Jesus Said, “A Certain Creditor Had Two Debtors; One Owed Five Hundred Denarii, and the Other Fifty. When They Could Not Pay, He Canceled the Debts of Both of Them
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Jesus said, “A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he canceled the debts of both of them. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the greater debt.” And Jesus said to him, “You have judged rightly.” Luke 7: 41-43 I’m trying to be intentional about listening to new music. To clarify, that would be music that is new to me. Lately it’s been Lauren Daigle, a contemporary Christian artist who, I swear, reminds me a lot of Adele. She wrote this song called “You Say.” Here’s the first verse: I keep fighting voices in my mind that say I’m not enough. Every single lie that tells me I will never measure up. Am I more than just the sum of every high and every low? Remind me once again just who I am, because I need to know. Some of us, myself included, have been told in a variety of ways by a number of people too many times that we are not enough, that we will never meet the expectations of the important people in our lives. The messages may have started when we were children. Your grades aren’t high enough. You’re not that smart. You don’t fit in. You’re weird looking. You’ll never be good at ______. You can fill in the blank. And maybe those messages continued into adulthood. Your work is unsatisfactory. You’ll never find a spouse. Who would want to spend their life with someone like you? You will never succeed. You’re a bad parent. That hard choice you made makes you an awful person. Every day we keep fighting the voices in our minds that say we’re not enough. And it’s exhausting. So let me remind you that God says you are enough. Jesus says you are enough. The Holy Spirit says you are enough. Let me remind you that God created you in God’s image. Jesus died for you because he loves you that much. At your baptism the Holy Spirit descended upon you to empower your life. Let me remind you that you are beautiful in God’s sight. Jesus never turned away a single person, and he loved them just the way he found them. That’s how Jesus loves you. He will never turn you away; he will receive you just as you are. There’s a story in Luke’s gospel about a time when Jesus was invited to dinner with a group of Pharisees. Somehow, a woman who was carrying many emotional burdens snuck into the house and as Luke tells it, “She stood behind him (Jesus) at his feet, weeping, and began to bathe his feet with her tears and to dry them with her hair. Then she continued kissing his feet and anointing them with the ointment.” Of course, this did not please the tightly-wound Pharisees one bit because they were convinced this woman was a sinner beyond redemption. In turn, Jesus told them a parable about two debtors and which one was more grateful for having his debt relieved. (The one with the greater debt.) And then Jesus promptly spoke a word of forgiveness to the woman. Jesus passed no judgment. He did not exclude her. She was enough just as she was. Here’s the second verse of the Lauren Daigle song: The only thing that matters now is everything You think of me. In You I find my worth, in You I find my identity. You say I am loved when I can’t feel a thing. You say I am strong when I think I am weak. And You say I am held when I am falling short When I don’t belong, oh, You say I am Yours. Today, and every day, we find our worth in Jesus Christ. Our identity is rooted in our baptism. Even on days when we are numb to everything, we are loved by a merciful and gracious God. During times of weakness we are made strong by the presence of God’s Spirit. When someone tells us we fall short, we are still being held in the hand of God. And when we feel no sense of belonging, remember the woman who bathed Jesus’ feet with her tears and know that you are His. Always and forever. Pastor Chuck Let us pray. Lord, I confess that sometimes I don’t feel like I am enough. It seems like I can’t please anyone, let alone live the way You expect me to live. Help me to remember that you have made me in Your image, and you love me as I am. Renew me each day for the sake of your Son who died and rose so that I may have life, and have it abundantly. By your Spirit, empower me to live into that abundant life each and every day. Amen If you’re interested in listening to Lauren Daigle I would suggest her most recent album Look Up Child (2018, Centricity Music), available on all digital music services. .