A DAY TO BE SET FREE

A sermon by George R. Pasley

Jeremiah 1:4-10; Luke 13:10-17

It was Sabbath,

A day for rest and worship,

And she went to synagogue

But she left different,

Far different,

Than she came,

Because to God’s way of thinking

Sabbath was day to be set free

So though she came on crutches, limping,

She left standing upright and

Praising God,

Which is what we ought to do

So when I say, Amen,

Please respond with Praise the Lord!

There came a man who might have

Slept in on Sunday but

He slept none the night before

For Friday had been hard and

Monday would be most uncertain

And the future held no promise,

None at all, and so he came

To worship filled with fear

But when he came he prayed among those who trusted

The God of new beginnings,

So he left different than he came-

Once fearful,

He left courageous,

Set free from anxiety

Made ready for something new, Amen!

There was a young woman

Who came to church hungry,

Hoping for just one scrap of purpose

To get her through the week

But when she came she entered into the Kingdom,

The community of God’s activity in the world,

And she heard her name,

God calling invitation

To love her neighbor and

To act with justice

So she also left

Different than she came,

Her eyes bright with joy,

Her hands itching to be busy,

To get at setting people free- Amen!

A man came, middle aged,

After years and years of absence,

Nervous, standing even

In the narthex,

Because the back pews were all filled.

He came with a long record

Of sin, much well-known but most

Known only to God and him.

He came remorsed but when he came

He heard forgiveness,

The preacher said that Christians

Live daily in the all-sufficient grace of Christ,

Which cleanses us of all sin[1]

And he left forgiven, freed by grace

Ready for a new life and

Whatever blessings it held forth. Amen!

There came one Sunday a woman,

Bruise upon her face,

Afraid, ashamed, suffering

From injustice,

And she came only

Because some friend begged her,

Insisted she would not regret it,

And when she came she heard

About the justice-loving God

Who protected the innocent and vulnerable,

Who suffered once and died

Not by happenstance nor

From weakness,

But by love from strength,

And she left different than she came,

Trembling in wonder,

Amazed, thirsty

For more of what she’d heard,

Freed from thinking she had somehow

Deserved what she had received. Amen.

A man came, young but not

SO young, new to town and

Struggling with an issue of orientation,

Struggling for years,

Faithful to God and church,

Recipient of counseling and prayer,

But still tormented by temptation,

Yet still he came to worship because of faithfulness

And he came to a congregation

Divided on the issue,

Not knowing what would be said,

Or how he would be treated.

But when he came there was a spirit in the air

And so he continued in attendance

And when he shared with them his struggle

There was compassion

There was love

There were ears listening

And there was no judgment only love

And the shelter of a hug,

Which for him was peace and so

He left the same, yet different,

Which he called peace,

Previously unknown. Amen.

There came several, agitated,

Boiling over,

At injustice suffered hard,

And they heard that God

Would listen when they yelled

Would listen when they wept

Would listen even when

They ran out of words to speak-

But meaning just as much

They found some within the congregation

Who listened just as well

And more who were also willing

To join in their search of justice,

And they left each Sunday different,

Filled with a sort of holy fire

That was not ALL consuming but instead

Was passion fueling-

It was the thing that we call hope,

Which set them free. Amen.

There came one Sunday a man

Deeply shamed for he had strayed

Devastated the wife he loved

Ruined his marriage

Lost his family

All for something meaningless and cheap

And he came looking for the rod of holy punishment

But instead found the truth,

That God is mercy,

When he heard the pastor say,

“Your faith has saved you, not your shame.[2]”

And the people said, Amen.

There came one week an outcaste,

Prone to different ways of being

That sometimes startled

Sometimes annoyed

Sometimes tickled

Sometimes confused

And even sometimes angered

But when one week he mentioned

His discomfort with his difference,

A firm believer said,

“Be yourself...

Because NO one is better at being you than YOU![3]”

And on the other side another said, “Amen.”

There came one night to evening service

A girl, experienced at hard living,

Who had wakened in the afternoon

To the dreadful knowledge

Of much she’d certainly done

And the more dreadful absent memory

of what she might have done,

Trembling for her life but

When she came she heard

That Jesus called the unsaved "lost"

In a way that made the lost

Sound like treasures we should all be looking for[4]

And that notion

Of someone looking just for her

And calling her a treasure

Set her free from all desire

To repeat her bad behavior. Amen.

There came to our own church

Several who could not rise without some help

And they were loved

Their presence cherished

Their prayers coveted

And their voice respected

And this congregation rose unto the challenge

And made this building accessible,

Through and through,

Because this building and this congregation

Belong to God,

And are made for setting people free.

Did I hear an Amen?

There came quietly,

Week by week,

Some who struggle weeks on end

With melancholy mood

And when they came they heard

Acknowledgement of life’s vexing nature

But in addition these four promises:

We struggle not alone

We struggle not in vain

There is purpose to our struggle

There are even gifts in our somber way of thinking

That serve the common good

And those promises set them free

To find the purpose in their life. Amen.

So some come each week

Needing healing and

The truth is, some are healed,

And the greater truth is,

All are surrounded with compassion,

And placed in trust with God,

And some who are not healed

Find that compassion and trust do set them free

To let their spirits breathe. Amen.

But listen now-

Listen young, listen old,

Listen poor, listen not so poor,

Listen healthy, listen not,

Listen one and all,

For here is a word from the risen Lord

Directed straight to you:

You are appointed,

Words are put into your heart

And given to your tongue,

To proclaim that this day and every day

Belong to the God of love and they are

Days for setting free

The bound, the lost, the shamed, the outcaste,

The sinners, the angry, the anxious,

The hungry, body AND soul.

Believe NOT any word that says

You are not sufficient for the cause

Because this is gospel truth:

You need only to have been set free,

You need only have experienced

Mercy, grace and love

You need not be anything but available

Because God is indeed

Active in the world (Amen)

And as far as God is concerned

This very day is

A day to be set free.

In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen.