.

On the third Sunday, Charlie is again in the same spot, and he begins his prayer, using the same words he had used the previous two Sundays. But he gets only a few words out before God’s voice thunders from the rafters. God says, “Charlie, work with me here, buy a ticket, why don’t you?”

For this, the Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost, we have before us Jesus’ Parable of the Unjust Judge. (This is material that Luke, alone among the Gospel writers, passes along to us.)

To be sure we don’t miss what the meaning and the application of the parable is, Luke introduces it by telling us that the Lord told this parable so that His followers would continue to pray and not to lose heart. (Perhaps this parable was an important encouragement to those early Christians who heard and read Luke’s account, for by the time of Luke’s writing, the early Church was facing hard times and difficult persecutions.)

We would do well to look at a few details of the parable.

The first thing we ought to notice is found in verse 5. Most translations use some sort of a phrase denoting that the widow who seeks justice from this unjust judge is going to “wear out” the judge by her constant pestering. But the Greek conveys a different sense. Literally, it says that the widow is going to “beat him [the judge] up and below the eye”. Put into an English idiom, we would say that the widow is threatening to give the judge a black eye, meaning that the judge will lose his reputation by continuing to refuse to hear the widow and to give her justice.

The next thing that we should notice is that the Lord is comparing the judge, who is dishonest and unjust, to God, the ultimate judge who is – by contrast – completely just and always willing to hear the prayers of those who seek after Him. Essentially, the Lord is making use of a rhetorical device known as “Lesser-to-Greater”. Oftentimes, when this device is used, it is identified by the phrase “how much more”. Here, we do not have the phrase “how much more”, but the Lord still makes the comparison, as He says that “will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night?”. Then, a little later, He adds, “when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”.

Jesus’ comparison of the unjust and dishonest judge with God (that “Lesser-to-Greater” stuff we looked at a moment ago) brings with it some implications for us, as the Lord’s disciples.

For one thing, there is no need to pester God in order to receive an answer. God is, Holy Scripture tells us, always more ready to hear than we are to pray, and is more willing to give us what is best for us than what we can ask or imagine.

For another, since God is the ultimate source of all goodness, all love, and all generosity, we would do well to present our needs, our concerns and our desires to Him, doing so on a regular and ongoing basis, but without pestering. This is (I think) a middle ground between the pestering that the widow in our parable had to do to receive justice, and the opposite extreme which is characterized by complete disregard for God’s ability to assist us in times of need.

Since God is concerned for our welfare, God’s answer to our prayers will always be best for us, even if the answer God provides is either, “yes”, “no”, “not now” or “I have a better idea”.

One more thought is worthy of mention and consideration: In the joke with which we began, Charlie’s problem was that he wanted all the benefits of winning the lottery. But Charlie hadn’t done his part to make that possible. (This point is a wonderful commentary on the ways we human beings often think and behave, I think!). In today’s parable, Jesus makes clear that having faith is essential when we approach God with our praise, our thanks, and our desires. Faith is much like Charlie’s lottery ticket: Faith connects us to the possibility of receiving God’s response. Faith “gets us in the game”, if you like. Having faith is our part in the God-and-humankind partnership.

Holy Scripture encourages us to “pray without ceasing”. (I Thessalonians 5:17). As we continue to pray, it’s possible that we might be the ones who change, who come to see God’s will more clearly.

AMEN. 

Pentecost 18, Year C (2025)

II Kings 5: 1–3, 7–15c / Psalm 111 / II Timothy 2: 8–15 / Luke 17: 11–19

This is the written version of the homily intended for Flohr’s Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELCA) in McKnightstown, Pennsylvania on October 12, 2025 by Fr. Gene Tucker, Interim Pastor.

 

“THE FOUR TESTS”

(Homily text: II Kings 5: 1–3, 7–15c)

(Introductory note:  We considered the appointed Gospel text for this Sunday three weeks ago, when we made use of the 1958 Service Book & Hymnal as part of our parish’s 240th anniversary celebration. Luke 17: 11–19 was the appointed Gospel in that liturgical resource. I thought it might be a good idea, therefore, to consider our Old Testament lesson, appointed for today, since we considered the Gospel text on that occasion.)

The Old Testament lesson before us this morning suggests (to this preacher, anyway) a different approach than we might otherwise take. With this idea in mind, let’s examine the text to see its major points. Then, let’s ask ourselves if we might find ourselves in a need or situation that is similar in some way to the needs we discover there.

The account of the commander of the Syrian army, Naaman, who is afflicted with some sort of a skin condition[1] brings with it some background that isn’t totally clear. What is clear is that the Syrians and the Northern Kingdom of Israel (situated in Samaria[2]) had fought some sort of a military engagement.  Apparently, by the time of Naaman’s visit to the king of the Northern Kingdom, there was some sort of a truce, or a cessation of hostilities, that allowed him to make a journey to Samaria. At least there is some ability for the Syrian king to communicate with the king of the Northern Kingdom, as is evidenced by the letter which accompanied Naaman.

As we look at the text, we discover the following:

1. Recognition of a need which requires a response:  Naaman’s condition is bad enough that he (apparently) seeks some resolution. Indirectly, we notice that Naaman’s king becomes aware of this need, and generates a letter to the king of the Northern Kingdom.

2. Test # 1 - Godly wisdom from an unlikely source: The text tells us that a Samaritan girl who had been captured during a raid by the Syrians, and who had become a servant to Naaman’s wife, is the one who suggests that there is a prophet in Israel who can address Naaman’s condition. Though this is a highly unusual source to be heeded – given the structure of society in that time – Naaman’s wife[3] makes the girls’ advice know to Naaman.

3. Test # 2 – The prophet Elisha’s response: Notice that Naaman expects Elisha to come out of his house, wave his hand over the affected area, and heal him. That Elisha doesn’t come out to greet Naaman is – by the standards of the day – an affront to Naaman’s importance. Elisha’s recipe for Naaman’s healing is delivered indirectly by a messenger. Naaman’s concept of what should happen to address his condition differs from what God’s agent, the prophet Elisha, prescribes.

4. Test # 3 – Wash in the Jordan River:  Naaman’s reaction to Elisha’s directions shows his disdain for the Jordan River’s reputation (was it a muddy stream? We don’t know). Naaman seems to think that the two rivers in his native Damascus are far better places to wash than the Jordan could ever be.

5. Test # 4 – Descend into the Jordan River seven times:  If we put ourselves into the situation that Naaman found himself in, we might well have wondered why Elisha’s direction was that he was to immerse himself in the Jordan River seven times. Wouldn’t a time or two be enough? That would be a normal and an expected reaction. It’s possible that this is part of the test that was put before Naaman. It’s also worth noting that it is another person of lower rank and stature who has to administer some common sense to Naaman, telling him that what Elisha had prescribed isn’t a difficult thing to do. (This is, it seems, a theme in this text, that it will often be the lowest and the least important persons who will be agents of wisdom, common sense, and godly insight.)

With these observations in mind, let’s apply the points we’ve discovered to our own faith walk and to the needs we have.

First of all, we should acknowledge that we have needs that require some response. Oftentimes, we bring those needs before God, as we should. Sometimes, however, we forget to offer thanks to God for His goodness (always a critical component of our prayer life, and one that is often forgotten…read on into today’s text to see that Naaman returns to Elisha to offer his appreciation). We might add that we are oftentimes much more aware of our needs than we are to put those needs before God, or to acknowledge the wisdom of God’s ability to address our needs.

Then, it will be helpful for us to remember that godly wisdom can come from the most unexpected places, persons and sources. We see this in this morning’s text, as it is the servant girl from Samaria who tells Naaman’s wife that there is a prophet in Israel who can deal with Naaman’s problem. Likewise, it is one of Naaman’s servants who asks if what Elisha had told him to do was a very difficult thing, he would have done it. But, the servant says, what Elisha had directed was an easy matter to follow.

Sometimes, what God has in mind doesn’t make sense, from a purely human point-of-view. Naaman turns up his nose at the idea of going into the waters of the Jordan River. For us, at times what God tells us to do might seem – on the surface – like a nonsensical idea. (I think this aspect of what Elisha told Naaman to do is related to the unlikely sources of godly wisdom we see in the text … none of it – on the surface – makes much sense.)

Finally, what God has in mind will – at times – take time, patience, follow-through and obedience. In the end, Naaman sets aside his reservations and his perspectives, heeding the voices of people in his life who are among the least likely ones he would be willing to listen to, to follow exactly the prescription that was set before him.

