“Give us this day our daily bread,” Jesus taught you to pray. What is meant by daily bread? Luther instructed: “Daily bread includes everything that has to do with the support and needs of the body, such as food, drink, clothing, shoes, house, home, land, animals, money, goods, a devout husband or wife, devout children, devout workers, devout and faithful rulers, good government, good weather, peace, health, self-control, good reputation, good friends, faithful neighbors, and the like.”

Luther left a list of things for which to be thankful, finishing them off with the phrase, “And the like.” After all, as you learned from the Small Catechism, “Give us this day our daily bread,” means, “God certainly gives daily bread to everyone without our prayers, even to all evil people, but we pray in this petition that God would lead us to realize this and to receive our daily bread with thanksgiving.”

So, take a closer look at that list. Are you thankful for things like food and drink? I’m guess that for most of you, even with these increased prices, food is very much readily available, and you never think about the methods by which that food is available.

On All Saints’ Day, the Church remembers. She remembers those saints who have gone before, suffering persecution and even dying for the faith. She remembers those saints who have, by the grace of God, served the Church and world with lasting contributions. Her members usually remember those friends and loved ones who have now entered eternal rest.

But, what does it take to be a saint? A saint is one who is sanctified—made holy—one who has no sin. Therefore, if you are without sin, you are a saint, too.

What does it take to be a saint? In the Gospel lesson, Jesus recited the “Beatitudes,” qualities of those who are blessed to be saints. This is a passage of Scripture that stands out for many, and one that carries with it great joy and blessing. However, it is also one that is often twisted and misunderstood to lead to despair.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.”

Jesus used a very weighty word to describe the state of man’s corruption, not just for his time, but even today: “slave.” When Jesus used that word as He spoke to the Jews who had believed in Him, it did more than just catch their attention; alarm bells were likely going off in His hearer’s heads, putting them on the defensive. Hence their reaction in the text!

Given this country’s history with slavery, you are most familiar with the concept of chattel slavery. These kinds of slaves were considered less-than-human property. People, though they were considered anything but, were owned by other people, documented and registered and taxed under certain property tax codes. Unfortunately, even though the concept and practice of chattel slavery have been around since the 16th century, for most Americans, it influences the understanding of more historic practices of slavery, even other forms of slavery in use to this day! It should come as no shock that the words “slave” and “slavery” still carry as much weight and bad baggage today as they do; the history may not be the most recent, but it’s recent enough to cause consternation in people.

The lesson today is one of my favorites, and I confess that I made that statement sarcastically. It’s not that I don’t appreciate what’s going on or that I don’t like what it has to say and wish to deny it. It’s a fantastic event in the life of Jesus, and one which bears full attention (are there any other kind?). But, as concerns my profession, it comes up twice in lectionary this year, which means there’s a good chance that I’ll preach on it twice. So, I best get to it.

Jesus heals the ten lepers on His way to Jerusalem passing through the region of Samaria. You know the lesson well enough, as you hear it every year on the National Day of Thanksgiving, appropriate for the day based on the one leper who, as he is being cleansed on his way to the priests, turns around and bows at the Great Physician and High Priest’s feet in thanksgiving.

Now, like I said, you know it well enough, but as is often the case with well known texts, you know it so well that you can easily lose the details of what happened. To direct you to those details, I invite you to take note of what Jesus did as well as what He didn’t do.

YOU BROOD OF VIPERS! You go around claiming you keep the law and have Abraham as your father, but you act like children of the devil! You present yourselves as being righteous before God, yet you don’t even keep the commands and statutes of the Lord. You lift yourselves up as an example of righteous living, yet others can plainly see that you do not live in accordance with your own standards or those of God. REPENT! PRODUCE FRUIT IN KEEPING WITH REPENTANCE. (cf. Luke 3:7-8)

These are harsh words, to be sure; but they are no more harsh than what you heard in this morning’s Gospel. “Temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin.” What could inspire such righteous anger in Jesus to utter such harsh words? Causing little ones to sin. What could cause little ones to sin? When you say one thing, presenting yourself as being righteous before God and lifting yourself up as an example of righteous living, but do something else.