“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.

War arose in heaven.

Despite my comments last week, it seems unfathomable. The place where the Holy God reigns and controls all things is the place thought of to be peaceful, ordered by Him whom the Scriptures call the Prince of peace. (cf. Isaiah 9:6) Nevertheless, war arose out in heaven. The Apostle John was permitted a glimpse of this heavenly battle:

War arose in heaven. Michael and his angels fought Satan and his angels, and Michael prevailed. Satan was cast out; no longer was there a place for him in heaven. And the heavens and all who dwell in them rejoice.

The good guys won the war in heaven; there should be no doubt that that was the expected outcome. All the same, it’s not all good news. Heaven has been sanctified, and that’s good. The devil has been thrown out, and that’s good. War has been waged and Michael and the heavenly angels have conquered for Christ’s sake, and that is very good. But the war and the battling has spilled out. Now, the devil is just here—he’s consolidated and focused on harming those on earth. It is worse now in these last days because of this. (paragraph based on a fellow pastor’s sermon)

To better understand this text, it might be helpful to understand it’s place in the grander scheme of St. Luke’s Gospel. This is the beginning of chapter 16, which naturally follows chapter 15. Chapter 15 is known, of course, for the three parables it contains: Lost Sheep, Lost Coin, and the so-called Prodigal Son. Jesus told these parables to the Pharisees to demonstrate the love of God and all of heaven for the lost, because the Pharisees scoffed at Jesus for receiving and eating with sinners and tax collectors.