We close then, with this prayer: Enable us, Lord God, to listen for your voice and your will, even whin that voice and that will come in unexpected ways and from unusual sources. Assist us to see the needs we experience from your godly perspective and not from our own. Then, in your mercy, assist us with your grace to faithfully hear and follow your leading.

AMEN.

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[1]    It will be helpful for us to remember than when Holy Scripture talks about leprosy, the term is generally applied to any number of skin maladies, and not just to our contemporary understanding of the term, which applies – today – to Hansen’s Disease. We do not know exactly what the problem was that afflicted Naaman, but it was significant enough to warrant a trip to Samaria to seek relief.

[2]   It will be helpful to remember that the Northern Kingdom of Israel separated from the Southern Kingdom following the death of King Solomon. At the time of Naaman’s visit, sometime in the 8th century BC, the Samaritans were still of the same racial and ethnic stock as the people of the Southern Kingdom. Once the Assyrians conquered the Northern Kingdom in the year 722 BC, much of the population was deported elsewhere (these would make up the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel). The Assyrians then replaced the deported peoples with peoples of differing ethnic and racial makeup. The descendants of these people are the Samaritans we encounter in the Gospels.

[3]   We have to assume that Naaman’s wife told him what the girl had said, and that Naaman heeded this advice the girl had provided. The text doesn’t specifically tell us that that was the sequence of events.

 

Pentecost 17, Year C (2025)

Habakkuk 1: 1–4, 2: 1-4 / Psalm 37: 1-9 / II Timothy 1: 1–14 / Luke 17: 5–10

This is the written version of the homily that was given at Flohr’s Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELCA) in McKnightstown, Pennsylvania on Sunday, October 5, 2025, by Fr. Gene Tucker, Interim Pastor.

 

“THE MYSTERY – AND THE POWER – OF FAITH”

(Homily texts: Habakkuk 1: 1–4, 2: 1–4 & Luke 17: 5-10)

 

Everyday life is full of mystery and mysteries.

Consider, for example, a rose. A beautiful rose is a marvelous creation. It often has a delightful and wonderful smell. But how can a rose take the nutrients from the ground or the soil in which it is planted create such a thing from the raw materials it has available? Ultimately, the way it is able to do that is a mystery.

Or, consider that a flashlight can shine brightly. How can a battery, made up of whatever components that it is made from, produce electricity? Or, how can a bulb create a beam of light? To some extent, we are able to say it’s because of thus-and-so. But beyond that, how the flashlight works, given the raw materials it is constructed from, is a mystery.

Yet another example would be the power that a hammer has to drive a nail. Try doing that without one, and it doesn’t work very well. Or, for that matter, consider the power that a lever can generate to do things. To some extent, we could say that the laws of physics can provide an answer. But beyond that, how this happens is, to some extent, a mystery.

Whether we think about it or not, mystery surrounds us on every side. But, though we don’t fully understand how these mysterious things work, we do know they work. Perhaps that’s the more important part of dealing with mysteries. That lesson also applies to the matter of having faith in God.

If these examples have served to shed some light on the reality of mystery in our day-in-and-day-out lives, then I think we might be ready to explore the mystery of faith, faith in God’s ability to change things, and to do marvelous things.

For whatever reason, having faith in God’s power, God’s love and God’s ultimate and final victory, is an essential part of the workings of God (akin to what we said above). Even, we can confidently say, when things seem to be going from bad to worse, as the Old Testament prophet Habukkuk laments in our first reading this morning, having faith in God’s ability to fix things that need fixing is essential.

The Lord Jesus, in this morning’s Gospel text, tells us that, if we have faith as small as a mustard seed, then great things can happen, great things as great as the uplifting of a mulberry tree.

Is the Lord speaking in exaggerated speech, known as “hyperbole”?

Perhaps.

But consider how many times we read, in the accounts of Jesus’ encounters with all sorts of people, the role that faith played in whatever changes took place in those very blessed people who had a face-to-face encounter with the Lord. How often do we hear Jesus say, “Go your way, your faith has made you well”?

And sometimes, the Lord tests people deliberately to see the depth and the outworkings of their faith. Consider the account of the ten lepers (a text we will hear next Sunday), as the lepers come and ask for healing…Jesus tells them to go and show themselves to the priest, as a testimony of their healing. But, notice that none of the ten is healed as they begin their journey to the priest. They are healed only once the journey has begun. There is the test of faith for those ten men. We could cite other examples, as well.

How about you and me?

Do we have faith? Or, do we think that the way things currently are is the way things will be going forward?

Do we have faith to see that God’s power is often put into play when God’s people have faith, and show their faith? For whatever mysterious reason(s), our part in the God-and-humankind equation is to have faith, and to act on that faith. God’s part is often activated when God’s people have faith, and show it.

Do we have confidence to see that God’s way, God’s will and God’s plan is better than anything we can imagine or ask for? St. Paul affirms this in chapter eight of his wonderful letter to the Romans, saying, “All things work together for good for those who are called according to God’s purpose”.

We pray then, that the Lord will increase our faith, that the Lord will overcome our doubts and our reservations about the efficacy and the necessity of having faith.

AMEN. 

Pentecost 16, Year C (2025)

Amos 6: 1a, 4–7 / Psalm 146 / I Timothy 6: 6-19 / Luke 16: 19–31

This is the homily written for Flohr’s Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELCA) in McKnightstown, Pennsylvania for September 28, 2025 by Fr. Gene Tucker, Interim Pastor.

 

“THE ESSENTIAL AND BASIC REALITY OF EACH AND EVERY HUMAN BEING IS…”

(Homily text: Luke 16: 19-31)

Today’s Gospel reading puts before us Jesus’ wonderful Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus. (This parable is one of those treasures that Luke, alone among the Gospel writers, passes along to us.)

As is common to much of Luke’s legacy, this parable, too, features an overturning of the commonly-held beliefs of God’s people in the time of Jesus’ earthly ministry. For in that day and time, the common belief was that if a person was wealthy, or healthy, or both, then their state in life must surely be due to their upright and blameless life, following all the precepts and requirements of the Law of Moses.

(Among Christians today, a version of such a belief continues to exist: It is known as the “Prosperity Gospel”, the belief that if we do good stuff, God will bless us richly. Needless to say, the “Prosperity Gospel” is heresy, pure and simple. For God does not promise us health or wealth. Instead, God promises that – whatever life’s journey brings our way - He will always be present in whatever circumstances we find ourselves. Not only that, God also promises to love us, no matter what.)

Jesus unfolds a tale of a very rich man[1], a man who is so rich that he can dress in purple clothing.[2] Jesus tells us that the man feasted sumptuously every day.

At the rich man’s gate, lay Lazarus, who is sickly and whose only comfort is the neighborhood dogs, who come up to lick his sores. He would very much like to have what was wasted at the rich man’s table as it fell away.

Now, in typical fashion which Luke seems to admire, the tables are now turned.

Lazarus, Jesus tells us, is carried by the angels to Abraham’s Bosom (a Jewish way of saying that he had been carried into God’s presence, and into a pleasant circumstance of comfort). The rich man, however, is simply buried. (Notice the contrast.)

Following each man’s death, they find themselves in totally different and unexpected circumstances. In contrast to Lazarus, who is now enjoying the comfort of love and care that he never had in his earthly life, the rich man now finds himself (perhaps for the very first time) in want, and in pain.

It might be prudent for us not to focus too closely on the aspect of the parable that deals with the nature of the afterlife. Jesus point in this part of the parable might not necessarily be to portray the process that unfolds following the end of this life’s journey. Perhaps it is enough for us to see that Jesus’ description of the state of both men after their deaths is to describe the value that God places on each and every human being.

It turns out that Lazarus, who, by the commonly-held beliefs of the time, was of little value, and was regarded, quite likely, as being disposable, was highly valued by God. By contrast, the rich man, who the world would most likely thought was of considerable value, was of little help and value to anyone but himself.

We might remind ourselves that each encounter we have with Holy Scripture is meant to change us in some way. Scripture exists to remind us of the mind of God, and of God’s intent for the world that we human beings have the ability to create, or to destroy.

“Choose life!” we say.

That surely must be one reason Jesus spun out this tale of a selfish, self-centered man, and the poor and sickly man who lay just outside the gate of his compound. For the rich man did absolutely nothing to improve Lazarus’ life. He surely had the means. He lacked a focus on anyone other than himself. He also lacked a focus on God’s will and command where the care we are to provide to those in need is concerned.

