The Joshua Victor Theory

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. Meals are inescapably at the center of human life. Eating is a defining feature of our existence—stop eating, and you won’t be sticking around for too much longer. Meals and meal etiquette are at the center of much human culture. A feast or a banquet is an especially important meal—usually greater time and care is taken in preparation; and usually a feast or banquet is a celebration of something significant. Meals, whether a feast or an ordinary meal, are a place where hospitality, friendship, trust, brotherhood, and even forgiveness and reconciliation can be communicated. Meals truly are a key part of our human existence. Today’s Gospel reading is part of a series of mealtime conversations with Jesus. It’s one of many in Gospel of Luke. Zoom out one step further to the whole Bible, and you’ll find dozens more examples of prominent meals with God, feasts or banquets. They are so important because they are of...

Sermon outline: ·          First glance? Miracle story + reminder to always say “thank-you”? < Scratching surface. Closer look > Dynamics between Jews and Samaritans (who were they?), dynamics between the healthy community and lepers (who were they?) , purity laws and priests verifying cleansing, value of a physical wellness vs. something more received by faith! Different levels of thankfulness/praise. Dynamics between Samaritan and Jesus (who is this man?). ·          Our own semi-recent history with leprosy—Father Damien and the lepers of the Kalaupapa colony on Molokai. Sad and tragic stories—exile who was healed, refused by mother to come home—so great was the fear. 100 years Hansen’s disease sufferers banished there. ·          Biblical times: had to live outside the community and wear torn clothes, cover their face and cry out, “Unclean, Unclean!” to ...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. Welcome again to Emmanuel, and thanks to our preschoolers for their memory work and song, and for parents and family supporting your children as they worship God. Today’s sermon is from the story of the ten leprous men who were healed, and the one who returned to give thanks to Jesus. Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Although it’s a few thousand years from the time of Jesus, and many thousands of miles from Israel to Hawaii, the circumstances of ten leprous men aren’t so distant and unfamiliar to us here in Hawaii. The leper colony at Kalaupapa is part of the recent memory of Hawaii, although in Bible times the word leprosy included a much broader range of skin diseases and rashes than what we now call Hansen’s disease. For about 100 years, people suffering from Hansen’s were banished to an existence of poverty and isolation. One woman exiled to K...