Choose life! Choose to do good to others, choose to do all we can to improve others’ lives and their walk with God. Choose to realize that all that we have and all that we enjoy as blessings in this life are to be used for the betterment not only of ourselves, but for the betterment of others.

This parable conveys a basic truth about human life and human beings: Each and every human being is God’s deliberate and wonderful creation. Each and every human being is made in the image and likeness of God (as Genesis reminds us). Each and every human being has worth, and so, is to be valued.

As God’s people, we may have to look beyond the outward circumstance of a person’s life to see the intrinsic value of a person who has been created in the image and likeness of God. But God’s will for us as His disciples is to be about the sometimes-difficult business of looking not only at the things we can see about someone, but beyond that into their value in God’s sight.

Since this is so, let us – as God’s people in the world – be about the business of showing by our actions that God’s love dwells within our hearts and minds.

This is, by all accounts, sacramental living, whereby our outward actions mirror the inner reality that we have come to know God’s love and God’s estimation of our value, and of the value and worth of others.

AMEN.

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[1]   The rich man has acquired a nickname down through the years: Dives, which is derived from the Latin word for “rich”.

[2]   In ancient times, only the very wealthy, or noble people, could afford purple clothing, since it was made from the harvesting of small sea snails to dye the cloth. 

Pentecost 15, Year C (2025)

Proverbs 10: 10–24 / Galatians 5: 16–24 / Luke 17: 11–19

This is the written version of the homily given at Flohr’s Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELCA) in McKnightstown, Pennsylvania on September 21, 2025 by Fr. Gene Tucker, Interim Pastor.

 

“NECESSARY, BASIC SKILLS FOR LIVING, AND FOR BELIEVING”

(Homily text: Luke 17: 11–19)

(An introductory note: The readings for this Sunday were taken from one of the historic liturgical resources of the Lutheran Church, the 1958 Service Book and Hymnal. On this Sunday, Flohr’s Church celebrates the 240th anniversary of its founding, so the use of an historic liturgy seemed appropriate. The readings in this liturgical resource are different from the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) now in widespread use. Note, for example, that there is no Psalm. Also, note that this resource contains only one annual cycle of readings, instead of the three-year cycle of the RCL.)

As I add years to the numbers of birthdays I’ve celebrated, I’ve come to believe that each and every human being must make use of – and master the use of – four basic life skills. They come in the form of things we say to one another:

·         Please.

·         Thank you.

·         I’m sorry.

·         Can you help me?

Use of each of these helps to lubricate the interactions and the ways in which we human beings rub against one another.

For us as Christian believers, there’s another important skill to have:

·         Faith in God’s wisdom, God’s goodness, and the superiority of God’s will.

Many of the points made above are present in our Gospel reading for this morning, Jesus’ healing of the ten lepers.

With these thoughts in mind, let’s look at the text.

We ought to begin by noting that Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem, but instead of taking the circuitous route down the Jordan valley, or making His way along the coastline of the Mediterranean Sea, He passes through the region between Galilee and Samaria. Normally, a devout Jew would avoid anything having to do with Samaria. But we know from Jesus’ other behaviors that He was quite comfortable with breaking the normal taboos and behaviors of the day.

As we dig into the text, we ought to notice, first of all, that Jesus is met by ten lepers, who stand afar off. The requirement to stay away from healthy people, if one had a skin condition[1], was a requirement of the Law of Moses.[2]

The ten cry out to Jesus, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.”

Essentially, this takes note of two of the life skills we outlined above: They are asking, using (implied) “Please”, and “Can you help me?”.

Now, the Lord tells them to go and show themselves to the local priest. This, too, is a requirement of the Law of Moses, for the local priest would have to determine that they had been cleansed, and were, therefore, able to rejoin the community and also to be able to go to the Temple in Jerusalem.

It would be easy to miss an important aspect to what Jesus told them to do. Notice that He didn’t say, “You are healed, go and show yourselves to the priest.’ Instead, He simply says, “Go, show yourselves to the priest.” Luke tells us that, as they went on their way, they were healed.

The ten began their journey as unclean, un-healed individuals. There was no reason to believe that they would be acceptable to the priest in the condition in which they departed. Their healing takes place after they had begun their journey. That step of faith (quite literally) is theirs to take.

The fact that the ten left the Lord and went to the priest signifies that they had faith that the Lord could heal them.

Now, one of the ten – and a Samaritan at that – is the only one who makes use of another of those important life skills. He is the only one who returns and thanks the Lord for his new lease on life.

Each and every episode recorded in Holy Scripture is meant to tell us something about God, God’s nature, God’s power and God’s care for each and every one of us. The pages of Holy Scripture also tell us a lot about human nature, about human attitudes and behaviors, and about the ways in which human beings in ages past got their relationship with God right, and the ways in which they didn’t. Scripture records the successes and the failures, both.

Perhaps the lesson for us as Christian believers today might be that we are to make frequent use of all four of the basic life skills enumerated above. We will need them all at one time or another. We should begin with “Thanks!”, and seek to learn from the behaviors of the nine healed lepers who couldn’t be bothered to come back to Jesus to offer their thanks. Giving thanks is, oftentimes, the most neglected aspect of our prayer life and our relating to God.

Then, we should remember, I think, to make use of the other three life skills.

And finally, we should do all we can to ask for the help of the Holy Spirit to assist us to build up our faith, which – as is so common in Jesus’ ministry – the key to receiving God’s healing, goodness and love.

AMEN.

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[1]   In the Gospels, leprosy referred to any number of skin conditions, not just to the condition we know as leprosy today, the medical term for which is Hansen’s Disease.

[2]   See Leviticus 13:46. 

Pentecost 14, Year C (2025)

Exodus 32: 7– 14 / Psalm 51: 1–10 / I Timothy 1: 12–17 / Luke 15: 1–10

This is the written version of the homily given on September 14, 2025 at Flohr’s Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELCA) in McKnightstown, Pennsylvania, by Fr. Gene Tucker, Interim Pastor.

 

“DOES GOD RATION HIS GOODNESS, LOVE & MERCY?”

(Homily text: Luke 15: 1-10)

We begin this morning with a question: “Does God ration (withhold) His goodness, love and mercy to certain persons?” Or, to reverse the question, we could ask, “Is God so generous that He showers His goodness, love and mercy upon all persons, seeking to be in relationship with each and every human being?”

The answer ought to be obvious.

But to the Pharisees and the scribes we read about in this morning’s Gospel text, the answer was – most certainly – that the first question is the one that pertains, and the answer to that question – in their minds – would he that God, does, indeed, withhold His goodness, love and mercy from certain persons, and especially those notorious tax collectors and other really bad sinners that Jesus had a habit of hanging around with.

The picture that the Gospels present to us of the commonly-held attitudes among the Pharisees and the scribes is one that was governed by two major ideas: The first one is that God requires holiness of life and cleanliness in all things. The other guiding principle was that if a person was doing all the “right” things (like keeping the many rules and regulations in the Law of Moses), then God would bless that individual. Conversely, if a person was poor, or sickly, or was in some other terrible situation in life, then their predicament must surely stem from some grievous sin (perhaps known only to God, but, nonetheless, still there).

As the Pharisees put these two guiding principles into action, they, themselves, stayed away from “unclean” persons, persons like tax collectors, those who were sick, and so forth. For to associate with such persons as that was to risk becoming “unclean” themselves.

No wonder they grumbled when they saw the Lord hanging around with all those “bad” people. (I love the fact that Luke used that word, “grumble” to describe how they reacted to what Jesus was doing...perhaps Luke is telling us that they objected to Jesus’ ways somewhat quietly…if so, Jesus heard or sensed their reaction.)

To correct the erroneous views of His opponents, Jesus offers two short parables. He makes the point that God’s way of seeing things is radically different from the ways that we often see things.

The other thing we might notice is that God’s “economy” (used in this sense to describe God’s set of values) is also radically different from ours. For whatever reason – but, quite likely, because God’s nature is one of love and generosity – God seems to value each and every human being. Moreover, God seeks to be in relationship with each individual.

What a radical idea!

Jesus’ teaching, in these two parables, must have prompted those who heard them to scratch their heads. Maybe they thought to themselves, “Nobody risks a flock of ninety-nine sheep to go rescue one lost one…that doesn’t make sense”. They may have added that common sense dictates that if you lose one, you cut your losses and protect what you still have left.

But God’s “economy”, that is to say, what He values, is quite a bit different that what we think is important or valuable. God doesn’t want to see or experience any losses, not where human beings are concerned.

The challenge for us – as Christian believers – is to see things the way God sees them.

Our challenge, as Christian believers – is to prepare the soil of our hearts and – thereby – the field that is our churches so that all who come our way will experience the radical welcome that Jesus extended to the outcasts in the time of His earthly visitation.

No wonder the early Church experiences such growth in the early centuries of its existence. The Church said to any and all who came their way that God loves them, God values them, and God seeks to be n relationship with them. Put another way, we could say that the Church said, “Come one, come all. No matter where you are in life, God loves you, seeks to be in relationship with you, and offers you a different way to be”.

Just as Jesus’ care for and interaction with the notorious sinners of 2,000 years ago changed lives forever, so, too, must we be about the business of changing lives with God’s message of love, radical welcome and invitation to a changed and better way of being.

AMEN. 

Pentecost 13, Year C (2025)

Deuteronomy 30: 15–20 / Psalm 1 / Philemon 1 – 21 / Luke 14: 25–33  

This is the homily written for Flohr’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, McKnightstown, Pennsylvania, for September 7, 2025 by Fr. Gene Tucker, Interim Pastor. On this day, however, the sermon was in written form only – the sermon time was instead used for “Stump the Pastor” – a time of questions, answers and discussion about the lectionary readings or other subjects.

 

“THE COST OF FOLLOWING THE LORD: HYPERBOLE -OR- REALITY?”

(Homily texts: Deuteronomy 30: 15-20 & Luke 14: 25–33)

 

Our lectionary cycle of readings places before us some of the harshest sayings our Lord ever put before those who would be His followers: “If anyone comes to me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers, yes, even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.”

Some of the things that Jesus said qualify as being “hard sayings”. This, surely, is one of the most difficult to hear and to consider.

A question then arises: When the Lord says these things, is He speaking in deliberately exaggerated terms (in hyperbole, which is defined as “exaggerated speech which greatly exaggerates the truth”), or is He describing a reality that those who become His disciples will experience?

The answer surely must be: Both.

The Lord is shocking any and all who would consider being a disciple, a follower of the Lord, putting before them the stark reality that such a decision will mean. For to make such a decision, and then to follow through with it, means a total and complete change of focus and direction in one’s life. That much is true. It was true for those who first heard the Lord say these things, it was true for God’s people in the time of Moses, as we hear in today’s reading from Deuteronomy, it was true for the early Christians in the first centuries of the Church’s existence, and it remains true for us today.

But it is also true that for many early Christians, who came to faith in the Greco-Roman world, becoming a Christian meant the distinct possibility of being persecuted, or even being martyred. (That reality still exists in many places around the world today.) So, by the time that Luke was writing his Gospel account, both realities had come true: Many Christians who had placed their faith in the Lord, put their discipleship ahead of relationships like family and friends. Following Jesus also meant the real possibility of suffering and death.

Reality, yes!

Hyperbole, yes!

Both possibilities come with challenges.

For those who would face physical hardship, suffering or even death, the prospect that that path of discipleship is a great challenge. (It’s worth saying that – even in the face of such awful prospects – many in the days of the Roman Empire chose to follow the Lord, even to the point of giving up their lives to do so.)

But, fortunately, that path isn’t one that most of us – living as Americans in this wonderful country – are likely to face.

And yet, even if the Lord’s challenge to becoming a follower is of the easier path described in the Lord’s exaggerated terms, it is still a challenge to decide to put one’s priorities in order, with the Lord and our following of Him first in our lives.

Why?

Perhaps it is still a challenge because, living in the society we are privileged to live in, becoming a Christian doesn’t mean a radical change of lifestyle. One can be a Christian in today’s culture, pretty much adopting the behaviors of the surrounding culture. This is the easier path, by far.

And yet, as the culture beckons to us, asking us to take up all of their various attitudes and behaviors, we – as Christians – are called to bear witness to a different and better way of living and being, saying “no” to some of the offerings that are placed before us.

To do so, it seems to me, is to discover life in its fullest, most complete, and most fulfilling meanings. Nothing that the culture can offer us will ever surpass knowing the Lord personally, and following Him, day by day.

We are, then, in need of the Holy Spirit’s help, that we will keep ever before our eyes and in our consciousness, the richness that following the Lord Jesus Christ offers.

AMEN.